rocks to get to her…heedless of the blood he spilled along the way.
Because there was no reason for him to be here. Not really. He could have had his solicitor draw up the papers, or he could have simply stopped sending the monthly payments he’d allocated in her name. But he’d wanted to see her face when she learned he was the one who had given her everything...and he was the one who could take it all away with a snap of his fingers. He’d wanted her misery. He’d wanted her tears. And yes, he would have liked to see her beg. It was small of him, he knew. But he wanted her to hurt as he’d been hurt. He wanted her to suffer as he’d suffered.
But instead of misery, she’d told him to bugger off.
Instead of tears, she’d swung a bloody fireplace poker at him.
Instead of dropping to her knees, she’d faced him with open defiance.
Was it any wonder he had never stopped loving her?
“What would you recommend?” he asked, sliding the menu across the table. There was no reason, he supposed, not to be civil. Maybe if he treated her just like any other lady in his acquaintance – with cool, polite detachment – she would become just like any other lady in his acquaintance.
One could only hope.
“Something with lots of sugar to improve your bitter disposition.” She pressed a finger to the corner of her mouth while he resisted the urge to growl. “Maybe a slice of lemon cheesecake, or a butter bun?”
“I’ll have a coffee,” he said when a young woman came to collect their order. “Black.”
“Just like his heart,” Helena chirped.
Unamused, he glowered at her.
Unfazed, she smirked at him.
When his coffee arrived, Stephen deliberately took a slow sip. He needed the time to calm and collect his thoughts, for he didn’t want to speak out of anger. A difficult task when Helena seemed to enjoy provoking him at every turn.
“Is this amusing to you?” he said at last, setting his coffee down.
“I suppose that depends.”
“On what?”
“On how much longer you intend to drag this farce out.” She leaned back in her chair and fluttered her hand in the air. “I’ve better things to do with my time than waste precious minutes of it in the company of a man who clearly despises the very air I breathe. I’ve had the night to think about it, and I’ve decided I don’t want any sort of settlement from you. Nothing. So, take your money and toddle along, because if you are expecting me to thank you for your sponsorship, I would not suggest holding your breath.”
“It isn’t that simple,” Stephen gritted.
“Isn’t it?”
“No.”
He held her gaze in a long stare. She really did have the most magnificent eyes he’d ever seen. Even when they were filled with loathing.
“Where will you stay?” he said quietly. “How will you eat?”
“Does it really matter?” she countered.
“No.” He picked up his coffee, then set it down with a loud slap of ceramic on wood. “Dammit it, yes, yes it does.” And he was tired of pretending it didn’t. Tired of pretending he was only here to collect a debt. Tired of pretending the fire that had once burned between them had been extinguished, because it hadn’t.
The flames were still there. He’d felt the heat of them yesterday, and he felt them now. Fury and passion roared within him; a fever he couldn’t purge. A fever he didn’t know if he wanted to purge. He had come here to demand the truth, but maybe it was time to account for a truth of his own.
He still wanted Helena.
Even after everything she’d done, he still wanted her. He would always want her. And he hated himself for it. He despised himself for it. But there was nothing he could do to change it. He’d already tried.
For three-and-a-half years, he’d tried. Time and time again. But all the women he’d attempted to distract himself with had paled in comparison to the red-haired hellion his mind refused to forget. So, he had tracked her down to end things between them once and for all. To severe the last tie that bound them. Only to discover cutting her out of his life would be the same thing as tearing his own heart out of his chest. He could remove her if he really wanted to.
But he’d kill himself in the process.
“Will you marry again?” he asked.
“I fail to see how that is any concern of yours.” Helena