Chapter 9
NINE
RHETT
“Thanks,” I murmur, handing Axel the bag. “I appreciate you holding on to this.”
The man grunts, but he takes it and sets it with his own purchases for Delilah on the stroller, careful not to disturb their sleeping son. “No worries.”
I can tell he’s sceptical, but once I explained the situation to him, he seemed to be more on board with my relationship with his sister-in-law. Though, he might be more observant than I give him credit for. Especially after the gifts I just bought for my wife.
The pair are making their way towards us with expressions I can’t read.
I can tell Sage told her sister the truth; that’s obvious by the way Delilah looks at me when they make it to our position by the table of carved Christmas decorations and handmade wreaths.
But Sage is staring at me like she’s seeing me for the first time, or like she’s finally realised something.
But not knowing what has my stomach twisting.
As soon as they’re close, I reach for Sage’s hand, which she takes easily. “You two talk?” I ask quietly, pulling her into me.
She nods once, eyes shining. “Yeah. She gets it now.”
“I explained it to Axel,” I tell her. “He’s…understanding.”
A smile quirks her lips, one that reminds me of all the coy little looks she’d given me over the last few days. “Well, now that that’s covered…” she trails off, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. “I’m starving.”
“We could go see if the Jade Garden has any tables,” Delilah says. “Have lunch together where it’s a little more quiet, to…talk.”
I know Sage has missed actually spending time with her sister without feeling like the third wheel to her and Axel.
And it would be nice to get to know them and show them how well Sage and I fit together.
I know Delilah’s opinion of me will help me more than anything, and with both being so protective over Sage after everything that’s happened with Scott, I want them to know I’m on their side.
Sage nods, glancing up at me. “I’m down if you are. I haven’t been yet.”
“Neither have I,” I reply. “Maybe it can be our belated reception.”
Her smile widens, hope flickering in her green eyes. We leave the market together, starting for the parking lot of Daisy’s Bar where we parked. The bar itself is open, though I know most going in are probably just trying to escape the cold.
When we near, a familiar rat stumbles out the front door. There’s vomit staining his ruined t-shirt, and his hair looks as though it hasn’t been washed in weeks. I can’t tell what’s on his pants, it could either be more vomit or piss, but whatever it is makes me grimace.
As soon as he sees us—or more specifically, spots Sage—a drunken smile pulls at his lips, revealing blood on his teeth. “Baby!”
Sage immediately tenses, her breaths coming fast. “Go straight to the truck,” I tell her. “Don’t give him a moment of your attention. Just ignore him.”
Ahead, Delilah slows, looking back at us with wide eyes. Axel comes to a stop on the sidewalk, but he’s locked eyes on the rat falling into the dirty, shovelled snow by the doors.
“Keep walking,” I murmur, holding her tighter, trying to shield her from his sight. “He can’t hurt you.”
She makes a choked sound in the back of her throat. “Rhett…”
Scott gets up and takes a stumbling step towards us. “I know you’re doing this to get me back,” he slurs, breathing hard. “I can forgive you for leaving, baby. Just come back.”
Rage fills me, becoming unbearable to handle. How fucking delusional is this man? I know I shouldn’t respond, shouldn’t give him the attention he so desperately wants. I just grit my teeth and keep going, using my body to keep him away.
But he doesn’t fucking stop.
“I’ll actually marry you, if that’s what you want, baby. Please,” he whines, taking another step. “You don’t need him. You have me.”
Disgust fills me, but I don’t look at him. I check on her.
There’re tears in her eyes, a tick in her jaw as she clenches it. But she just shakes her head without looking at him.
That’s all she wanted. He’s finally offering it to her, but it’s too damned late.
And as if finally realising that, the bastard throws something that’d been in his pocket. My stomach sinks as it lands in our path.
It looks like a ring box.
Almost similar to the one I’ve got in my pocket.
“Come on, baby. We can go now. Back to our apartment. Back to our friends.” He stumbles towards us now, looking even more pathetic and desperate, the smell of alcohol and vomit wafting from him.
“Back off,” I growl, holding up a hand to stop him. “She’s not going anywhere with you. Not now, not ever again. It’s about time you leave Willow Ridge and don’t return.”
The pathetic desperation switches to anger quickly. “You aren’t her fucking husband. I checked.”
“Wrong.” I pulled Sage behind me. “I am her husband. Her only husband. We are married. And I am telling you on her behalf that it is time for you to leave. She doesn’t want you.”
His lips pulled back in a sneer, but he stepped back. “You want the broken bitch? Fine.” He spits on the ground. “She’s going to kill your babies, too, you know. If you can even knock her up.”
Red clouds my vision. Especially when I feel her suck in a breath, hear the soft sound she makes.
Before I know what I’m doing, I slam my fist into his cheek and watch him crumble.
“Don’t you ever disrespect my wife again,” I growl, standing over him.
The pathetic bastard curls in on himself, whimpering.
