Page 182 of Toxic Salvation
“And you’re being a misogynistic asshole!”
He stands there unfazed, dripping sexy confidence and masculine appeal. Which infuriates me further because, despite how mad I am at him right now, it doesn’t stop me from wanting to jump his bones.
“This wasn’t some big scheme to get you to quit your job,” he explains. “I happened to speak to Richard prior to your meeting and it came up.”
“What exactly ‘came up’?”
“Parenthood. The situation with Ihor. I figured that, with everything going on, you’d appreciate a little extra time at home with the boys.”
“There it is again,” I spit in disgust. “I resent the insinuation that if I don’t want to stay at home with the kids all the time, that makes me a bad mother. A bad woman.”
He holds up his hands. “No one said that.”
“Youare saying that! Not directly. But I can read subtext. I’ve been doing it all my life. Has anyone told you to stop working so you can spend more time with the boys?”
“No—”
“No!” I explode. “Because it’s not something that men have to deal with. This is the kind of patriarchal bullshit that women have to face all the time.”
Kovan steps forward and grabs me by the shoulders, his eyes boring into mine. “Vesper, I love that you’re a doctor. I want you to continue to be a doctor for as long as you want to be. But the boys are only going to be young once. Do you really want to miss this period of their lives?”
I shake him off. “You’re being passive-aggressive and I don’t appreciate it.”
“How am I being passive-aggressive?”
“By not leveling with me. By not being honest with me. By trying to make me think that this is selflessly motivated when it’s anything but.”
“I only want?—”
“You want me to stay cooped up in my gilded cage until you catch Ihor,” I interrupt. “Isn’t that right?”
He runs his hand through his hair. I don’t let his obvious exhaustion get to me.
“There might be some truth to that.”
I bite my lip, trying to stay calm. “I know you’re frustrated. Every day that goes by that you don’t catch Ihor stresses you out—I get that. But you can’t expect me to stop living my life because of it. You promised me that you wouldn’t make me your prisoner.”
“You’re not a prisoner, Vesper. This is just temporary… until I catch Ihor.”
“And if you never catch Ihor?”
His expression darkens dangerously. “That’s not an option.”
“Neither is staying at home full time for me,” I insist. “I love being a mother and I love my boys. But I’m a doctor and I’ve worked hard to build my career. I’m not going to throw it all away now just to placate you. I’m sorry, but that’s not who you married. I won’t let you make me feel guilty for wanting more for myself than to just be a wife and mother.”
I turn on my heel and storm toward the door. When I turn back to look at him, Kovan’s eyes have gone dark and stormy.
Damn him. He does pissed off so much better than I do.
Still, I do my best to meet his anger with my own.
“My maternity leave ends in two months. At the end of those two months, I’m going back to work. Whether you like it or not.”
62
KOVAN
I had two months.
