The Husband Beside Me (The Devil Trilogy Book 2) (16 page)

“Just tell me you weren’t with another man,” he breathed, his low voice beckoning for an answer. “Tell me.”

I closed my eyes, willing myself not to give in to his very presence.

“No,” I murmured.

“No, you’re not telling me or no, you weren’t?”

I opened my eyes and looked into his. Their usual determination was replaced by doubt and worry.

“Just get off me,” I said quietly. I couldn’t be around Daimon; he was intoxicating.

“Addie, I’m sorr—”

“I know you’re sorry. You’re always sorry now. Why don’t you just do me the favor and stop saying you’re sorry! It’s seriously losing all its meaning when it comes out of your mouth. Why don’t you just go back to the old Daimon who didn’t give a shit and never said sorry to anyone?” I looked at him, wondering what exactly he wanted from me.

That night we were together, he begged me not to leave him; he was deep inside me, begging me to stay with him and yet he was always fucking it up.

“Daimon, what we do in our personal lives has nothing to do with each other, remember, or have you forgotten the contract? But then again, you make up the rules as you go along. We agreed we stay home every night, but you get to do what you want, well so do I.”

I pushed Daimon off my body. His heat scorching my cold skin. I needed him off me. Damn him and how seductive he could be. His body always seemed to welcome me in, enticing me to be near him.

“I don’t want you to ever touch me again. Stay the hell away from me,” I hissed, glaring at him. I looked at Daimon; his clothes were disheveled, his long hair a mess.

“I understand,” he said gruffly.

“Good.”

I left him downstairs, unable to look at him anymore.

The usual banter Daimon and I had between us had disappeared, replaced by a nothingness. Both of us went about our business like the other didn’t exist. Ana never said anything as she watched us closely. I knew she was aware something was amiss, but she never let on. She went about cooking for both of us as usual, while I busied myself with trying to figure out what do with the next stage of my life.

A month had gone by and not one word was uttered between us. I was miserable. I thought this was what I wanted; Daimon no longer interfered in my life and I was supposed to be happy, but I wasn’t. Not only did I miss what was going on between us, I was still upset about that night he had spent with God only knows who. The only thing that was constant was that Daimon, without fail, came home every night. I stayed up late at night listening to him play his violin. The sad music filled our home as he poured out whatever was inside him.

I had to keep reminding myself he didn’t trust me and didn’t care for me the way I was beginning to care for him. To him our relationship was about control; it was about not losing.

I was on the internet looking at opening up my own business, maybe a small café, when my phone rang. It was an unknown number. Against my better judgment, I picked it up.

“Hello?”

“Yes, hello, I'm Deidra. Daimon’s…aunt and I was wondering if we could meet. I feel bad about the day of your wedding. I wasn’t exactly myself that day and I wouldn’t mind making it up to you.” She sounded so sweet on the phone.

“I'm a bit busy,” I lied, worried where this would lead me.

“It would really mean a lot to me if I could meet you,” she said, making me feel guilty.

“Sure. Tomorrow okay?” I asked, wondering who she was exactly.

“Tomorrow is fine. We’ll meet at the NoMad on 1170 Broadway,” she said happily.

“Okay, see you then.” I braced myself for who I was about to meet.

***

The hotel was a stunning piece of architecture once you walked in. Its deep colors along with its rich wood and stone made it luxurious and lavish. Entering the beautiful space, I thought for sure those around me would know I wasn’t meant to be there.

“Addie?” A woman’s voice called out to me.

I turned to find a stunning older woman, her hair made up perfectly with her makeup done naturally. She wore a simple dress that sat just below the knee. She was beautiful, all the more when she smiled at me. I could tell it was sweet and caring. But what stopped me cold were her eyes, her sky-blue eyes.

“Ah, Addie, you look so beautiful.” She smiled, making sure she stood a foot away from me.

“Thank you…Deidra,” I said, making sure it was her.

“Yes. I'm sorry I didn’t introduce myself. Silly me. Come, I have a reservation for us upstairs.”

She walked past me, turned and waited until I followed her.

We were seated at a quiet corner. I stared around the room taking in all that was round me. Everything was perfectly designed and placed, seeming flawless and simple.

“You remind me a lot of myself when I was younger,” she said, still smiling at me.

“Why?” I asked.

“I wasn’t born into money. I married it and, well, like you everything seemed new and exciting. I bet Daimon doesn’t even notice. He was born to be his father’s son.” Her voice grew sullen, but she continued to smile.

“It’s different for me to be around such things,” I admitted.

“But it is nice,” she added.

“Yes, it really is nice.”

We ordered our food and sat quietly, not really knowing where to start. I wanted to ask her who she was exactly, but I didn’t want to seem rude. The moment her glass of wine came, she smiled.

“One won’t hurt,” she said as she picked it up and took a sip. “I’m glad my Daimon married you,” she said, putting down her glass. “He deserves to marry for love. Unlike his father who…well, he wanted Daimon to marry for money and power.” She smiled.

“Yes, his father seems…special,” I treaded lightly.

“You met Guilin. He was nice once, but not now.” Her happy disposition changed as a quiet sadness seeped in. She looked off to the side as though remembering something.

“Deidra?” I said softly.

“Yes, I’m sorry. Memories. Just simple memories.” She smiled and picked up her glass again.

“So, you’re Daimon’s aunt,” I started.

“You can say that.”

“I see he got your eyes,” I offered.

“He did, but he got his looks from his father, and unfortunately, his personality too.”

I looked across and saw the same brokenness I often saw in Daimon. There was no question who she was.

“He can be pretty rough,” I laughed.

“I know and I'm sorry for that. It was my fault,” she smiled sadly.

