30. Elijah
“How does it feel being the second choice?” Gemma focuses on a spot on the floor.
I stare at her, stunned. Only moments ago, I was seeing my future with her. Now, her words slice through me like daggers.
“Gem... what are you saying?” Why is she doing this?
She laughs mirthlessly. “Isn’t it obvious, Elijah? I’m still Oliver’s wife. This whole time, I’ve been stringing you along… for my amusement.”
Lie. This can’t be the same Gemma who looked at me like I’m the only man in the world. The one who whispered ‘I love you’ against my lips.
“You don’t mean that.” I take any explanation other than the horrific one taking shape.
Tears dwell in her eyes. “I used you. It was all a game to me. Did you really think I could ever truly want you?”
My stubborn little gem, trying so hard to fool me.
What do I do with you?
I want to fight for her, to rip her from his grasp, and promise I will never let anyone hurt her again. But the look in her eyes stops me. She has erected a wall between us that I cannot seem to break through.
And so I do the only thing I can. I let her go. For now, at least, until I can find a way to free her from Oliver’s hold and uncover the truth.
“I need to go get my stuff.” Gemma tries to wrench her arm free from Oliver’s grasp.
His grip on her arm says everything. She is still under his control, and he has used that power to force her to destroy me. His eyes gleam with malevolence as he leans in close to whisper something in her ear that makes her wince. He releases his hold, and Gemma hurries away without a backward glance.
I stand motionless, trying to process what is happening. How did our getaway turn into this nightmare? One minute, I’m ready to spend the rest of my life with Gemma. The next, her psychotic ex-husband shows up to shatter everything.
“What a shame, isn’t it?” Oliver says. “Poor Elijah left at the altar before he even saw his bride walk down the aisle.”
My hands curl into fists. I want nothing more than to punch that smug look right off his face.
I growl through gritted teeth. “This isn’t over.”
Oliver laughs. “I think it is. Gemma’s made her choice. You never really had her to begin with.”
My fist connects with his jaw. He staggers back, shock written across his face.
“Don’t you ever touch her again,” I land another punch to his gut, taking savage joy in his pained grunt.
“She’s not yours, Milton. Never was,” he says between labored breaths. “Almost like you were a convenient distraction while she waited for me to take her back.”
No. I won’t believe that. Did she ever truly want me, or was I a means to an end?
Gemma and I have something real. I know we do. I need to find a way to get through to her, to remind her of what we share.
Oliver won’t ruin the best thing that’s ever happened to me. She is my entire world. I won’t give up on us. Not when I know in my heart she’s still mine.
I grab him by the collar, getting right in his face. “Stay the hell away from her, or next time, I won’t stop with a few hits.”
I shove him away in disgust and take off up the stairs.
Gemma is throwing clothes into a suitcase when I enter the bedroom. She doesn’t even glance my way, focused on gathering her things.
I step in front of her, grasping her shoulders. “Talk to me. Please.”
“Let go of me.” She wrenches out of my grip.
“I’m not letting you run back to him. That bastard doesn’t deserve you.”
“You don’t get to decide what I do! Whether you like it or not.”
I bunch my fists, trying to contain my anger. “So that’s it? You’re going to throw away everything we have over some piece of shit like him?”
Tears stream down her face even as she glares at me. “Don’t you get it? I don’t want you, Elijah. I never did.”
Her words are like a punch to the gut. I grab her arms.
“That’s bullshit, and you know it.” My voice softens. “I know you don’t really want this. Why do you do this? Is he threatening you with something?” I cup her face in my hands. “Tell me the truth. Forget him. It’s only you and me here now.”
She blinks back tears. She’s… scared. “You know nothing about what I want.”
“I know you love me.”
Something flashes in her eyes before she steels her expression. “You’re wrong.”
“Tell me you don’t love me.”
She hesitates, lower lip trembling.
“Say it!” My grip tightens.
“I... I don’t.”
I release her as if burned. An icy numbness spreads through me.
This isn’t the Gemma I know. The resignation in her eyes.
“Get the hell out.” My tone is cold and hard.
Gemma recoils, her face draining of color. Fuck.
I reach out to her, but she stumbles back, clutching her suitcase like a shield.
Without another word, she flees the room, the door clicking shut behind her with dreadful finality.
What have I done? This wasn’t supposed to happen.
I stand motionless, staring after her long after she’s gone. The pain and anger hit me like a freight train. With a guttural yell, I sweep everything off the dresser in a violent frenzy. I keep destroying anything in my path, lost in the haze of rage and devastation.
When it finally subsides, I’m left panting amidst the wreckage. I lost her. The only woman I’ve ever loved slipped through my fingers. Again. And it’s my damn fault for not protecting her from the start.
I should have ended Oliver sooner.
This is my little gem. My wife.
I pull out my phone.
“Bash.” My voice is hard as steel as I call him. “We need to talk. Now.”
I hear rustling on the other end of the line before he speaks. “What’s going on?”
“Did you know? Did you know Gemma and Oliver are still married?”
Bash inhales sharply. “What? No way. Gem told me she filed for divorce months ago.”
I rake a hand through my hair in frustration, yanking at the roots. “Well, apparently, it didn’t go through. She told me herself. She’s been stringing me along this whole fucking time.”
“Shit. I can’t believe it. She wouldn’t do that, man. Not to you. She hates Oliver.”
“He’s forcing her with something. I can’t think of anything else.”
I’m fuming as I pace around my office. This whole situation with Gemma has me reeling. That sneaky bastard Oliver. And her, not breathing a damn word about it to me until now.
“Did she tell you anything else?”
Bash sighs. “Let me talk to her. She wouldn’t do this without a reason.”
No, she wouldn’t. I have to make her tell me everything.
Concern edges Bash’s tone. “Did he hurt her?”
“He had his hands on her. Practically dragging her around.”
“Son of a—” Sebastian cuts himself off, exhaling. “Alright, don’t do anything stupid. I’m on my way.”
“Hurry the hell up then. I’ll talk with Connor in the meantime.” As much as I want to pummel Oliver into the ground, I can’t. Gemma seemed scared to her death. I don’t want to add to that. For now, anyway.
“Keep me on the call. This is my sister.”
I add Brandon and Connor to the call, filling them in on the fucked up situation.
“I’ll look into it right now,” Connor says.
The call goes quiet except for Connor’s rapid keystrokes. My hands clench into fists, anger boiling inside me. I should have checked on her scumbag of a husband, making sure he wouldn’t find some way to keep his claws in Gemma.
A notification chimes on Connor’s end. “Yeah, the divorce was never finalized. It’s been stalled in litigation after some other issues.”
“That son of a bitch,” Sebastian says.
I’m seeing red. That slippery fuck Dorrance is still holding my gem captive. Over my dead goddamn body.
“What do we do?” Brandon asks.
What do we do? I’ll tell you what we fucking do. We get my girl back, no matter what it takes.
“We take the bastard down.” And I’m getting my fucking wife back.