Page 73 of Mr. Kelly

I will not apologize for my choices because they’ve made me happier than I’ve ever been. My wife walks in a circle, talking to herself, her anger still radiating off her body. I’m not sure what happened before I arrived, so I’ll need to tread lightly. They could have had one of the normal arguments Helena is known to create or River got upset from just the sight of Helena.

I pull her into a hug, rubbing her back until her body relaxes.

“What’s wrong besides the obvious?”

River sighs and peeks up at me, her expression a mix between anger and worry. The anger I suspected, but I’m more concerned about what has her worried. She hesitates like she always does when she’s grappling with the best way to say something.

“Just say it, River,” I tell her gently.

“You used to love her so much and now…”

I have a feeling where this is going, and I refuse to allow her to finish that thought.

“No.”

River’s brown eyes grow with surprise because I cut her off.

“No,” I repeat. “Absolutely fucking not. I’m not going to stand here and allow you to compare yourself to her for even a split second. Just having this conversation is a colossal waste of our time. Helena is a pathological liar who made me love a lie. There is nothing fake about what we have or how much I love you. I love you like I’ve never loved anyone before.” I tilt her chin so she’s looking me in the eyes. “There is no end to us. Understand?”

She nods as she sniffles like she’s trying to suck up her tears. I drop a kiss on her nose, then lips because hormones are a bitch. There was no trace of a rebound. I fell for River fast and hard. I didn’t need to switch from one woman to another for validation. Had I not met River when I did, I would have been perfectly content just being by myself until I was ready to try again.

Hell, I would have gone through with the surrogacy using a donor egg and became a single parent before I wasted my time with a random woman. I lace our fingers together while she still regains her composure. While I don’t give a fuck what Helena could have said to her, I’ll listen if there is anything she wants to mention, but I will not listen to doubt about us.

“Come on, let’s feed you,” I offer since it’s something to make her happy. “Then we’ll do whatever you want.”

Short of killing her, which she now knows I will, I cannot keep them from running into each other at a random boutique. It's not like I’m going to call my ex and work out a schedule. I send a text once we’re seated at the restaurant.

Me: River and Helena ran into each other

Andrea: Did that bitch break our agreement?

Me: No. She did realize that I cheated on her with River and got her pregnant. Her ego didn’t take that well.

Andrea: Let me guess, she said something dumb and now she’s scared of you.

I smirk since he knows me so well.

Me: Pretty much but River almost went the ‘if you don’t love her anymore, you can fall out of love with me.’

Andrea: Bullshit. It’s not fucking possible. You two have real love.

Me: Yeah, I just don’t want her to think that every time she sees Helena.

Andrea: I’m already taking care of that. No graves needed.

Andrea always has some plot going. He’s not going to kill her because he would have said so. It’s intriguing, but I know he’ll reveal his plot when he’s ready. I know why she gets passes. When Helena rose to stardom, she was a hope to black women and other minorities. It’s a shame that she really doesn’t give a damn about people. Andrea would rather leave her as a false hope who’ll eventually reveal who she really is than kill her off and make her some kind of martyr or saint.

Either way, it’s not something I’ll waste my time considering. I’m happy and my only duty is to make sure that my wife and child remain happy as well.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

THEODORE

“I’m here!”I announce before getting to Andrea’s office. As a married man, I know it’s best to give advance warning sometimes. He and Delaney are in the middle of an intense stare-down. Looks like both of them are standing firm on different sides of an argument. I withhold my chuckle because married life will be different for him. He just can’t kill his wife. I mean, he could, but he’d be the number one suspect. I know. I spent many nights thinking my life would be easier if I just rolled over and choked Helena to death while she slept.

Speaking of my ex-wife. Our run-in had faded to the back of my mind like all things Helena the weeks after the incident, but I knew Andrea would see to whatever threat he made.

“Hello, you two.” My greeting breaks the stare and pulls both of their attention back to me.

---