Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 105301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 527(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 527(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
“If you take those kids away from me, Guinevere, I will never forgive you.”
“And if you choose her over us, I’ll never forgive you either.” I respond honestly, hurt by his words so badly that tears spill down my cheeks as I speak mine. “But then again, after your deceptions I’m not sure I could forgive you anyway.”
“You’re being unfair,” he says, gripping my arms to stop me from turning away. “You’re being entirely unreasonable.”
“If that’s true then the courts will see that too, won’t they?”
“I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Me neither,” Patricia snaps, her hands on her hips.
“Just go!” Nathan yells at her and then closes the door in her surprised face. “Gwen, let’s calm down. This has all been entirely blown out of proportion.”
“So you keep saying.” I move away from him, checking on the kids again. Dillan spots me and smiles before throwing a plastic tube that rattles at me. Smiling, I wrinkle my nose up at him and then return my attention to Nathan. “I need you to leave.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“You don’t have a choice.” Hands come to touch me but I step backwards. “Leave.”
“Why? I’m sorry, but you have to understand it from my point of view. I know how much you hate her.”
“With good reason!” I cry. “My God… I don’t even know who you are anymore.”
“I could say the same.”
“You don’t trust me with something so important that you lie to my face to conceal it.” I prod his chest. He snatches my hand the second I do and holds it tightly to him. “Let go.”
“Listen…”
“No. I’m done listening.”
“You haven’t started yet.”
“You’re right.” Yanking free from him, I walk to the door and fumble with the key to unlock it for ten seconds before I realise it’s already unlocked. “The time for listening was months ago, before you started sneaking around.”
“To see my mother, not to have an affair.”
“And after all she has done, I’m not entirely sure what’s worse.”
I yank the door open but his hand comes over my shoulder and presses it shut again. “We’ve hardly seen each other; I didn’t know how you’d receive it all.”
“If you want to have a relationship with that bitch then by all means, go ahead, but how dare you bring my kids into it.”
“Stop calling them your kids; they’re our kids and I’d never do anything to hurt them.”
I shake my head. “Once upon a time I’d have believed that.”
He spins me around and presses me back against the door, violently enough to shock me but not hurt me. “You question my parenting?”
“I question your sanity and I also question your love and respect.”
“My love and respect?” His eyes twinkle with anger. “I break my back to make you happy!”
“Wow,” I breathe, hardly able to believe my own ears. “You break your back to make me happy? You say that as though I’ve asked for it or as though it’s a bad thing you’re forced to do?”
“Now you’re just picking a fight.”
“I just want you to leave.”
“Do you really?”
“Yes.”
“Prove it.”
“Is this suddenly a game to you?” I snap. “What part of ‘I don’t trust you anymore’ is so hard to grasp?”
“I’ll regain your trust.”
“I don’t want you to!” I yell, this time shoving his chest so he steps backwards out of my space.
His handsome face falls blank and his chin raises defiantly. “You don’t want me?”
“I don’t know you.”
“You don’t want me?” He repeats harshly. “You don’t trust me?”
“No.”
His hand snags the collar of his jacket and yanks it down, revealing the scar that he received two blissful years ago. “You don’t trust this?”
“I can’t believe you’re holding this against me.”
Ignoring my words he spits, “If you truly don’t trust me, return the ring.”
My heart falters painfully and for a moment I worry it has stopped. The finality of what he’s asking hurts but my hand immediately reaches for my ring finger and begins to twist and tug the smooth piece of jewellery over my knuckles.
His breathing stops and watery eyes come to mine. “That was too easy.” He yanks the ring from my hand and throws it onto the ground behind him. “Too easy. You didn’t want this, did you?”
I move to the right but he grips my forearms and pushes them up to my chest, pinning me against the wall.
“You didn’t want any of this. That’s why you put off marrying me. You were going to leave me; I remember. I’ve always had my doubts. We never came to a conclusion on any of it before the fire. You got pregnant.”
I try to tug free as his hands hold tighter to my wrists, causing a burning discomfort to stretch my skin. “Let go of me.”
He doesn’t; he continues his ridiculous heart wrenching ramblings. “We almost died. That’s the only reason you stayed with me, isn’t it? That and because of Emily? Did I force your hand? Did you feel guilty that we almost died?”