“Don’t you ever look at her again. She was always too good for you, Scott.
Loved you too damn much, even though you never deserved it.
Well now, she’s mine. My wife. And she isn’t broken—she was always much stronger than that. ”
There’s a deepening red mark on his cheek, but I don’t care. My heart hammers wildly as I step away and run a hand through my hair. It’s been a while since I’ve put my fist through something; the skin on my knuckles is split, hand trembling, but otherwise, I don’t feel the pain.
But when I turn back to Sage, she’s shaking, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Let’s go,” I murmur, stepping towards her. “He’s not going to be a problem anymore.”
I should have called the sheriff the first night Scott was in town. Let him know to kick the fucker out of Willow Ridge. That could have protected her, could have saved her from the betrayal written clear across her face.
Sage allows me to guide her to the truck. Lunch plans are forgotten as I help her in and buckle her seatbelt. The entire time she’s quietly crying.
“It’s okay,” I murmur, wiping one of her tears away. “I’ve got you.”
She doesn’t look at me, still trembling as I cup her cheek. Fuck, I want to hear her say she’s okay, but I know the comment hit her exactly how he wanted it to.
Sighing, I pull back and close the truck door. Delilah stands nearby, wringing her hands. “I should be with her,” she says. “She needs me.”
“I can take care of her,” I say, nodding to Axel who hands me the bag with Sage’s gift. “But Axel knows where my cabin is, if you want to meet us up there.”
“He used her biggest fear against her,” Delilah says, eyes searching mine, like she’s making sure I can actually look after her sister.
Holding onto the gift bag, I sigh. “I know.”
With that, I go to the truck, sliding into the driver’s side and putting the bag in the back. The entire time, Sage remains silent, her breaths heavy as she continues to cry silently.
“I know I can’t fix what he just did,” I say quietly, “but he’s wrong.”
Sage finally makes a sound, a sound that is so broken and painful that it cuts right through me.
“But he’s right,” she sobs. “I failed. I—” She doesn’t repeat the words he’d thrown at her, instead squeezing her eyes shut and folding in on herself.
Her shoulders shake as she cries, sobbing into her hands.
The sight has tears burning my own eyes. Especially as I lean across the consul and wrap my arms around her trembling body. “He was not right,” I murmur. “He was so fucking wrong.”
She leans into me, still crying. “I’m the one who couldn’t get pregnant. Who miscarried. Who has the broken womb, Rhett. There is no denying that.”
I swallow hard, jaw clenched tight. “That doesn’t mean shit,” I growl, taking her by surprise. “And you should know that better than anyone. Tell me, did he knock up any of his mistresses?”
Sage shoves out of my hold and stares at me in horror. “What? Why would you—”
“Answer me,” I say firmly, as gently as possible. “Did he?”
She shakes her head, eyes wide. “No, he didn’t. But—”
“He’s the problem, Sage. He was always the problem.
Not you. It was never you.” And the fact that she still doesn’t see that, still won’t recognise just how fucking despicable that piece of shit is, tells me I haven’t done my job as her husband—her protector.
“You can still have everything you want. And it doesn’t have to be with him.
It never had to be with him. He is not the end of all your dreams.”
Sage clenches her jaw, breathing heavily. A deep, angry flush darkens her cheeks, the complete opposite of the rosy tint she’d been sporting all morning—all of yesterday.
Have I just irreparably damaged everything between us?
Have I royally fucked up everything?
“I need you to take me home,” she says after a long moment, her voice tight. “Now.”
I blow out a shaky breath and pull back. “I told your sister she could meet you at the cabin—”
“No.” She cuts me off with a firm shake of her head. “Not your cabin. My home.”
Something in my chest cracks. “What?”
“I want to go home. I…I need to go home,” she says, voice breaking as she turns away from me completely. “You didn’t sign up for this.”
“The hell I didn’t. I married you. This is exactly what I signed up for.”
She just shakes her head again. “You married me to get rid of Scott. Well, now he’s gone, isn’t he? You made sure of that. Your job is done. And now, you’re free.”
I don’t know where she’s gotten it in her head that I want to be free, but that’s the last thing I want. “I will never be free,” I mutter, pulling the truck out. “And I am not giving up on you—on us, Sage Hayes.”
From the corner of my eye, I watch her lower her head. “You don’t have to pretend anymore,” she replies, voice empty—tired. “It’s okay.”
I shake my head. “No, it isn’t, and you know it.
This stopped being pretend days ago, and you know it.
” We leave the busy main street and start towards the vet clinic.
I’m fighting my basic instincts about whether I should be taking her to her run down flat or to my cabin, though I know the latter might hurt her more.
I’m fighting everything in me that’s telling me to take her home and keep her safe—from everything, including herself.
And yet I turn down her street, tension coiling deep in my bones. “I’m not abandoning you, Sage,” I tell her as I pull in. “I’m not leaving you.”
She unbuckles her seatbelt without looking at me. “We’ll see about that.”