AllFreeNovel
Share Us
William looked up at her suddenly, as though he sensed something was wrong. He searched her face as the shade of his piercing blue eyes burned into her memory. As long as she lived, she would never forget that moment, the way that he looked at her.
“I hear you’re going home tomorrow. What am I going to do when I can’t just sneak down the hall and see your face? I was thinking about all of the ways I would miss you, and I was wondering . . . I was thinking that maybe you should come home with me. That way I can kiss you whenever I want to. I could get a place where you could rest, where the boys could run and play, where I could protect you. We could be happy, Addison.”
Addie took a deep breath, her eyes never leaving his. “I love you, William. I need you to know that. Tell me that you know that.”
William grinned, flashing the smile she adored so much. “I know that.”
She wrapped his hair around her little finger. “I can’t . . . We can’t be together right now. I need you to trust me on this.”
“Why not?”
Addie exhaled. “I need to focus on my marriage right now. Let’s just leave it at that.”
William stood, yanking his head from her grasp. “Are you fucking kidding me? He doesn't give a shit about you, Addison.”
“No, I’m not kidding you.”
“I let you go once. I don’t intend on doing it again.”
Addie sat up, trying to close the distance she was creating. “I just need some time, ok, William? That’s all.”
William paused, rubbing his chin. Addie knew this was what he did when he was thinking, questioning himself. “He’s having an affair, Addison.”
“I know.”
William turned on his heel and glared at her, confused. “What do you mean, you know. Goddamn, Addison, I never had you pegged as one who would put up with that shit.”
“Just what I said—I know. I received an anonymous envelope weeks ago. I guess I should be asking you why you knew and kept it from me.”
Carl. It had to be Carl. William hesitated. “I didn’t want to be the reason you left him. I mean . . . I did, but I wanted to be the right reason. Not the runner up. Guess not much has changed.”
She considered telling him the truth, that Patrick was blackmailing her, threating to take the kids, but changed directions instead, knowing that if William knew the truth he’d put up a fight. “Once Scott Hammons’ case goes to trial, everything is going to come out. I’m going to be painted as a philandering whore, every mistake I’ve ever made exposed for the entire world to see. I can’t let this destroy my family, William. If I leave now, our lives will be irrevocably altered. I need to ride this out. I need time, William.”
“Fuck time. What’s going to come out will come out. Which reminds me . . . You and I have a lot to discuss. But I’ve hired the best legal team money can buy. They know what they’re dealing with, and they’re perfectly capable of handling this. This is bullshit, Addison, and you and I both know it.”
Addie tried a different method. “They’re freeing Scott on bond, William. If you and I are together, who knows what . . .”
William sighed, sitting on the edge of her bed. “How much time are you asking for, Addison?”
“Just until the trial’s over.”
“And what then?”
“Then I’ll leave.”
William curled up in the bed next to Addie and kissed her face. “But that could be months.”
“I just need you to trust me on this. Please. It’s not that long. If you love me, William, you either wait or let me go. It’s your choice, but I want you to at least consider my point of view. I have children to think about. I have to protect them, William. They are, and always will be, my number one priority. If we’re going to be together, you have to understand that and be willing to accept it.”
“Ok. What is it you’re asking exactly?”
“I’m asking that we cease contact until the trial is complete. In light of all that is about to come out about us and about Seven and my role there, it’s just too risky.”
William intertwined his fingers with hers. “I’m just not sure I can do it.”
“You have to, William. Please? Do it for me. Do it for us.”
Addie and William said their tearful goodbyes early the next morning, standing in her hospital room, each of them promising the other that they’d be together again once the trial was over and Scott Hammons had been convicted of kidnapping and attempted murder. No matter what happened in between.
