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C oward.

That wasn’t a word I’d regularly associate with myself, but what else did you call a man who ran the second his wife told him she loved him?

She. Loves. Me.

I wasn’t ready. Wasn’t prepared for Michaela to tell me that. I mean, yeah, I’d been aware that our relationship was based on a lot more than this fucking merger for a while now. But still. She was too damn good for me.

Didn’t she know that?

Then I kept thinking about what I saw on the security feed that night when we’d both been working late. I knew Chen was fucking with me. Delaying shit on purpose so I would consider his proposal between me and his daughter.

It was nonsense. Garbage.

I’d never fuck Clarissa Chen for ten reasons on any day. But really, there was only one good reason why I’d never touch that female.

And that was the simple fact she wasn’t my wife.

It made me so mad. This cocksucker trying to manipulate me.

I hated the hours spent away from Michaela and since she was working late too, I needed a way to be with her so I had Connor create an app for me that would trail Michaela through ODI and allow me to watch her through the security cameras I had in each fucking room and office, save the restrooms.

It got to the point where I was glancing at the thing every few minutes. Maggie had come by that night to check on things since she was invested in the success of ODI, and she’d been amused by my apparent obsession with my wife.

My sister was a brat. But whatever.

All her teasing couldn’t make me turn it off. Thank fuck, because five minutes later, I saw the unthinkable.

One of my goddamn employees had put his fucking hands on my wife.

I didn’t think. I just acted.

I flew down the stairs to the computer lab, and I pummeled the bastard. That beating I gave him in front of Michaela was bad.

But not as bad as the second one I gave him when I went to the abandoned factory we owned, the place where Maggie had brought the motherfucker.

Let’s just say Clint wouldn’t be coming back to work anytime soon. In fact, he wouldn’t be coming anywhere ever again.

Piece of shit.

Of course, looking back I probably should have waited till morning to end that prick. But it felt important at the time.

Shit.

I regretted my actions that night. Not what I did to him because fuck that guy. I’d kill anyone who put their hands on my wife.

I regretted that I’d acted like an animal with her. I dragged Michaela home and couldn’t even wait to get her all the way inside before I tore off her clothes and started fucking her in the hallway like some mindless fucking beast.

I should have given her roses, champagne, a soft bed. Instead, I took her bare and panting, rutting into her like a goddamn monster.

When she confessed her love for me, I was stunned. It was the last thing I expected and like a total fucking asshole, I ran.

Coward.

How could she love someone like me? I was nothing compared to her.

My name was stained by the deeds of my father and to some extent, me and my sister, though we weren’t as bad as the old man.

Michaela deserved better. She deserved someone with finesse. Someone who was charming. Who treated her like a lady and had a good family name to give her.

She deserved someone without blood on his hands.

Well, that’s too fucking bad because she’s got me.

That unreasonable, angry, completely fucking unhinged side of me recoiled at the mere suggestion I’d give her up. That was not going to happen regardless of the guilt I felt at having somehow tricked her into loving me.

A small spark of hope flickered to life inside me the second she’d uttered those three words.

I love you.

I hardly recognized it at first. It was subtle. Barely a whisper of possibility.

But it spread quickly, warming the cold, guarded places I’d long kept locked away.

I never expected to hear anything like that, never dared to even hope for it, yet here it was.

An unexpected gift.

A fragile promise.

For a moment, I just stood there, the weight of those words pressing against my chest. It was too much to bear, and I had to do something.

So, yeah, maybe murder was a fucked up reaction to a confession of love. But that was me.

And another reason why I knew I was no good for her.

How could three tiny words be so powerful?

But it wasn’t just the words. Other women had said them, and I didn’t so much as flinch.

It was the fact they came from her that had me reeling.

She was everything I ever wanted. I tried to deny my feelings for her, but if Michaela was brave enough to say she loved me, I should have no problem telling her how I felt.

Was it love?

It had to be. I wasn’t sure since I didn’t exactly have a lot of experience with that particular emotion.

But what I felt was powerful.

I never thought I deserved it. Never imagined it would be mine to claim. That she would be mine.

But as I sat there stewing in the quiet aftermath of her words and my thoughts, I realized it was the only thing that made sense.

“I fucking love her,” I said aloud.

“Oh, uh, you good, bro?”

Connor Callahan was looking at me like I had three heads, and I rubbed a hand over my face.

I forgot I was in a meeting.

“Yeah, fine. Go ahead and give me the update,” I said, pretending to listen as the man droned on about the new security software he installed.

I love her.

I knew this marriage was more than a simple merger, but I’d lived so long in the shadows of my own doubts, convincing myself that love was a luxury I couldn’t afford.

But now, it was right there. Mine for the taking. But instead of telling her, I was sitting in my fucking office.

My phone buzzed, and I glanced down. Frowning, I read the informal text.

Sweetheart

Liam, I am not sure if you remembered, but tonight is my Uncle Josef’s Christmas party. I forwarded the invitation to you a few days ago, but you haven’t responded, and you’ve not been available to talk. So, I’m just texting to let you know I am on my way there now and will be spending the night. -Michaela.

I reread the text twice and cursed out loud.

So informal.

So devoid of emotion.

This didn’t sound like her, but it was what I deserved.

Shit.

I had forgotten all about the party and the invite her cousin made. Michaela was right, I’ve been avoiding her all week.

After that ridiculous scene in front of her father with the reporters, what else could I do?

Some asshole got pictures of me working late with Clarissa fucking Chen and tried to make it into a big thing.

I didn’t know how they got the photos since our cameras were supposed to be fucking secure. But I spent an entire day proving to Adrik Volkov that I wasn’t cheating on his daughter.

Fucker would have had me unalived if he hadn’t believed me.

He knew it. I knew it. So there was no point in beating around the bush.

So, I supposed it was a good sign I wasn’t fish food at the bottom of the Hudson right about now.

Not that he talked to his daughter on my behalf. But the fact was, I never cheated on Michaela. And I never would.

I just wasn’t prepared for her declaration. And I fucked up. Ignoring her like that. Making her think I wanted someone other than her.

Like that was possible. I just didn’t expect her to love me.

Love? What the fuck did I know about love?

A man like me couldn’t afford to let love soften him. I could not be sidetracked now when I was so close to finding a way to seize total control of the lithium mine in Gansu from Chen. So that I could make my dream for ODI come true.

But maybe that dream was second now to this new one I had. This new one filled with a wife who loved me. Who I loved back with everything I had.

No, I didn’t deserve her love.

But I had it, and I was going to keep it.