Page 47 of Levi
“It’s true,” he defends.“When he came to the hospital, after I woke up, he told me how I wasn’t fit to be in the same room as you.That I’d never equal up to the man you deserved.I knew he was right but I at least wanted to try, the thought of not being with you wasn’t an option for me.Adam told me that one day you’d wake up and leave my pathetic ass for a real man who didn’t have such fucked-up issues.That if I couldn’t even take care of my biological parents, then how could I handle someone as precious as you.”His voice cracks at the end, and my heart clutches.
I’m speechless.Why would dad say that to Levi?Dad had been out of touch for almost a year when I met Levi.When I tried to phone him, he never answered any of my messages or sent any correspondence to me.I’ve grown used to it over the years but I have my grandparents, Everly and her dad as a support system.
“I thought when the threat came in that I was man enough to handle your care and safety, and thought my plan was the best.I wanted you out of the spotlight for a while to secure the threat, then I’d be able to show you that I truly was the man you deserved and could count on.I handled major court cases with people’s lives on the line.You’d think I could keep my wife and child safe.”He looks as though his heart is breaking in two, right in front of me.
“Levi—” I say, but can’t finish.I need some distance to think everything over.I can’t be in this room any longer with this man.I need to process all these details that have been thrown at me.
A thought crosses my mind.“Why the divorce then?If this was just an elaborate plan to lure out the culprit, then why did your father come to the jail and serve me divorce papers, demanding I sign them?”
A flash of anger crosses his face and his eyes narrow at my questions.
“Saylor I never told him to do any of that.I was just as shocked to learn about it when I woke up three months later.I never told him that I wanted a divorce from you.He did that all on his own without my permission.Daniel and I have not spoken since; I told him he was dead to me at the hospital after what he did.There was no coming back from him knowing you were pregnant and didn’t help you.As far as I’m concerned, I hope to never see or hear from him ever again.Everyone feels the same and has little to do with him.After a while, Mom couldn’t be under the same roof and separated from him.He’s lucky I didn’t run him out of the state and ruin his career.”
“So, you didn’t want to divorce me?”I sound pathetic asking, but I want to hear the words.
“Never,” he breathes out.“Saylor, we aren’t divorced.You are still very much my wife.”
“What?But I saw the papers and was told they were filed.Brody said—”
“Dean and William found out and put a stop to them immediately, then had the documents sealed.They never made it past that point, and I had the courts erase every bit of evidence of those documents from their mainframe when I woke up.”
Now this is too much.
“We’re still married?”I screech.
“Yes baby, we are.You are still very much my wife and I’m still very much your husband.”He closes the distances between us and places a hand on my hip as I chew on my thumbnail, thinking about what he just said.
My head was already about to explode before this, and now I can’t even begin to comprehend this new information.
“But me and Brody have—” I stop before I say we’ve been together intimately for the last month.This is a straight up nightmare for all parties involved.
“It’s okay, Saylor.I realize that you thought we weren’t together.Dr.Blake has helped me tremendously about the realization of that.I don’t blame you for trying to move on when you thought I did.”Why is he so calm about this?The Levi I knew before would level this room if another man even looked at me with lust.I’m so confused about all this.He helps me sit down in the chair that is located next to my wobbly legs and bends down on the floor again.
A thought crosses my mind and I want to bang my head against the wall.I’ve slept with someone when I was still married.Neither Levi nor I were virgins when we met, but when I made those vows at the courthouse with him, I meant it.A sickening feeling boils in my stomach, making me want to vomit.
I stand quickly without saying a word, grab my purse and make a bee line for the door.I hadn’t even noticed that Mitch and Dean left the room.As my hand touches the knob to open the door, Levi’s hand comes up from behind me and presses against the door to keep it closed.
“Please stay, baby.Don’t walk out that door,” he pleads, and I feel his chest at my back, making my legs wobble.My body comes alive when he’s near and I almost give in.But I can’t stay, not when I’ve had so much thrown at me.This isn’t what I was expecting to hear when I came here.I thought he’d moved on and that he truly didn’t want me in his life anymore.
“Maybe you should’ve thought about the consequences before you set all this in motion.”I shove his hand off the door, ignoring the zing from our touch, and rush out and down the hall towards the stairs.I can hear him pleading with me in the distance, but my legs don’t stop even though my heart wants me to turn around and run back into his waiting arms that will never let me go.
When I make it out of the hotel and into fresh air, I feel dizzy.How did this get so messed up?One decision changed the course of everyone’s life and shattered my world.Can I fault him for wanting to protect me and Halo?Is it fair to hate him for what Daniel did at the police station, making me think this is what Levi wanted?
Alcohol.I need alcohol, and a lot of it.I make my way past my truck and towards the bar across the street.I can’t go home right now, Brody has got a lot of explaining to do.Would Levi and I be back together if Brody had told me his uncle died?What else could Brody be keeping from me?Why didn’t he tell me that Mr.Buttons was his family?When did he go back to LA?Was it one of his trips for ‘business’?
I hear a female’s voice screaming my name right before I enter into the bar.
“Saylor!”
I turn to see who it could be and am engulfed into a warm hug.Dark hair covers my face and the tightness around me is almost suffocating.
“I thought I’d never see you again,” the smell of vanilla wafts in my nose and my muscles release all the tension from the last few hours.I hear a sob and my body shudders against hers.
“Oh Everly!”I cry against her neck.
We hold each other under the awning as we cry our sorrows out.Finally she pulls back at arm’s length.
“I’m getting you microchipped,” she tells me, then pats my shoulders and cups her hands against my cheeks.“I’ve missed you so much.Where is the baby?What is her name?Have you been here this whole time?”
