Page 109 of I Replaced His Husband
Kay leaned his head on the headrest of the couch, letting out a deep breath.
"Shocked. It still hasn’t sunk in, Adam. I’m working on it. I mean, it’s not something you hear every day, and it hit me with this kind of weight that flips your whole life upside down. A lot of things suddenly feel like they don’t matter anymore, and that’s kind of sad… But I’ll come around."
As he spoke, I could tell that part of what he was saying came from a place of reason. It was something he had decided to do consciously, even if emotionally he wasn’t quite there yet.
Slowly, Kay turned to look at me. There was a trace of sadness in his eyes.
"I try to see it like this: If Rain and I had met while Maurice was still alive, I would’ve chosen Rain. I would’ve left Maurice for him. Isn’t that what Fate does? You just can’t fight it."
The way he said it… almost bitterly. He paused for a beat, glancing at us as if waiting for a reaction, but neither of us said a word.
Kay hesitated. "And… maybe Maurice would still be alive today. His life could’ve taken a different path. He never would’ve been driving along those cliffs."
Another prolonged silence followed.
Looking at Kay, I was once more hit with the realization of how far Kay was from finishing his grieving. The True Mate Bond couldn’t just fix that. It was almost exactly as Dr. Darren said: A natural response.
And now… I had to work incredibly hard to be okay with it, no matter how much it fucking hurt, no matter how it was tearing me apart inside.
The focal point of my work:accepting.
In a way… I wanted him to mourn without feeling guilty, because it mattered to me that he wasn’t the kind of person who just forgot someone he loved. His feelings ran deep, and I could relate.
Kay wasn’t casual about relationships, he invested his whole heart. I was the same type of person.
But no matter how logically I tried to present it to my own heart, it was still…hurting. Like hell.
Marco was still by the window, looking out into the dark.
"Yeah. We all need some time to let this sink in… to process it. It won’t be easy."
Seriously, I didn’t even know why, but it really got under my skin, probably because I was just exhausted and had enough of the day. Hearing, over and over, how everything had to be processed because of that ‘difficult’situation—finding your True Mate—was… killing me. I just wanted to be happy, for fuck’s sake! To enjoy it! But the energy surrounding the three brothers kept pulling me into this dark pit, like something terrible had happened.
But since I’d promised myself not to burden Kay with my emotions, to be his rock, I forced a stiff smile.
"Sorry, guys, I’m tired. The adrenaline wore off. I’ll go lie down, just need to call my parents first. We’ll talk later," I said,making a gargantuan effort to sound light and natural despite the awful twist in my gut.
There was that one brief moment, just as I was opening the terrace door, when I caught Kay’s gaze, strangely intense, piercing, as if he were trying to look straight into my soul, to read my emotional state. I knew he could feel it, that he must have sensed it through our Bond, my pain and sense of rejection. But I slipped outside quickly before he could say a word.
In silence, I crossed the terrace and headed down toward the lake, wanting a moment of privacy before making the call.
Dad picked up almost immediately.
"Hey, son. Everything okay? I’ve had this weird nervous energy all day, like something was about to happen. Thought maybe it had to do with you."
"You could say that. I’ve got test results proving beyond doubt that Kay and I are True Mates."
There was silence for a second, then I heard a squeal of pure joy, like a teenager, not a man in his sixties.
Wow, at least he gave me that! A joyful reaction. Some sense of normalcy, that I hadn’t gone crazy, that I shouldn’t feel so damn guilty for ‘replacing’ someone’s husband.
I could hear the tears in his voice, tears of joy and excitement as he congratulated me. No one understood what this would mean for us better than he did.
"I wish Kay and his brothers would take it the way you did," I whispered, fighting the lump in my throat.
Dad let out a low, gentle hum, a small piece of soothing purr.
"Oh, Rain, my beautiful boy. You’re not responsible for how others react, and don’t give them power over you. Be patient, focus on the positives, and… I bet you didn’t think about one thing!"
