Chapter 10
Ten
Xavier
By the time I woke the morning after my birthday party, I was alone.
I knew Brady would likely sneak out rather than risk a conversation about our relationship.
Now that I was divorced, I wanted to ask him to date me.
I wanted to end the friends with benefits in exchange for the boyfriend label.
It was time for us to move things to the next level. Or so I thought.
The house felt empty without him there. I’d bought it in the hope we’d make it ours later, once Brady was sure I was in this with him for good.
It was a promise of the life I thought we were building.
We’d been through so much together. I’d waited for him patiently, done my healing, shown him I cared about him, but it wasn’t enough.
Brady ended things with me. I went over the call over and over in my mind in the weeks that followed. Nothing about it made sense to me. We were so compatible, it felt wrong to be without him. Why had he thrown it all away?
His comment about a ready-made family with Gio stuck with me.
Why on earth would he think I would go back to the man who had betrayed me?
Gio had broken my heart by starting a new life without me.
Both of them were delusional if they thought I could ever trust Gio again.
There was no way I’d walk into his family and expect a place.
Gio had left me a birthday gift along with a note, but it didn’t matter. My heart was closed to him now. It always would be with Brady in the picture.
Except he wasn’t. I hadn’t realized how much his designation was bothering him.
Being recessive wasn’t an issue to me. There were other ways to be a family if biological kids were off the table.
He had such a grim view of things. Yes, the fertility treatments were expensive, depending on what intervention was needed.
We didn’t even know if there was a reason other than bad luck.
Two heats weren’t enough to know anything for sure.
Unable to force him into speaking to me once he’d made his decision, I gave him space.
It hurt like hell. Worse than when things ended with Gio.
I think when it ended with my husband, I was somewhat prepared.
His behavior had been throwing up red flags for a while.
Deep down, I knew we were coming to the end.
With Brady, though, I was completely unprepared.
His loss from my life was devastating. I felt it everywhere.
Though he had only been in my bed once, it was empty without him.
I hated being home in the evenings because I’d spent so much time having dinner with him and at his place.
There was a hole where Brady used to be.
Despite our supposed friends with benefits relationship, we had spent a lot of time together, especially on weekends.
In the weeks that followed our break up—part two, as Malik called it—I tried to fill it with working out harder, reading up on fertility, my work, seeing my family, anything to keep me busy.
Of course, my stubbornness was legendary in my family, so I didn’t let him go completely. I tried to be friends with him by sending him little updates about my life and asking what was going on with him. He rarely replied. A month after my birthday, I cracked and admitted I missed him.
Then he called me. If I thought our last call was bad, this was worse.
To hear what Gio, the man I’d spent a decade married to, had said to Brady had me wanting to set Gio’s world on fire.
How dare he call Brady worthless for being recessive!
Any lingering feelings I had for Gio vanished at that moment.
There was no way I could tolerate such a person in my life.
Still, somehow, Brady thought I would go back to Gio.
I had to close that door, then work on the other bomb Brady had dropped. He and I were meant to be. I’d prove it to him, once I gave my ex a piece of my mind.
That night I barely slept. Rage kept me awake and playing out scenarios in my head all night long. Instead of stewing in bed, I paced my empty house, with each circuit adding another layer of anger.
By the time dawn rose, I was shaking with exhaustion and a cold, certain fury. I called my office to push back any meetings and contacted Gio.
The house Gio shared with Candice was smaller than the one I’d bought with the divorce settlement.
We’d made a lot on the apartment, but Gio had racked up debt by paying all Candice’s living expenses before our separation.
He also had medical bills for the twins and legal fees to pay when he drew out the divorce.
I had to admit there was a sick satisfaction in seeing I’d come out of the divorce better off than him. I even cracked and smiled when I saw how exhausted he was when he opened his front door.
“Hey, come in.” Gio stepped back to let me into the house.
“Is Candice here?” I asked in the hallway when he closed the door.
“Uh, no. She’s at work. Early shift. I’m working from home until—” His words were cut off when I caught him by the throat and slammed him against the wall. “What the—?”
“How dare you!” I roared in his face. “You’re the biggest piece of shit I’ve ever met.”
“Wha—?”
My fingers squeezed reflexively when I thought of Brady saying those words. “Brady,” I spat, “is worth a hundred of you! He is not worthless.”
Gio had the audacity to chuckle. “He can’t give you babies though. I can.”
I pushed away from him, disgusted. “No, Candice can. Does she even know you’re still hung up on me? How is this fair to her?” I fixed him with a glare. “There’s no going back for us, Gio. You need to fix things with Brady.”
