Curtains (6 page)

I saw the humorous light in her eyes die as she glared at me and Rhys as he pulled me out of the bar.

As soon as the cold air hit us, I pulled away from Rhys, furious with the nigh
t
'
s events
.
"
I
'
m a CLICHÉ
!
"
I threw my hands up in the air
.
"
Jilted wife finds out that her husband is gay
!
"

"
Ex-husband
,
"
Rhys added.

"
Seriously, why the hell could
n
'
t he have told me? And she does
n
'
t even know that the joke is on her. He loves Chris. I mean, she has to have figured it out by now, he ca
n
'
t love her
.
"
I racked my brain for answers that were
n
'
t coming. I saw Rhy
s
'
s face harden as he ran his hands through his hair. His next words cut me.

"
Why the fuck do you care who he loves
?
"
he said harshly, his sudden anger with me stopping me from retrieving my keys from my pocket.

I looked back at the bar and then to him, incredulous
.
"
N
o
… no! You do
n
'
t get to pull this shit on me! Are you kidding me right now? I was with that man for years and had no clue
,
"
I snapped, lifting my finger in warning.

"
What shit am I pulling, Violet!? You seem obsessed with the man and what he feels. Why do
n
'
t you go ask him? H
e
'
s right inside that door
!
"
Rhys turned away from me and began walking toward his car.

"
Rhys, wait
,
"
I said, my voice shaking in anger
.
"
What about you, huh
?
"
I was freezing and all the adrenaline shooting through me from the last ten minutes was taking its toll
.
"
What about you and your fucking obsessions? How could you have picked her
?
"
My anger boiled over again and I was helpless to stop it. I walked toward him, refusing to let him leave. When he did
n
'
t answer, I pushed his back in an attempt to get him to turn around as he reached his sedan
.
"
You picked her and she ruined both our lives! How could you ever have been involved with a woman like that? What does that say about you
?
"

Rhys whirled on me then, his eyes filled with hurt
.
"
Who the fuck areyou to judge me
?
"

"
I
'
m not judging you, Rhys. I just find it a little hard to believe that you would mix yourself up with a woman like that for any reason an
d
—
"

"
I
'
m not perfect and I wo
n
'
t pretend to be for you. That in there was a mistake. My mistake and has nothing to do with you
,
"
he shot back, wounding me.

"
I never expected you to be perfect
,
"
I defended weakly
.
"
And apparently we ca
n
'
t separate our past from our future so it has everything to do with me
!
"
I said, my entire body shaking with every emotion imaginable: embarrassment, hurt, shock, and outrage taking the lead.

He leaned against his car, arms crossed, eyes fixed on mine
.
"
What exactly is it that you want from me, Violet?
I
'
m not Alex. I ca
n
'
t make what he did right for you.
I
'
ve already given you the ability to hurt me. What more do you want
?
"

"
I
'
m not trying to hurt you, Rhys
.
"

"
Yo
u
'
re not, but what you are doing is acting like a jealous ex-wife. Yo
u
'
re making a damn fool of yourself and me, something I swore I would
n
'
t let you do again. Yo
u
'
re expecting me to apologize and make excuses for mistakes I have already paid fo
r
…
And you’r
e
pissing me off
.
"

I glared at him as I addressed him next
.
"
You do
n
'
t want the jealous ex-wife, fine, how about answering to your current girlfriend? When exactly where you planning on telling me Sandra came for a cock filled house call
!
"

He shook his head as his arms fell to his sides, his guilt apparent.

"
No secrets or lies between us. I believe that was your line of bullshit, Rhys
,
"
I continued, my voice a shriek at this point.

"
I may have an answer to that when you can calm down and act rationally. This is their mess, Violet, not ours
!
"
he said, exasperated. He looked at me with contempt
.
"
I moved on from that. I found you, let it go
.
"

"
Let it go? Let it go
!
"
I shook my head, incredulous
.
"
Well, she has
n
'
t moved on, Rhys! You lied to m
e
… again! That whore is the mother of your son, she ruined my marriage, and you think we can just walk away from this
!
"

"
Yes
,
"
he said, quickly
,
"
I know we can
.
"

"
Maybe you can
.
"
I watched him slowly shut down in front of me and could
n
'
t help my next words
.
"
Tell me, Rhys, what is it that yo
u
'
re so damn angry about right now? You can control my body but not my emotions, is that it
?
"

His breath left him as he shook his head
.
"
Tell me why yo
u
'
re so upset, Violet, because
I
'
m pretty sure it has more to do with him than me
.
"
I saw a steely resolve cover his features before he spoke again
.
"
Maybe I was wrong to pull you so close. You never wanted this, us, or maybe I just wanted it more. You signed up for something totally different
,
"
he stated, pulling at his door handle. I slammed it closed, forcing him to face me.

"
What, Rhy
s
...
"
I gathered my strength, the amount of hurt I felt making me tremble
.
"
What the hell did you just say to me
?
"
I clenched my fists at my sides as he stared at the gravel between us
.
"
Yo
u
'
re the one who was IN remember? No, Rhys, we were designed to be together and your ex had an unknowing hand in it! I mean, what kind of fucked up coincidence is this
?
"

"
I
'
m thankful
,
"
he said, slowly reaching for me
.
"
And I always will be
.
"
He pulled my face to him and kissed me gently then let go to get in his car.

"
Rhys, talk to me
,
"
I said, my heart sinking.

"
I
t
'
s Christmas Eve, Violet. I have to go get Bryce
.
"

"
Violet
?
"
I turned around to see Alex walking toward me and held my hand up to stop him in his tracks.

"
Not now, Alex
.
"
I saw Rhys stiffen as Alex approached. I turned to glare at him but he stood firm in his refusal to give Rhys and I space
.
"
All I am asking for is a few minutes, Violet
.
"

Rhys darted around me, his face twisted with fury
.
"
I thought I told you to stay the fuck away from her
.
"

I jumped in front of Rhys, a question in my eyes as he looked past me, murder in his depths for Alex.

"
I think you know I only want to talk to her
,
"
Alex snapped back, challenging him. I looked between them, completely confused. Then it dawned on me the
y
'
d had this conversation before. I turned to Rhys.

"
When
?
"

"
The night before you left for the Caymans
,
"
he answered without hesitation
.
"
He was at your house
.
"

"
Our house, Violet
,
"
Alex snapped behind me.

"
Not anymore
,
"
Rhys challenged, taking a step forward.

"
What in the hell do I have to do to get the men in my life to be honest with me
!
"
I felt sick as I backed away from them both. I shook my head back and forth, trying to wrap my mind around the level of betrayal I felt in that moment.

"
You
,
"
I directed to Rhys, whose eyes shot to mine
.
"
You were supposed to be different
.
"

"
I am different and you know it
,
"
he said firmly
.
"
I
'
m the only real thing yo
u
'
ve got
,
"
he said, his eyes turning cold as he watched me.

"
I do
n
'
t think your fucking qualified to tell me wha
t
'
s real, Rhys
,
"
I snapped, keeping my voice even though my heart was falling away piece by piece.

"
No
,
"
he said icily
.
"
I guess your fucking fantasy is just a little safer, right? Do
n
'
t worry, Violet, tonight
I
'
ll play the bad guy
.
"
He charged Alex and punched him square across the jaw, sending him to the gravel as he cursed and then glared between us
.
"
You two really should learn how to listen. And, Violet, when you figure out just what in the hell it is that you want, we should talk
.
"

"
Something you are completely fucking incapable of apparently
,
"
I shot back
,
"
honesty
.
"