Chapter 20
Payton
“Alright, baby. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
I hate that he has to leave, but I get that he has important stuff to do.
Besides, it will give me some time to spend with Chassie and my sisters.
I’ve neglected them lately. I’ve officially turned into one of those girls who spends every waking moment with her boyfriend.
But it’s hard to stay away from him. He makes me so incredibly happy.
“Okay, I’ll miss you. And please text me that you’re safe. I know you probably won’t have time to talk, but...”
He presses his lips to mine, cutting me off.
“I’m not going to be able to sleep until I hear your voice. You’ll be hearing from me, babe.”
He has no idea how special it makes me feel when he says things like that. I never question for a second how he feels about me. Over the last month, he’s proven how much I mean to him.
“Hey, Chass!” he calls to my roommate. “Mind having a word with me real quick?”
My brow cocks in question. I wonder what he wants to talk to her about.
Probably wants her to keep an eye on me while he’s away.
Or maybe warn her of the fact that he’s going to have one of his brothers keep an eye on us while he’s gone.
The last time he had to go on a run, a Savage Knight showed up out of nowhere and was staked outside our door.
Dusty, Chassie’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, wasn’t too pleased by the fact.
He tried to arrest the guy and Chass had to talk him off the ledge.
Currently, she and Dusty are on the outs, so there shouldn’t be a problem.
“Love you, baby. I’ll see you in a few days.”
He gives me one last kiss and then heads outside. Chassie gives me a look and then follows him out. I’m as clueless as she is as to what this is about. And all I can say is she better tell me what he said when she walks back through that door.
It’s a few minutes later before she’s walking back in, looking like she’s seen a ghost. Now, I’m dying to know what he said.
“What, Chass? What did he want?”
“He asked me if I knew your ring size or what kind of diamond you liked.” He what? “I told him I’d find out. He wants to propose, Payton. He wants to marry you as soon as he can. You haven’t told him, have you?”
Oh my God. He wants to marry me? But he can’t. I’m still married. A fact that he doesn’t even know.
“No.” I shake my head, swallowing down that horrible truth. “He doesn’t know about Callum.”
“You’ve been dating for two months, Payton. Why the hell would you keep that from him? How could you not tell him you were still married? That’s seriously a bitch move.”
“I didn’t mean to keep it from him, Chass.
It’s just that everything’s been moving so fast. At first, I didn’t think it was necessary to drag my drama into our relationship.
I was worried it would taint what we were building.
And now… Everything is so incredible between us, I’m afraid to tell him.
I’m afraid that once he finds out, he’ll leave. ”
Considering he was betrayed by his ex, I’m terrified that he’ll think I was intentionally trying to keep it from him.
The only reason I kept it from him was out of fear.
Fear of rejection. Fear of losing him. Fear of him thinking I was damaged goods.
It’s like my father said: no one wants used goods. There’s a stigma to the word divorce.
“You need to tell him, Payton. The man wants to marry you. How do you think he’s going to feel when he finds out he can’t?” My stomach sinks at the thought. “He’s going to be hurt, Pay. You have to tell him now.”
“I know. I know. I’ll call Callum now and tell him I want to meet, and then as soon as Cage gets back, I’ll tell him everything.
” And hopefully I’ll have the signed papers to prove that there’s nothing standing in our way.
I just don’t want to tell him over the phone.
I need to see his eyes. And if he tries to walk out the door, I’ll beg and plead for him to forgive me.
“And what if Callum refuses to sign the papers?”
“Then I’ll have to take him to court.” And I’ll have to figure out how to pay the legal fees to do that.
I take out my phone, knowing that I need to take care of this before Cage gets back.
Me: I’m ready to meet. But under one condition.
Callum: What’s that?
Me: After I hear you out, you have to sign the papers.
Callum: After you hear me out, you won’t want me to. I can be there the day after tomorrow.
Me: Okay. Text me the time so I can be here.
Callum: Can’t wait to see you, baby. It’s been too damn long.
Not long enough if you ask me. I could happily go the rest of my life without ever seeing him again.
You think you know someone, but it turns out, I never knew Callum.
I had no idea he was capable of cheating on me.
Nor did I think he could be so cruel as to cut me off financially and block me from our accounts.
He deserves a special spot in hell for the way he’s behaved.
And after the divorce is finalized, I will never speak to him again.