Page 50 of Grand Love

Fuck him.

Fuck him.

I swing open the door.

“Hi.” His eyes eat me up, just like they always do.

“Hi,” I reply.

So many feelings suffocate me as I lean in and take Ellis from his arms. Has he been with her today? Does he have Ellis around her?

“He napped around four, sorry. I think it’s his teeth.” He runs his hand through his hair, messing it up. He looks tired.

I drop my eyes to Ellis, not being able to answer him.

“Hey.” He places a hand on my arm, and I recoil. “What’s the matter?”

So much sits on the tip of my tongue. So many words I want to unleash on him. The damage is already done, though. There’s no going back. There was never any going back. For once my head and heart are in agreement.

I can’t seem to pull my eyes from Ellis. He’s the only safe territory here.

“Everything’s fine, Mason. We’ll see you on Thursday.”

He crosses his arms in front of his broad chest. “Something’s wrong, what is it?” he asks, his tone demanding.

“Do you think you deserve to know what’s the matter with me?” I snap.

He frowns, then drops his arms to his side with a thwack. “You know what, right now, I don’t care. I came to drop my son off, which by the way was what you suggested, but if that isn’t working, we can come up with a new arrangement. Your hostility is getting old.”

“What?!”

“I don’t care,” he repeats, hammering the knife even deeper into my chest. “I’ll see you in the week.”

His lips brush Ellis’s head, and then he leaves.

* * *

Rochelle calledthis morning and asked me to work an extra shift, which is why I’m currently stripping beds. I should ask if there are any jobs going in housekeeping. I much prefer it up here.

I didn’t want to leave Ellis this morning, but I knew I needed the distraction and Maggie has been desperate to have him. She was over the moon when I called.

Lucy came over last night and helped me find the bottom of the wine bottle while I bitched and moaned about Mason. She agreed with me that if Mason thinks he can have that woman around my son, he is deranged. I wonder if he plans on speaking to me about it first. The fact he uses somewhere to screw her proves the fact he wanted to hide her.

Pushing my trolley into the lift, I hit the button for the ground floor.

I already knew that Mason could hurt me easily. I’m used to it. The asshole sold my little studio, once upon a time. But what I didn’t expect or anticipate was Vinny. I never thought he’d hurt me, not intentionally. The last time he thought he would, he left. So why is he telling me he doesn’t believe anything happened when he knows full well what’s going on?

The doors slide open to the reception area, and lo and behold, Mason stands at the front desk, his hands in his pockets as he waits.

I watch as he turns and walks down the corridor and into a back room. My adrenaline starts pumping until it’s all I can hear.

All I can think about.

I see red.

The steel doors begin to close, and I shoot my hand out to stop them. Does Mason come here when I’m not working?

He comes here on my days off.

That bastard.

I leave my trolley in the lift and follow him, feeling completely unhinged as I push through the door, slamming it back against the plaster.

“What the fuck is going on?!” I rage, ready to unleash the pent-up anger I’ve kept at bay for the best part of a year.

---