Chapter 156

My nose twitched.

“I’m confused.” I answered, pressing my forehead against the bars. I wouldn’t take a step further until he gave me permission.

And that’s the part that kills me.

“I said what I said, Sapph.” Wyatt insisted, shaking his head with a furrowed brow.

“Didn’t you just break out of prison to see me? You were close enough there, weren’t you?”

He sighed, laying back on his bunk with an arm across his forehead.

“I did that because I felt that you were in trouble and had to make sure you were okay. I needed to make sure you were in capable hands. And if you’d noticed it—I didn’t touch you then for the same reason I can’t be too close to you now.”

Wyatt didn’t say the word but I knew what he was referring to, or rather, who. Rhea.

Wait. Capable hands? For fucks sake, he must be talking about Erek.

“Wyatt, are you seriously using your trauma as an excuse to throw a temper tantrum right now? You have no reason to be jealous.”

He flew off the bed so fast I almost thought he’d gained superspeed somewhere. He stood and faced me with an intensity in those amber eyes that took my breath away.

“Jealous? You think I’m pushing you away because I’m jealous?”

“At this point in our marriage nothing you do surprises me anymore, Wyatt.” I remarked dryly. I should be kinder to him, i know it but goddess, he makes it so hard.

Shoulders slumping with a heavy sigh, Wyatt shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look, I’m not happy about another man touching you but that’s not what this is.”

“I know.” I whispered, dropping any angry pretense I had.

“I miss you, princess.” Those honey-colored eyes pulled me in like a sinkhole the longer I stared at them. Watching them close was like pouring ice-cold water on my heart.

“But you can’t be next to me because of what Rhea did?”

He nodded, letting the silence fill the space between us. Except it wasn’t filling anything—it was pissing me the fuck off.

I know I said I wouldn’t move without him telling me to but fuck all that. Slowly but surely, I walked past the opening and stood in front of him, arms at my side.

Wyatt stepped back, eyes bloated with fear.

“Sapphyra I…”

I didn’t stop until my arms were around his shoulders and he was stiffly pressed against my bosom. Keeping it together was hard, especially when he broke out into a sob. But one of us had to hold the other up, at least that’s what I signed up for.

“In sickness and in health right?” I said softly in his ear, smoothing his hair with my hand.

“S…Sapph. Please.” He whispered, unable to say the words.

“Please what?”

“I can’t do this. I can’t—” his tears soaked my suit but he gripped my clothes nonetheless.

“Tell me to stop.” The words came out firm but with some bite to them. “Tell me to stop, like I wanted you to stop making decisions for me our entire marriage. Go on, say it.”

Ouch, Sapph. Damn.

“I don’t think I can.” He whispered, pushing off of me just a bit.

“And why is that?” I wasn’t letting him off that easily. My gaze stayed locked on him like the scope of a sniper rifle.

He didn’t answer me, of course I knew he wouldn’t have an answer. So I did the only kind thing I could think of doing at the time. I backed out of his space, out of the cell and sat down at the threshold.

“What are you doing?” His twisted mouth and raised brows amused me.

“I’m doing what you need me to do. Leaving you alone.” Am I giving him emotional whiplash? Yep. Do I care? Nope.

“Stop that.” He muttered.

“After this I think I'll go find Erek—that’s his name by the way—and ask if he wants to put a baby in me too.”

“Sapph don’t you fucking dare!” He snarled, pushing the scared man down into the grey floor.

“I’m sorry, did you say something?” I flicked a piece of wax out of my ear. “I thought all you could say was—-”

“Don’t. Don’t you fucking mock me when I’m at my lowest.” He let out with a frustrated growl through clenched teeth.

That got me on my feet.

“Oh this is you at your lowest?” I scoffed with a hearty laugh. “Ha! Give me a break. You’re an asshole who’s finally getting a taste of what it’s like to be the one without power.”

If it weren’t for the bars, we’d be nose to nose right now.

“Wyatt B Hart, I was in that same position you were in. Someone violated me, just like they violated you. The difference between us is that when I was at my lowest? You let me stay there until I came crawling back to you! Like you were the only thing that could give me meaning in the universe!”

My throat hurt from yelling…but not as bad as my heart hurt to use this against him.

“No. I didn’t…that’s not what happened.” He tried to defend himself but there was no helping with this.

“That is exactly what happened and I’ll tell you how it happened.” I lowered my voice so only he could hear me. “You manipulated so many events in my life. Every date I ever went on, every crush I ever had—hell even when I was the President’s bodyguard? You clipped my wings so that I would only fall back down to you.”

He gripped the bars tight enough to turn his knuckles white yet he didn’t move away.

“Tell me I’m wrong?” Hot tears slid down my dirty face.

“What does any of that have to do with what’s going on right now?” He hissed in confusion.

“Isn’t that obvious? Haha, score one for the world's dumbest genius.”

I hopped past the line and lifted him up by his collar, pissed, exhausted and ready to collapse from carrying all his emotional weight.

“I am the monster you made me to be, Wyatt.” My voice was guttural and strained, inhuman and raw. “You pushed me into your arms, molded me into the wife you wanted. Did you think that some trauma would absolve you of that? After all you’ve done to me?”

Chests heaving, we were close enough to share one breath.

“I’m sorry.”

“Not good enough.” I nearly kissed him. I wanted to kiss hard and deep while he sobbed into my mouth.

But that’s not where we are right now.

“I’m sorry.” He muttered over and over again.

“You don’t get to be sorry, not anymore. And you don’t get to shut down or shut me out. Period. Understood?”

He weakly nodded, tears flowing down his dark cheeks.

“Good.”

I tossed him onto his bed and turned my full hardened gaze on him.

“Now that that’s out of the way, we can talk about why I’m actually here.”