“Silas, I need to ask you something and I need you to tell me the truth?” My smile wavers as I nod my head, setting the cup down on the bedside table.
“Londyn kept mentioning someone named Maverick and then Malcolm showed up to where Fury took us. Are you...?”
“Am I, Maverick?” I finish her question and I know she can see the answer on my face before I confirm it. “Yes, I am and I’mthe president of the Royal Bastards.” The confession stings like a bitch but I’m not prepared for what she says next. “Ember, I…”
“Get out.” Her voice trembles, barely above a whisper, but the strength in her words hits me like a punch to the gut.
“Ember, please, let me explain…"
“Get out!” Her voice rises, the heart monitor beeping faster as her panic grows. Tears well up in her eyes, and she turns her face away, trembling. “You lied to me... all these years. Just leave. I can't... I can't do this.”
“Baby, I…”
The monitor starts screaming as her heart rate spikes, and within seconds, nurses rush into the room. One of them stands next to my chair, her tone sharp.
“Sir, you need to leave. Now!”
I look at Ember, desperate to stay, to fix this, but her eyes are filled with anger. The nurse's voice cuts in again.
“Sir, we need to get her blood pressure under control. You need to go!”
Reluctantly, I stand, walking away, my heart breaking with each step. Surely this isn’t how our story ends. She has to give me a chance to explain why I lied to her. Maybe she’ll understand once she knows the truth. When I turn to look in her eyes one more time, just to see if she made a mistake, they’re cold and unfeeling. She hates me. Bowing my head, I walk away, the door closing with a dull click that makes my chest tighten.
SEVENTEEN
EMBERLYNNE
The blood pressurecuff tightly squeezes my arm as the automatic machine takes my vitals. Every thirty minutes it beeps, jarring me awake, reminding me of where I am. I woke up yesterday to a doctor calling my name, while a nurse propped pillows behind my back and head. My father stood at the foot of the bed, his soft eyes shadowed with concern etched on his face. At first I was confused, but then memories of what happened flooded my brain and tears welled up in my eyes. Fury, taken, Londyn, lost the baby… flashing through my mind like a bad movie. It all came rushing back, overwhelming me.
As if it weren’t enough that all of this happened, I learned that my husband, the man I love and gave my heart to, betrayed me in the worst possible way. The very life I loathed from the depths of my soul, he was not only involved in, but he is the president of an MC. I couldn’t stand to look at him or have him in my space. My first clue was Fury mentioning he scored two Royal Bastard bitches and when Malcolm burst through the door, embracing Londyn, something twisted in my gut. One day I walked into the office and Silas had hired me a new assistant better equipped to handle the demands of my job as COO. Thatwas odd considering I already had an assistant who did quite well. The more I thought about it, the more the puzzle pieces fit together.
It all makes sense now and while he isn’t directly responsible for what Fury did, he knew my feelings about MCs, knew that I lost my mother to that life, and I wanted no part of it. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss him, but when all the memories came flooding back, I hated him. When my nurse made him leave the other day, I was relieved. I wasn’t ready to face the uncertainty of our future. Watching him leave broke my heart, but in that moment, I felt nothing but anger. The brief time of my pregnancy didn’t lessen the pain of losing our baby. I wanted to share that grief with my husband, but I couldn’t let go of what he had done.
Once my blood pressure stabilized and I was left alone, I was grateful for the quiet, for the absence of voices surrounding me, poking and prodding. Everything felt distant, as though I was floating just above my body, tethered only by the ache in my heart. Rubbing my lower belly, I physically feel the loss of what could’ve been. Loss… the word echoes in my head relentlessly, a constant reminder of the baby and Silas. A cruel reminder of what I had once carried and would never hold. Tears well up, burning at the back of my eyes, but I swallow them down.
I’d already cried enough, hadn’t I? Already broken down, already felt everything I needed to feel in order to start moving on… only the grief didn’t care. I wanted to breathe, just a little bit. Needed my mind to be clear but the pain kept pulling me under. I know that I’ll eventually have to speak to Silas, work out whatever we’ll be going forward. I just don’t know where to begin. We should be mourning this loss together, leaning on one another. Instead, we’re broken and I’m not sure we’ll ever be whole again.
“How are you feeling today, Emberlynne?” the nurse asks, switching out the empty IV bag for a full one. I was so lost in my thoughts, I hadn’t noticed she came in. Pulling back the covers, she checks the dressing on my scar, looking for signs of infection.
“I’m feeling much better thank you,” I reply, wincing at the slight pain while she changes my bandages. Besides some stiffness, I’ve been able to move around without assistance.
“Dr. Lewis thinks you’ll be able to go home tomorrow as long as you keep improving.”
“That’s good news, Amelia,” I respond flatly, mulling over her words. Do I even have a home? What is there to go home to? Everything about home, is a fantasy created by a selfish man who only cared about his own feelings. My father walks in, a huge bouquet of flowers in hand, smiling at the nurse.
“These are for you, Em,” he comments, placing the beautiful arrangement on the bed stand.
“They’re from Mav.. I mean, Silas.”
“It’s okay to call him Maverick, dad. I mean, that’s who he is, right?”
“Right,” he laughs uncomfortably, shifting on his feet.
“He’s sitting out in the waiting room and hasn’t left since he was kicked out of your room the other day,” he states, obviously championing for Silas. My stomach flutters at the thought of my husband being so close, but I’m not ready to see him again. When I don’t respond, he walks over to the window, crossing his arms, watching as the rain taps lightly on the glass. He wasn’t here just to check on me because he’s been here the entire time, which I’m grateful for. But there’s something else.
The silence hangs heavy between us and somehow, I feel that whatever he’s about to say will hurt me in some way. Finally turning to face me, he says,
“Maverick, was protecting you on my orders, Em.” The words come out a little garbled, but he lets out a sigh of relief, releasing his burden and placing it on me. “I know you’re angry, but Fury’s threat scared me. After losing your mother, I couldn’t lose you too,” he mutters, his eyes filled with regret. “I knew he would make good on his threat, so I went to Maverick and asked him to watch over you while you were in Atlanta.”