“I'm sure it wasn’t entirely your fault.”

“I should have been there for him when I could have, but I wasn’t allowed. He was even more upset with me when I came back from California. I heard he was getting married and I left the facilit…I left the hotel I was staying at and headed here. I wanted to see him get married,” her voice cracked. “But enough of the past, let’s talk about you and Daimon. He seems different when you are around,” she noted. I wondered how she knew that, but she did see him at the wedding.

“Really? I hardly see it,” I murmured. That’s why Daimon was angry that night at the wedding. Slowly, everything was taking shape.

“Daimon is different from his father. His father has a hard personality while Daimon’s is mixed. It confuses him, knowing how he should behave. Daimon is…Daimon,” she said quietly.

The waiter came and served us our food. It was spectacular. I ate every morsel of my butternut squash and roasted sausages with quinoa.

“You seem to like good food.” She watched me eat.

“I love good food and this is the best.” She ordered her fourth glass of wine and hardly touched her plate. “Aren’t you going to eat?” I wondered.

“I'm not that hungry.”

We finished our meal. Well, more like I had and she was now on her fifth glass of wine. “You don’t need to worry. I won’t make a scene,” she offered.

“No, I'm sorry I didn’t mean to make a face. I'm so sorry,” I choked out, nervously.

“It’s fine. I'm glad you made time for me. I wanted to meet you and to see who Daimon married. You are what he needs. I just hope he doesn’t do something to ruin it. Daimon might seem cold and unfeeling, but deep down, he’s loving and caring. He just doesn’t know how to show it,” she said sadly.

“Sometimes and I mean sometimes, I think I see it, but just as soon as it appears, it goes away just as quickly,” I offered.

“Give him time. My Daimon will open up soon, I know it.” She smiled confidently.

She walked me downstairs and asked the doorman to call me a cab.

“I'm glad to have met you.” She hesitated, but stretched out her arms and hugged me. I hugged her back.

“I would like to call you sometime and just check up on you two. If that would be okay?” she said softly.

“Of course.”

“Thank you, Addie.” She hugged me harder. “Thank you.”

My quiet month had come to an abrupt stop when Daimon stormed into the penthouse yelling, “Who did you meet today?”

“Wow. No, hello. No, how are you. No, hey, haven’t spoken to you in a month, how are things?” I said sarcastically.

“Cut the crap, Addie,” he barked.

“I met your aunt,” I said carefully.

“My aunt?”

“Daimon, why didn’t you ever tell me?” I asked not standing up.

“What did she tell you?” he seethed.

“Nothing. She told me nothing. Daimon, she’s loving and caring. She wanted me to know you’re a good man and behind your asshole exterior, there’s a warmhearted person. I told her she was wrong, but she insisted.” I tried to make light of the situation, afraid of what he might do to her and to their already damaged relationship.

“You don't know shit,” he said gruffly.

“No. No, I don’t. But what I do know is she loves you. I don’t know what happened and I’m not going to say aloud who she is. But she is hurting and so are you.” My heart broke for him as I watched his face contort. I didn’t know what had happened to Daimon, but I wanted to fix it, to make it better for him, to ease his pain and take it all away.

“Never meet with her again,” he spat out.

“I’m not going to promise that,” I said calmly.

“Addie, she has nothing to do with us or me. So do me the favor and avoid her calls.”

“No. I like her and I know she likes me.”

“You don't even know her,” he snarled.

“No, but the woman I met today seems like a good person and I'm not going to write her off because you want me to,” I fired back.

“Yeah, an alcoholic who was cast away by my father. She never once came to get me. Not once came to see how I was,” he said roughly.

“Did you ever think your father may have a hand in that?” I said, trying to calm him down.

“She could have taken me with her,” he bit out.

“I'm sure there was a reason why. Daimon, she loves you completely.”

“Do you have any idea how it feels to see her drunk all the time,” he said as he threw off his coat and began pacing the living room.  “Every fucking time I snuck around to go see her, she was drunk. Lost in her own little world, not once thinking about me and what her leaving had done!” he shouted.

“Daimon…”

“My father said he loved her, but then she got old and was useless. He threw her aside and got himself a younger woman. The one you thought was my mother. Not once did he ever tell me where my mother was. I had to find out by myself.” he began, beating his chest.

I stood transfixed as Daimon, the strong, dominate male who ruled my life with an iron fist, the one who tormented me all throughout high school, began to fall apart in front of me.

“Daimon,” I breathed.

“She left me!” he cried out. “She left me there to fend for myself!”

“If she did, she did it to survive.”

“Yeah, what a life she leads now, one bottle at a time. Do you know how many times I found her unconscious in her hotel room? I got so fed up of having her in my life that I cut her out. That’s what I want you to do. I want you to cut her out. You are to never see her again,” he pointed at me warning me.

“You don't control me. I am going to do what I think is best for you and for her,” I fired back.

“Damn it, Addie! You want me to say it? Is that it? She’s my mother, an alcoholic who takes pills to survive. I don’t want her to taint you, just like you don’t want your shit to taint me,” he barked.

Daimon’s breathing was labored as he held his ground. His hands were by his waist as he glared at me, his wondrous eyes, a watery blue. His words were a threat, but his eyes begged me to listen. I relented and walked to him. I stood before him as I reached out my hand and held his face. He lowered his head as silent tears fell onto my palm. I reached out with my other hand and pulled him in. He came willingly into my arms. We both collapsed onto the ground as I held him. Hearing his soft cries only made it more agonizing. I held him until he stopped. His pain was so real and heart wrenching that I couldn’t help but want to hold him closer still. I pulled him in as tightly as I could, but Daimon pushed me away. He stood up and turned his back to me.