He scoffed. “Why should I?” He straightened from the wall. “I just told him the truth. With him, it’ll be months, years, of fertility treatments that might not work. If you come back to me—”
“No!” I yelled, getting in his face once more. I fished my phone out of my pocket and turned the camera so it could see my face. This was my evidence, just in case I needed it. My phone had been recording since I knocked on the door.
Once Gio was also on the screen, I continued.
“I’m going to be crystal clear with you, Gio.
We might have history, but you are nothing to me anymore.
I can’t stand to see your face or hear your voice when all I remember is you lying to me for months.
Worse, you hurt Brady. You knew I was in love with him then.
I nearly lost him because of you once. I’m not letting it happen again. ”
“Xavi!” Gio pushed me back. “C’mon, you’re the love of my life!”
“You’re not it for me. That’s Brady.”
“But he’s recessive!”
“So?”
“You’ve always wanted kids. I did this for us!”
“No. You did it for your mom and dad, or did you think I wouldn’t find out about their ultimatum?”
They and the pressure they put on their son dictated everything about our marriage.
Us opening our marriage? Them insisting we needed an omega “to keep us balanced,” and of course, for a child to carry on their name.
We’d nearly broken up over it, but at the time I’d given in to Gio’s pleading because I’d loved him. Not anymore.
“You’ll finally get that trust fund, but at what cost? Why did me and Brady have to pay for their prejudice?”
During the divorce, Miranda had learned Gio was about to inherit a million and become trustee for some property, but only if he had children.
He had until he was forty, or the money was given to his brother.
His parents would only accept biological children and sneered at male omegas.
I felt nothing but pity for Candice, who was now caught up in that family for life.
Gio deflated as he realized how much I knew. “I just want you back. I miss you, Xavi.”
My screen showed the tears welling in his eyes. I didn’t believe he’d let them fall. Not for me. His only concern was for himself.
“I love Brady, and if that means a longer road to having kids, then that’s fine.
As long as he’s with me, then I can handle it.
You made him think it’s impossible, that I won’t accept him because of how he was born.
” I kept the phone trained on Gio’s face.
“You need to leave us both alone. There’s no coming back from this, Gio.
I don’t love you anymore. Haven’t for a long time.
I think since the day you sat me in front of Candice and told me those babies were yours. ”
“Xavi, please.”
“No. Brady is off-limits. You hear me? Come anywhere near him, call him, text him, anything, and I’ll start by telling Candice about your family’s ultimatum. She won’t like to hear that she was a means to an end. Do you even love her?”
“Yeah, just not like I love you.” Gone were any traces of tears. Had he always been this manipulative?
I gave a bitter chuckle. “You don’t love me.
You love the idea of me. The one who bent himself backwards to gain the approval of your family when that was never gonna happen.
We didn’t work, which was why we met Candice and Brady in the first place.
We kept trying and trying to find a missing piece for a broken puzzle.
” I shook my head sadly. “Stay away from us. Let me be happy with the one I love. Brady’s too good for me, but I’m hoping to be on his level one day. ”
Gio stepped closer. “I’ll be here when you change your mind.”
My fingers reached for the door handle. “I won’t, so don’t wait.
” If he said anything else, I didn’t hear him.
I wrenched the door open and stalked to my car.
Once I’d driven a few blocks, I stopped the recording and deleted Gio’s contact.
I unfriended and blocked him on everything for good measure.
It was tempting to send the footage to Candice.
I felt bad for the woman since she was innocent in all this.
Gio had used her to get what he wanted and was still trying to get me back.
Malik talked me down, reminding me that Candice knew who Gio was and had chosen to stay.
Sending the video to her would blow up her life.
If Gio reached out again, I would send it.
My hands shook, and I felt wrung out when I finally got to the office that afternoon. It was difficult to concentrate on work when all I wanted to do was go to Brady to stop him from signing up for the dating app.
“Go home, Xavi.” Jess frowned at me from the doorway of the office.
“Huh?” I rubbed a hand over my weary eyes.
“I’m calling you a car. You’re in no fit state to drive. Did you sleep at all last night?”
I sighed. “Not really.” I went on to explain the confrontation with Gio.
“Yeah, I’ve ordered that car. Go home, eat something, shower, then sleep. There’s nothing pressing that can’t wait until tomorrow.”
“But I need to figure out how to get Brady back!” I protested.
“Not while you can barely string a sentence together. Leave the grand gestures until after you’ve slept.”
Jess was right. Of course she was. My assistant knew me better than most of my friends after years of working together.
I was grateful for how gently she managed me.
By the time I got home, there was a takeout delivery waiting for me, the food still warm.
Everything felt easier to handle after I’d eaten and showered.
Sleep was elusive. I lay there for hours, my mind spinning, memories of Brady replaying in my mind.
It was only when I slipped into sleep that the idea formed: become his Mate Match.