Page 25 of Escaping the King
He took considerably less time to look through the tiny kitchen.He stopped and bent down under the sink.“Fucking hell.”Then he stood and turned to us.“The cooler's gone.And there's not one sippy cup in the fridge.Giselle always keeps at least one full one in there for Dani.”
Damn.
He was right.
I hadn't even looked in the fridge.
“What would she need the cooler for?The only time they use that is for picnics or when they pack up meals for an excursion.”Right after Eve said that, her shoulders slumped.
And so did mine.
“She's left me.”My voice sounded raspy and desperate to my own ears.I didn't recognize that sound.
“We don't know that,” Nick said with a pat on my shoulder.“We've got eyes and ears all over the place.If she and Dani have taken a small trip—” he leveled his gaze at me, “then we'll find out where they are soon enough.”
Stefan turned around and slammed his hand against one of the cupboards.“Fuck, fuck, fuck!”he yelled so loudly it made my eardrums vibrate.Eve rushed to him and wrapped her arms around him.They hugged and shared a quiet conversation that I couldn't hear.
“Did you guys fight?”Nick asked, and he was lucky I had the amount of respect I did for him.Otherwise, my fist would be in his face right now.
I tilted my head.“Fucked her for nearly two hours last night.Didn't seem like she hated me all that much.Especially after all the orgasms I gave her.”
Nick's mouth shut tight, and he nodded.“Any reason you can think of as to why she'd take off?This doesn't seem like her.”
I shook my head and started pacing the small room.Was there any reason for Giselle to pack up Dani and run off in the middle of the night?
“Christ, she was all over me last night.I mean, we did—all kinds of things.And she enjoyed herself just as much as I did.After that, I crashed.Could hardly keep my eyes open.”
He nodded and appeared to think about that for a minute.Stefan and Eve still held each other in the kitchen—both of them visibly upset.
“Could have been a goodbye?”
His words and the way he said them turned the blood in my veins to ice.
A goodbye.
Was Giselle saying goodbye to me last night?
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.I didn't know what to say.And if Giselle had left me—why?Why would she want to go?
I put my ring on her finger.A ring she hadn't taken off since the day I slipped it on.
She and I were actively trying for a family.We hadn't used any kind of birth control.Not once had she asked me to use a condom or asked to go back on birth control.
Every time I came inside of her—the look of bliss on her face was—well, she couldn't fake that look.
“Why would she leave?We were getting married and trying to have a baby.This doesn't make sense.”
Eve let go of Stefan but stayed glued to his side.“Yesterday was an emotional day.Maybe she got—confused?Or felt guilty for breaking up a family?”
I frowned at her and said, “Stefan sticking his dick in the nanny had nothing to do with her.And everything to do with how fucking stupid my brother is.”
Stefan's face instantly grew angry, and he started walking toward us in the living room.“Shut the fuck up,” he shot at me.I wasn't scared of him.
I mean, did he honestly think he could intimidate me?
“This is your fault.”I stepped around Nick and headed to meet him beside the chair.This wasn't the ideal place to fight, but if he insisted on it, I was game.
He sneered at me.“Are you kidding me?I was trying to talk this over with her.What did you do to scare her away last night?”
