Page 124 of Merry Fake Bride

31

DEVON

Husband.

The word slices through me with the sharpness of a real blade and I beg the ground to just open me up and swallow me.

How is he here?

How did he find me?

How does he always manage to find me?

Sitting here with Kairo in front of me being every bit as sweet and as kind as he’s always been, it was painful to lie to his face.

But cutting him off is saving him.

That was my plan.

End things and run until Axel lost me again, and then I would think about the next step.

But he’s here.

Breathing in, the stench of smoke, peppermint gum, and leather invades my lungs and inflates the nausea in my gut.

I’m going to be sick.

I can’t breathe. I can’t move.

Hearing his voice over the phone was enough to unlock every nightmare I had buried in the depths of my mind, but now he’s here with Kairo and it’s like I’m still asleep.

My heart races and my skin burns with the memory of every agony he’s ever brought down on me.

And now Kairo is in his crosshairs.

The thought of Axel harming him in any way turns my blood to ice and as Axel holds out his hand, I lunge forward and grab his wrist so that Kairo can’t make contact.

There’s no telling what Axel has up his sleeve.

“Aw, I knew you missed me.” Axel’s cold, bony fingers seal painfully around my wrist the moment I make contact and a visceral roll of repulsion jolts through my body.

As I flinch back, there’s nowhere to go to escape Axel’s grip and then Kairo’s voice reaches my ears.

“Devon, is he telling the truth?”

Our eyes meet. Kairo’s fighting to keep the pain out of his eyes, but I see it there, rising in the depths, and the guilt swelling inside me is smothering my ability to breathe.

“Yes,” I choke out. “But he?—”

“She’s been visiting family all this time,” Axel cuts in. “But it’s time for us to go home.”

“But I?—”

“Enough!” Axel’s grip tightens to the point of agony and tears spring into my eyes. “You’ve put me through enough humiliation and it ends now.”

The venom in his tone makes me recoil, but before Axel can move, Kairo stands.

He’s a few inches taller than Axel and slowly buttons his suit jacket. “Take your hand off her.”