Page 106 of Adoration: Isn't What It Seems (Love Isn't What It Seems 2)

I placed my hand on his and smiled tiredly. “Callen, honestly, it is water under the bridge.”

“Really?” his voice was hopeful and I just couldn’t shake off the feeling there was something else going on here.

“Yes, really,” I told him. “Things between us ended up exactly the way they should.”

I thought back to Lena’s words that Callen wasn’t the one for me and I couldn’t help but smile. My sweet, smart sister.

“Now what is this about me taking your publishing -” A voice cut my words.

“Isn’t this a romantic sight?” My head whipped in the direction of Alexander’s voice. I looked at him, startled, unsure where he came from. His gaze shifted from me to the table where my hand laid on top of Callen’s and I quickly pulled it off, but it was too late. Damage was already done.

This day was getting from bad to worse by each second.When it rains, it pours!

Chapter Forty-Four

Alexander

Finally, alone I leaned back into my chair, slightly loosening my tie. I had been working late, letting Liberty cool off since the court date. Nobody had ever been able to set my temper off… till Liberty Rain Caldwell. Just thinking about her leaving me ignited anger in me. I hated how she put an expiration date on our marriage, how she expected it to end any minute while each day I spent with her and Brandon, I felt happier than I'd ever been.

She and Brandon were all I wanted; it would be all I ever wanted for as long as I lived.

My wife had been on my mind all day, making it hard to focus. From the day my eyes landed on Liberty, I had been lost. I was a fool to think I’d get a handle on it. I finally understood my father's utter obsession with her mother. Talk about irony in life. I swore I’d never let someone be my obsession the way Lily Cambridge, or should I say Lily Smith, was to my father’s and here I was. Her mother was my father’s obsession and ruin, and I feared I would be ruined if Liberty left me.

I would be a fool to think I was doing better than my father now. I was too far gone for my wife and too deeply enveloped in my wife, craving her every second of the day. I needed her. Each and every second of the day. Last night, she scared the living shit out of me, screaming and crying in her sleep. I wished she’d tell me everything-- what made her sad, what made her laugh, what she loved. I wanted to give it all to her. Anything she wanted. Hell, if she asked for my life, it was hers. If she asked for my entire family’s fortune, I’d lay it at her feet and I’d rob my grandfather and brother to give her more.

My wife would be my doom if she refused to give us a chance. We had something real here.

My cell phone rang, stopping all my thoughts. Glancing at it, I noted it was my brother. He just left so he shouldn’t be calling.

“What’s wrong?” I answered my brother.

“Have you heard from Livy?” Maxim’s question made my heart feel like lead. “She hadn’t come back from lunch. And she is not home. Brandon’s day care hasn’t heard from her, either.”

“What?” I bellowed, already on my way out the door.

“Calm down, Alexander,” Maxim tried to talk me down.

“I am fucking calm,” I barked. “Call me if you hear anything. I’ll call my contact.”

I clicked the end button and called the resource I used whenever I wanted to locate a person or dig up dirt on my opponents.

Twenty minutes later, I had the exact location of my wife. My driver sped across the town and with each second that ticked by, my anger boiled. She was with fucking Callen. My contact got a list of her call records over the last twenty four hours. She got a call from that fucking bastard and she dropped everything, running to him. My fists curled into tight balls and I wanted to punch something, preferably fucking Callen McLeod.

Before the car was in the full stop, in front of Wilder, I was already out of the vehicle. I had enough background checks done on my wife to know this used to be Callen and Liberty’s hangout place when he visited her in London. I wanted to buy the building and burn it to the ground. Jealousy was burning through me, consuming me like fire.

I spotted them immediately, and blood thundered in my brain, making me see nothing but rage and jealousy.

Liberty smiled at Callen gently, her hand over his, her lush mouth moving softly. I wanted her to look at me like that. I wanted to wipe Callen off the face of this earth. I wanted her adoration, I wanted to be her obsession, her heartbeat, her air… Fuck, I wanted to be her everything.

“Isn’t this a romantic sight?” I spat out.

Startled, her head whipped at me and our eyes met. Those eyes that could glimmer and shine while I made her come. My eyes shifted to her hand over Callen’s and I knew I’d kill him. She quickly pulled her hand off of his. Unless I dragged my wife out of here, I would kill Callen with my bare hands so my wife wouldn’t have a choice but only to look at me. I wanted to kill any man that dared to even look at her.

“Let’s go, wife,” I dragged her up, my sanity hanging by a thread. “Otherwise, I’ll make a scene neither you, your Callen, or his wife will ever forget.”

“Hold on, just a minute.”

And I snapped. I didn’t think twice, I’d been itching to do this since the moment I’ve met Callen at the funeral. I punched Callen, my fist connecting with his face hard, knocking him down onto the floor. Shocked gasps sounded off, but I didn’t give a fuck.

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