He reaches out and I skitter back, dropping my foot. “I said, don’t.”

His eyes meet mine, and we stare at each other for long moments. Then he stands up, and turns to Ford. “Clean her up.”

Ford scowls at him, clenching his fists. His big body is panting. He, too, has blood pouring out of a gash in his lip.

“Get out of here,” I whisper, shaking.

Marcus turns back to me. “We’re talking, Katia. I won’t sign anything until we do.”

“You don’t get to control me anymore!” I scream. “You don’t get to.”

“And you don’t get to fuckin’ dictate terms to me. We fuckin’ talk, or I don’t sign. You decide.”

“Get out!” I scream. “Get out!”

He bares his teeth at me, a feral scowl that has me flinching. Then he turns and walks out, slamming the door behind him. I close my eyes, dropping my head. There’s glass everywhere, and blood. My blood. Their blood. Ford steps forward but I put up my hand. “There’s glass everywhere.”

He ignores me and keeps walking, dodging the glass until he reaches me. He leans down and lifts me in one, effortless swipe. He carries me into the kitchen and puts me down on the counter. Without speaking, he turns and walks out, returning minutes later with a first-aid kit. He says nothing as he works on my cut, and when he’s done, he turns and washes his hands in the sink.

“Ford, I’m sorry,” I whisper.

He doesn’t look at me. He’s angry. His pride has been struck. Without turning to me, he mutters, “You decide what you’re going to do, but that man will not come back to my house again. Sort your shit out. Don’t bring me into it.”

Then he disappears down the hall.

My head drops and I close my eyes. This isn’t getting any easier.

CHAPTER SEVEN

MARCUS

THEN

Sweat trickles down my body as I clasp at my stomach, trying to keep the vomit at bay. I drank too much, yet again. Then the nightmares came. Nightmares of her, trapped in heartache, being swallowed up by despair. Her beautiful face twisted in agony as she stares up at me. I’m in control, like I always am. Only in this dream, she reaches up from her position on her knees, and wraps her fingers around my clenched fists.

Then she begs.

Her begging destroys me, even if it is only a dream. She begs me not to leave. She begs me to love her. She begs me to let her stay. I want to tell her I do love her, and that she changed me, but my mouth refuses to open. Instead, I struggle, staring down into her eyes and trying to tell her I fucked up.

I can’t.

My dream won’t let me.

The worst part . . .

Neither will my real life.

~*~*~*~

KATIA

It’s been two days since I’ve seen Marcus and I know, I just know he’s going to chase me up soon. He’s also not going to let me just walk away with a signed document. He wants to talk. I don’t know if I’m strong enough to talk. Besides, what the hell is there to say? There’s nothing he could say or do that could make this better.

“Katia?”

At the sound of Candy’s voice, I turn. She’s got Penny in a stroller after taking her for a walk to the park up the road, and her face is pale. My eyes instantly dart down to my daughter, who is completely happy and content. I breathe a sigh of relief.

“What is it?” I ask.

“The strangest thing just happened to me.”

I narrow my eyes. “Candy, you’re worrying me.”

“Sorry. I was out with Penny, walking her in her stroller at the park. Anyway, we were looking at some birds when . . .”

“Candy . . .”

“I saw Marcus.”

My entire world stops spinning. I press a hand to my mouth and begin shaking my head. No, he can’t have seen Penny. He can’t know about her. He can’t know she exists. Oh God, how could this happen? I should have never let Candy take her for a walk.

“No,” she says quickly. “It’s not what you think. He still has no idea she’s his.”

I blink at her. “I don’t understand.”

“He was running. He saw me and stopped. I snobbed him as much as I could, but I didn’t get the time to block Penny. He looked down at her and said ‘cute kid,’ and then told me to tell you he’s waiting for your call, before running off.”

Cute kid?

Cute. Kid.

I grind my jaw. He didn’t think she looked familiar? Like him, perhaps? This surprises me, considering just how like him she actually looks.

“He didn’t click?”

Candy shakes her head. “No.”

“Jesus.”

She nods, unbuckling Penny and placing her on the ground. My daughter crawls towards me. “I’m so sorry, Katia. When I saw him, I swear I had a heart attack.”

“It’s okay. He didn’t notice, that’s all that matters.”

There’s a strange, unfamiliar emotion running through my chest. A huge part of me wishes I could deny it, but the truth is, there’s a serious feeling of disappointment radiating in my body. He didn’t notice? He didn’t look into her eyes and just know she was his?

“Katia, are you okay?”

I nod, lifting Penny and kissing her cheeks. This is for the best. This man destroyed my life; I truly don’t want him to know about his daughter. I’m being childish. I’ve let a small moment affect me when it shouldn’t. I need to finish this, so I can move on before things become complicated.