"Our baby died. She didn't survive the crash, so I got you a baby." I say nothing, but inside me, a war is raging. I charge at him, my hands wrapping around his throat. He stumbles back and onto the couch. Straddling him, I press against his jugular. He tries to push me off. He's twice as strong as me, but I am determined to make him hurt, to make him pay.
"Sin," my father shouts from behind me, but rage blinds me, and I want to take Cohen's life the way he took mine. Hands wrap around my waist, and I'm pulled back and forced to let go of my hold on my husband. I scratch at him, managing to rip his face. I'm howling like a madwoman. The room is spinning, and the last thing I know is that I'm being carried away. Cold air hits my face before I pass out.
* * *
The bed isnice but different. I turn onto my side and almost fall on my ass. I’m on a couch. I sit up in a panic. “Where am I?” I shout.
"My place," Creed tells me. "You okay?"
“How did I get here?”
"I might have had to carry you off. You were this close to killing him, you know." He indicates with his thumb and forefinger.
I lie back on the couch, feeling defeated. "That was such a stupid thing to do. How is the asshole?"
He stands and pours a glass of water from a jug, setting it on the coffee table in front of me. "He's alive if that's what you mean. You should drink up."
“Too bad. If you and my dad had given me five more minutes, that wouldn’t be the case.”
I sit up and take a large swig of water. It’s icy cool going down my throat.
“Is Gracie okay?”
He sits on the coffee table in front of me, reaching to shift a strand of hair behind my ears. “Your mum says to let you rest up. She’ll take care of Gracie.”
I look at him, and I wonder if this is truly the man he is, or if he’s hiding behind a mask he thinks I want to see.
“You gonna tell me what happened back there?”
I lean back, covering my eyes. “It’s so messed up, I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Anywhere you like.” His eyes are kind, and when he looks at me the way he is right now, I see how easy it would be to fall for him.
“I didn’t let him finish the whole story, but basically Cohen’s been lying to me for years. I had an accident at some point during my first pregnancy, I woke up with amnesia. I couldn’t remember a year of my life.”
He leans forward, placing a hand on mine.
"Our baby died, and he somehow managed to get us Willow." I feel a tear slip down my cheek. "She's still my baby, always will be, but I feel like what he did has something to do with this."
“How did you find out?” He frowns.
"A DNA test came in the mail. The name of the other woman was blacked out, but they were a hundred percent match; we weren't. When I showed it to Cohen, he didn't deny it. He lost it, started insulting me, confessing to messing around since we were dating." I feel my shoulders sink. "How could I be so blind? I feel like such a fool."
His hands rest on mine. "You aren't a fool. Love makes us overlook certain things. Trust me, I know."
“Talking from experience?” I ask.
“You could say that. Nothing as shattering as this, but let’s just say I understand betrayal well.”
“Are we going to find my daughter, Creed?”
I know it's a loaded question. I know that it gives him room to offer me false hope, but I need to hear someone say that everything is going to be okay, that I'll be cooking dinner while listening to Gracie and Willow bicker. I want to know that I will still get the chance to do all the things I wanted to do with her. I don’t give a shit what that paper says, she is mine.
"I think we need to follow up on this. Have the test taken in, maybe contact the lab, see if we can get any information from them. It's gotta be recent after Willow went missing. Chances are, her biological mother or father has something to do with this. That or a mistress. That means we need Cohen's help."
He looks at me, and I smile. “I think I can handle that.”
“We need to know if the adoption was above board, make sure he didn’t cut corners to make the couple angry. As for the mistress, let’s just say a woman scorned is about as dangerous as a mass murderer.”
