He’s a couple inches shorter than Liam, and thinner than him. His orange and basil cologne is a bitter, unwelcome contrast to Liam’s woodsy vanilla scent.
Stefan grabs my hips to balance me and I push off his chest.
“Stop.” He doesn’t let go of me until I resort to slapping his hands away. “Don’t touch me. What are you doing here?”
His face is darker than anything I’ve seen on him before. The social mask he wears like a crown is slipping. “I need to speak with you,” he growls in frustration. “You’ve been avoiding me for months.”
“No, Stefan.” I stomp my foot like a petulant child, and he catches the movement. I don’t care anymore; for the second time, I’m at my breaking point with him. “For years!I have been avoiding you for years. But you must not have gotten the memo when I divorced you.”
“You’re acting like a child, Calypso,” he scolds. His face twists in anger. “If you’d just listen to me—”
“I don’t want to listen to you.” I move to step around him but he stops me with a hand to my waist again. Flinching away, I sneer, “You have a new fiancée to boss around.”
Guilt bubbles in my gut for throwing Ruby under the bus but right now, I need to get away from him.
“That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to tell you,dammit.” He reaches for me again and I step backward, out of reach.
“Fine,” I concede. “Fucking fine, Stefan. Go ahead and tell me what poor Ruby has to do with this.”
He rolls his eyes. “Nothing. She has nothing to do with us other than the fact that my mom wants me to get married and choseher.”
He mentioned something along those lines when he stopped by my house. I tightly shake my head, still not understanding what this has to do withme.
Stefan huffs out a breath and rubs a hand through his hair, tousling it in a very un-Stefan like way. “I wasn’t looking for a new wife because I already have one.”
“No, you don—”
“Shut the fuck up, Calypso.” I do—from shock, not his demand. “For once in your life, shut up and listen to your husband.” Stunned, and suddenly anxious, I cautiously wait for him to continue. “Thank you.Anyway, you’ll finish this tantrum eventually, and I’ll be there to pick up the pieces. Just like I always have. But Martha is a stubborn woman—sometimes she’s smart, though.”
Maybe there has been some friction between them over the last few years. If it’s because of me? Even better.
“Ruby is one of her friend’s daughters and desperately wanted a husband.” I take everything he’s saying with a grain of salt but maybe that’s true. Still, no one deserves this family-in-law. “I fought with my mother for a while, assuring her you’d eventually come crawling back. But then it hit me. Ruby is exactly what we need to make our relationship work.”
Swallowing down bile, I close my eyes. “What does that even mean?”
Frustration reeks off him like BO. “Ruby can be everything I publicly need from a wife. Committed to me and my career, a mother, and anything else I need. There’s no pressure on you. That’s what you always hated.”
I let out a bitter laugh, suddenly unsure if I’m having a nightmare or not. What else could explain Stefan’s delusion and obsession? He’s only gotten more possessive of me the longer time has gone by, making himself believe this is just another normal argument between us.
“No, I hateyou!” I shake my head in disbelief, and a little bit of fear. “I hate your mother, and the house we owned, and everything about the life we shared. I willneverget back together with you.” I can barely hear myself over the pounding in my ears.
He steps closer until my back hits the wall. “Of course you will. I do so goddamn much for you, despite how ungrateful you are.” He points a finger at my face. “The poor, lonely little girl who just wanted to be loved,” he mocks. “Then she’s too much of a spoiledbitchto accept it.”
I slap his hand away, barely flinching at his words. It’s far from the first time he’s spat something similar to me. “Fuck you. Why do you even want me, then? If I’m such abitchand aslut, why do you keep coming back?”
“Because I love you.” His red, swollen head looks like it’s about to burst, and spit flies out as he berates me. “I love you, Calypso. I’m the only man who ever will.”
Pausing, I stare at Stefan. The sad thing is, I really believe thathebelieves that. In Stefan’s fucked up way, he sees all of this as love. The indifference he holds toward Ruby is a stark contrast to anything I’ve experienced from him. I can’t confidently say it’s “better” but I don’t believe it’s a competition either.
“You areinsane. I mean, I am genuinely concerned for your well-being.” I push at his chest, trying to move around him.
It all happens in an instant.
Stefan grabs my wrists and pushes me back against the wall before crashing his lips against mine.
Then I’m throwing him off of me and my hand is connecting with his cheek. The loud slap is still ringing through the air when Stefan returns the gesture, twice as hard.
Standing across from each other, we’re both speechless. I’ve slapped Stefan plenty of times. I admit that honestly, not proudly, but it’s true.Thisis a first.
