His (Hers #5)
Authors: Dawn Robertson
His
Copyright 2014 Dawn Robertson
First Edition
All rights reserved as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976. No part of these publications may be reproduced, distributed, transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the Author. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the publisher.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Cover and Formatting by
ShoutLines Design
Table of Contents
From Seven
I wish I could say this is going to be an easy story to tell. But, I’m trying my damnedest to stop lying. I’ve told far too many lies, even if they were the little white variety. Because those are the mistruths that hurt the most. That’s how I ended up where I was a year ago. I lost everything. My job, my husband, and I almost lost the most precious thing in my entire life, my daughter Marley.
Headstrong, stubborn, foolish; those are all words other people used to describe my actions. Levi most of all. Many of his words were far harsher though, but we will get into what was said, because that is the point of telling you our story. The story of us saving the love we once had, losing each other and making the painful journey back to what brought us together in the first place.
I will admit my fault, alongside the fact that I ran because that’s all I have ever known to do. How I handle personal problems. I went to the one person who has been a constant in my life, my best friend Star. Only she couldn’t help me, because much like I had moved on… she had a life of her own. Gone were the days of dropping everything for each other and I guess I’m partly to blame because I started it. I got married. I got pregnant. And I fell in love with Levi. All things I’d sworn off alongside her so many moons ago after I lost James.
I remember the day I left like it was yesterday.
“
I can
’
t do it anymore, Seven. You said you were done, you said you were going to quit. For me, for us. For the baby. But as soon as your blood pressure went back to normal and the swelling went down, BOOM! You are back in the office.
”
Levi paced back and forth in front of my desk holding a stack of paperwork. His fingers run through his hair over and over again and I just shrug him off like I always do.
I can
’
t even tell you how many times we had the same argument. It might as well have been on replay. Lather, rinse, repeat. He was overprotective and of course, I think I am fucking invincible. But, if there is one thing this pregnancy had taught me already, it was the fact that I was very much human. Being hospitalized more than once already made that clear.
“
I’m fine, Levi. See
…”
I point to my feet propped up on a chair next to me.
“
Feet elevated. No heels. Healthy snack, and TA DA! NO COFFEE!
”
I shouldn
’
t hit him with the sarcasm. It seems like every day that passes by, he is getting more and more uptight about the baby. Maybe we need one of those fancy
‘
babymoons
’
or something. A vacation would probably do us some good, or send him into a tailspin. I tried not to let it show, but I worried about his anxiety level. It couldn
’
t be healthy, but I couldn
’
t worry about that on top of everything else right now.
“
Close the door, lock it and come over here, love.
”
I lick my lips and think about distracting him the best way I know how. Sex.
When it comes to his moods like this, the only way to talk him down is with a good blowjob, or something. I
’
ve learned to use that to my advantage when his mood turns so fucking sour.
“
Not this time, Seven.
”
Levi drops a stack of papers onto my desk.
“
I can
’
t do this anymore. You need to get your shit together. It is me and the baby, or work. You can
’
t have both. It
’
s killing you and you are the only person who can
’
t see it. I won
’
t let you do this to us, or our daughter.
”
He turns for the door, but pauses. I can tell he is deep in thought. About what I have no idea, because he never fucking talks to me anymore. Our fragile relationship is crumbling, all because of this pregnancy. Little does he know that I know exactly what it has done to me and my body. Why? Because my obstetrician told me.
“
In that brown envelope are
…”
he pauses and turns toward the door. He can
’
t look me in the eye and say whatever it is he is about to dump on me. I sure don
’
t need this bullshit today with the merger going south the way it is.
“
Are divorce papers. You have till the end of the week to choose. Your family
…
or work. You can
’
t have both anymore, Seven.
”
And like that, he storms out of the door and I am shocked into silence. Divorce papers? Does he really want a divorce? Will Levi really leave me if I don
’
t stop working? All those years ago, James trusted me with the empire he built and now Levi is trying to make me choose?
My heart sinks into the pit of my stomach, and I actually feel like crying. I can
’
t push my emotions away, because this hurts like a motherfucker. A divorce? The man who chased me around the world to make me his. The man I avoided at all fucking costs is leaving me? If he thinks I
’
m going to walk away and give him a divorce, he clearly doesn
’
t know me very well. Seven James isn
’
t thrown away like last week
’
s whore. No fucking way.
I make the rules. I always have and I always would. I would never give up my power again. Not to him, and not to anyone else. I
’
m unsure of where he got the impression that he makes the rules, but clearly somewhere along the line we had a break in our communication to think this would even be an option. Maybe I should walk away. Maybe I should let him have his divorce so he knows I am the best thing that ever happened to him.
FUCK! I hate this shit.
Damned if I do and damned if I don
’
t. It
’
s the moments like this that make me regret letting my guard down enough to let him into my life in the first place. My heart is broken. My body is aching and my soul is definitely beyond repair this time. The one person I never thought would turn their back on me just did and I feel all alone in the world.
“
Looks like it is just the two of us, Marley.
”
I rub my belly and a tear slips from my eye. Shit. I can
’
t fucking cry. I have a meeting in a half hour and my mascara will run. Fuck that meeting. Fuck this company. And fuck Manhattan.
“
Livie, clear my schedule for the week,
”
I yell through the intercom, no doubt scaring the shit out of my assistant. It wouldn
’
t be the first time. She quickly replies canceling all my upcoming meetings and re-scheduling everything for a later time.
With or without Levi, I am leaving town. I need some peace and quiet. I need to think about everything going on. I need to think about what I want in life and put my own selfish wants to the side for once to focus on my pregnancy. I need to ask myself what James would have asked me to do, or expected me to do in this situation. Would he allow me to just walk away from it all and rule from afar? Or would be curse me for being such a weak little bitch.
Woodstock, here I come.
Past
Levi
She is fucking pushing my buttons. I say black. She says white. I say vanilla. She says fuckin’ chocolate. I’m losing my mind. She knows how I feel about her safety. She knows how I feel about her working after she has landed herself in the hospital two fucking times in the past month. But Seven thinks she is fucking Wonder Woman. Immune to the toxic reaction her body is having to the little girl she is carrying. It is all a joke to her, something she can micromanage from behind her expensive desk. Or from her uncomfortable hospital bed, because that is the only place she is going to end up.
