Page 157 of A Convenient Secret

“It’s not a video call.”

Yeah, I sunk so low that I ship my kids away so I can wallow. Only I didn’t expect my heart wound would continue to fester for a week with no chance of improvement.

“It’s time to take a shower,” Roxy says.

“And grovel.” Corm leans against the bookshelf. “Saar and Cora came back from London, and they are really pissed at you.”

“They were in London?” They saw her; they talked to her. Fuck, I hate them.

“They left with Lily a week ago.”

Jealousy coils up my spine, but I’m also happy she didn’t need to face her former—and current—world alone.

“When was the last time you left this room?” Caleb swipes the glass shards by the door with the edge of his shoe.

“Why do you care?” I snarl.

“This conversation is really productive.” Roxy sighs. “Declan, you either go get your woman, or you stop feeling sorry for yourself and return to society.”

“In either case, please start with a shower.” Xander picks up a photo from my research pile across the room.

“Don’t touch anything.” I stand up. The room swirls, so I lean against the desk. I fucking hate vodka.

“Look, man, I don’t know what happened, but if this is the result, just go and talk to her,” Corm says.

“After I hired her, you were the one telling me to stay away,” I argue. “And now you think I should chase her?”

“Back then, I was talking about a sex-and-forget kind of a situation, you idiot. And yes, you let her go, so now, you chase her.” Corm shakes his head.

“I didn’t let her go. She fucking left.” The words—or rather their volume—scratch my throat.

“The male brain is the biggest mystery to me,”Roxy says. “But answer me one question, is she the one?”

“Does it matter? She left, and just took a job with Spinelli Holdings.”

“Your point?” Corm scoffs. “She didn’t marry her job, you idiot. She’s still your wife. However that came about.”

“She didn’t want to stay.” I stumble around. Where did I put the bottle? I need to numb this pain.

“Did you ask her to stay?” Caleb asks. Not helpful.

“I don’t know anymore. She has to stay there. It’s her family legacy.”

“And in front of all of your sexist asses, I would like to say she is one of the youngest ever CEOs. Girl power!” Roxy cheers.

“Roxy, that’s not why we’re here,” Xander groans.

“It warranted the mention though.” She shrugs.

“Can you all leave finally? I don’t want to talk about Lily.”

“Listen, fucker, she’s your wife.” Corm pushes me back to my seat and swirls it, leaning on the armrests. “Two weeks ago, you were buying her a ring. You wouldn’t buy her a ring if she wasn’t special.”

“I can’t make her choose me.” I push him away.

“I’m far from a relationship expert here,” Xander says, and everyone else murmurs their agreement. “But didn’t she choose you already? She married you.”

“And then moved to London.” My gaze finally lands on the bottle. The only problem: Roxy is holding it. She doesn’t look like she’d want to give it back.