Page 62 of Omega's Faith

"I thought you enjoyed controlling me."

"I enjoyed knowing you were alive at the end of each day."

We sit in silence for a moment.

"I insisted on the registration because I thought it might give you stability," she continues. “Perhaps I miscalculated."

"You think?"

"Don't be sarcastic. It doesn't suit you." She straightens her jacket.

"I’ve already lost my husband and my whiskey. Don’t take sarcasm away from me.”

She laughs. “Fine. Tell you what. As long as you stay off the booze, I’ll loosen my grip. You think you’re ready for that?”

"No. But I'm thirty-four years old. If I'm not ready now, when will I be?"

She studies me for a long moment. "You're serious about the sobriety?"

"Yes."

“Good.” She stands abruptly. "The press will probably ambush you within the next few hours. Have a statement ready. Something dignified. Don't mention the religious differences. It'll make you look intolerant. Don't mention children. It’ll make you look callous. Keep it simple. Irreconcilable differences, mutual respect, request for privacy."

"Diana—"

"And for God's sake, shower first. You smell like a boxing ring."

She starts to leave, then pauses. "Your mother would be proud."

After she leaves, I sit in the too-expensive chair for a moment,processing, then I return to the gym floor, where Ricky's still at the speed bag. His rhythm is perfect, the sound like a metronome.

"Survived?" he asks without breaking pace.

"Surprisingly, yes. No threats of disinheritance or ruin."

"Damn. I had money on her making you cry. "You okay?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Eventually."

We work out for another hour, moving through stations. The physical pain is clean, straightforward. Nothing like the mess in my head.

"You should call him," Ricky says as we're cooling down, stretching against the mirrors.

"Who?"

"Don't play dumb. Jonah. The man you married."

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Jonah may some weird ideas about alpha omega relationships but he’s a good kid. He deserves to escape from me.

He’s also sharp. I know he said he doesn’t believe in divorce but maybe he just needs time to accept the idea.

The thought of him with another alpha makes me want to go back to the punching bag, but that is what he needs. Some nice traditional alpha who is going to give him the nice happy family that he wants.

I shower slowly, the water hot enough to hurt.

When I exit through the main entrance instead of the private garage, the reporters are already waiting. Five of them, maybe six. They surge forward, voices overlapping.