you,” he chastises lightly, trying to not sound as disappointed as he must feel.
“I went and saw Loren.”
Francis’s face sobers, almost like he knew this would eventually happen. In retrospect, it’s his fault since he’s the one who mentioned her and told me the entire story. Good lord, the story Toby, Lo, and her husband Jase had, it’s pretty insane.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” he remarks, pinching the bridge of his nose. His shoulders sag a bit, and I’m almost regretful that I betrayed his confidence this way. He asked me to promise him I wouldn’t reach out if he told me their story.
I lied.
I broke it.
I regret nothing.
Well, not nothing. I regret hurting him.
“I had to. After everything we experienced, I needed to know what made her special. Why did he stick around, love her, care for her, yet abandon me?! What makes her so fucking special!” I hiss, tears pooling once again. I despised how weak love has made me. Hated the fact that Wesley could not have ever hurt me this badly while Toby did so on the daily.
“She’s off-limits, Josephine,” he growls, showing me just how pissed he is with his eyes. The way he grimaces and bows his head is almost worse than betraying myself by doing it.
“She has a baby, Francis.”
“Yes, and it’s none of your fucking business.”
He’s right. Except for the most important part. It’s half of my husband. And after the expression on his face, I know he’s not unaware of that tidbit.
“It is. Biologically, yes, that child is Toby’s.”
He scrunches his face and turns. Pacing back and forth, he fists his palms with heated anger. After several back and forth strides, he raises and connects a fist with the wall, making a loud fucking sound. All of ten seconds pass before Toby bounds back in here. Fury and worry strain across his face, reminding me of the husband I’ve lost. He’s still there. Hidden, but there.
“What the fuck?!” His words come out as an accusation, looking over me and then glaring at Francis. “Did you—”
“No!” I hurry and reassure him. “Just got some bad news.”
He looks over me as if he doesn’t believe me. Of course, he doesn’t. Why would he? I constantly lie to him. He grips Francis by the arm. “Nothing makes you this angry. Not unless it involves Gray.”
When Francis refuses to look at Toby, I make sure to peer elsewhere. My lying skills, in spite of Toby, are great. My capabilities when it’s something like this? Below average.
He sidesteps his best friend, and for the first time in nearly a year, he touches my chin. “Tell me, Sous,” he practically spits with the calmest tone known to man, using a pet name that makes my thighs clench automatically. “What is it that he’s furious about? We both know it isn’t your best friend, or you’d be more upset.”
I attempt to shake from his grip and piercing eyes, but he holds me steady. He even leans in closer. Too close. Way too fucking close. I can smell him. That intoxicating scent that brought me peace and salvation once upon a time. It’s so spicy and male and Toby. It’s him, and I couldn’t imagine a more potent scent.
“H-He,” I try, looking at Francis behind him.
“Don’t look at him,” Toby criticizes, gripping my chin harder. My lips part with the sensation of him touching me. “What did I tell you? Your eyes belong here.” In his eyes, a familiar heat simmers. It’s something I thought died long ago, withering away just like our love, but here it is, festering in those hazel eyes that have scolded me more times than my own father’s.
“L-Loren,” I stutter, knowing as soon as her name leaves my lips, it’d be the end of this skin-to-skin connection that feels like home when it should be anything but. No matter how much he has hurt me, he’s still my comfort. My love for him runs scarily deep. No matter how riddled with diseases and decay, it’s filled to the brim for this man, and I can’t seem to let go.
His hand falls from me, his eyes almost appearing haunted.
“So you went there with malcontent?” he grits, his jaw once again hard. “Did you hurt her?”
I stare aghast at the accusation. Hurt her? Was he fucking joking? She hurt me. Not with just the information of biology, but with her power over my husband. How could he think I’d incite pain on that woman and her