He scoffed. “Why should I?” He straightened from the wall. “I just told him the truth. With him, it’ll be months, years, of fertility treatments that might not work. If you come back to me—”
“No!” I yelled, getting in his face once more. I fished my phone out of my pocket and turned the camera so it could see my face. This was my evidence, just in case I needed it. My phone had been recording since I knocked on the door.
Once Gio was also on the screen, I continued. “I’m going to be crystal clear with you, Gio. We might have history, but you are nothing to me anymore. I can’t stand to see your face or hear your voice when all I remember is you lying to me for months. Worse, you hurt Brady. You knew I was in love with him then.I nearly lost him because of you once. I’m not letting it happen again.”
“Xavi!” Gio pushed me back. “C’mon, you’re the love of my life!”
“You’re not it for me. That’s Brady.”
“But he’s recessive!”
“So?”
“You’ve always wanted kids. I did this for us!”
“No. You did it for your mom and dad, or did you think I wouldn’t find out about their ultimatum?”
They and the pressure they put on their son dictated everything about our marriage. Us opening our marriage? Them insisting we needed an omega “to keep us balanced,” and of course, for a child to carry on their name. We’d nearly broken up over it, but at the time I’d given in to Gio’s pleading because I’d loved him. Not anymore.
“You’ll finally get that trust fund, but at what cost? Why did me and Brady have to pay for their prejudice?”
During the divorce, Miranda had learned Gio was about to inherit a million and become trustee for some property, but only if he had children. He had until he was forty, or the money was given to his brother. His parents would only accept biological children and sneered at male omegas. I felt nothing but pity for Candice, who was now caught up in that family for life.
Gio deflated as he realized how much I knew. “I just want you back. I miss you, Xavi.”
My screen showed the tears welling in his eyes. I didn’t believe he’d let them fall. Not for me. His only concern was for himself.
“I love Brady, and if that means a longer road to having kids, then that’s fine. As long as he’s with me, then I can handle it. You made him think it’s impossible, that I won’t accept him because of how he was born.” I kept the phone trained on Gio’s face. “You need to leave us both alone. There’s no coming back from this,Gio. I don’t love you anymore. Haven’t for a long time. I think since the day you sat me in front of Candice and told me those babies were yours.”
“Xavi, please.”
“No. Brady is off-limits. You hear me? Come anywhere near him, call him, text him, anything, and I’ll start by telling Candice about your family’s ultimatum. She won’t like to hear that she was a means to an end. Do you even love her?”
“Yeah, just not like I love you.” Gone were any traces of tears. Had he always been this manipulative?
I gave a bitter chuckle. “You don’t love me. You love the idea of me. The one who bent himself backwards to gain the approval of your family when that was never gonna happen. We didn’t work, which was why we met Candice and Brady in the first place. We kept trying and trying to find a missing piece for a broken puzzle.” I shook my head sadly. “Stay away from us. Let me be happy with the one I love. Brady’s too good for me, but I’m hoping to be on his level one day.”
Gio stepped closer. “I’ll be here when you change your mind.”
My fingers reached for the door handle. “I won’t, so don’t wait.” If he said anything else, I didn’t hear him. I wrenched the door open and stalked to my car. Once I’d driven a few blocks, I stopped the recording and deleted Gio’s contact. I unfriended and blocked him on everything for good measure.
It was tempting to send the footage to Candice. I felt bad for the woman since she was innocent in all this. Gio had used her to get what he wanted and was still trying to get me back. Malik talked me down, reminding me that Candice knew who Gio was and had chosen to stay. Sending the video to her would blow up her life. If Gio reached out again, I would send it.
My hands shook, and I felt wrung out when I finally got to the office that afternoon. It was difficult to concentrate on workwhen all I wanted to do was go to Brady to stop him from signing up for the dating app.
“Go home, Xavi.” Jess frowned at me from the doorway of the office.
“Huh?” I rubbed a hand over my weary eyes.
“I’m calling you a car. You’re in no fit state to drive. Did you sleep at all last night?”
I sighed. “Not really.” I went on to explain the confrontation with Gio.
“Yeah, I’ve ordered that car. Go home, eat something, shower, then sleep. There’s nothing pressing that can’t wait until tomorrow.”
“But I need to figure out how to get Brady back!” I protested.
“Not while you can barely string a sentence together. Leave the grand gestures until after you’ve slept.”
