“A lot has happened since then. I wish you would realize that.”
“You think it’s so easy.”
“Things are only hard because you’re making them that way.”
“Me?” She scowled, holding her hand over her chest. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to pretend that I’m okay with this? And now we have to bring a baby into this mess. It’s weighing on me, okay? I didn’t think it would weigh on me as much as it is. I’m not like you. I can’t just pretend.”
“I’m not pretending.”
“Tristian, you don’t love me. You never did.”
“Keep telling yourself that, kitten.”
“Oh my God! This is how you are! This is how you’ve always been! With your guarded composure and your patronizing responses. I never knew the real you. I don’t even think you know who that is. I’m a trophy to you. It’s all I’ve ever been.”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it.”
“I don’t know anything. I never did. I played your games, and in return, I lost. Except, I never knew the rules to begin with. You think I belong to you, not because you love me, but because you think you own me.”
“You’re my wife now. I do own you.”
“This is just a marriage of convenience!”
I got right in her face. “Not for me.”
“This is just another one of your games, and I’m not playing this time around.”
“You. Belong. To. Me.”
“You have this warped vision in your head of what we are, of what we were. It’s not reality. When will you see that, Tristian?”
“Oh, trust me, kitten, I know where you stand. You make that perfectly fucking clear, but I also know what we had between us. From the moment I first laid eyes on you, I wanted you. And I don’t stop until I get what I want. Do you understand me?”
“We’re married, aren’t we? I held up my end of the bargain, but that doesn’t mean I belong to you. I don’t need your money, your attention, or your one-sided definition of love. I don’t need anything from you.”
I spoke with conviction, “You need my baby.”
“Our baby.”
I grabbed my card off of her desk. “Fine, kitten. Don’t buy anything. I always preferred you naked instead.”
“Glad I could be used by you again.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I breathed out, shaking my head. “You make me sound like a real bastard.”
“If the shoe fits.”
“This what you want to do for the next two weeks? Argue with me? Then by all means,” I baited. “I have no problem fucking the fight right out of you.”
With that, I turned and left, leaving my heart in her hands. Even though…
She was gripping the life out of it.
Chapter 12
—Belle—
I woke up in Tristian’s arms again. This was the second morning in a row that I had. Since we landed on the island yesterday, he was up my ass, on this mission to get me pregnant. He tried to initiate casual conversations with me, but every time he did, it’d led to a fight. He was relentless in his pursuit of trying to win me over.