Chapter 19
River couldn’t tear his eyes away.!!
He watched as the man placed his hand at the small of Allison’s back, guiding her gently across the snowy pavement. They moved in sync, laughing, smiling–like a couple who had known each other for years.X
Rage built in River’s chest.
That kiss… Was this him? The man she had been cheating on him with all along? Was this the reason she left so easily, so coldly?
He told himself to calm down. To think logically. But logic was a fading echo in the storm of emotions flooding him.X
No. He wouldn’t jump to conclusions.
He clenched his jaw and began to follow them.X
If Allison was truly with someone else, he needed to know when. How. If she had betrayed him while they were still married, he had every right to confront her
They walked for a while, the man occasionally brushing hair from Allison’s face, making her laugh in that soft, quiet way River remembered all too well. That laugh used to be his.8
Eventually, they entered a cozy–looking café tucked at the corner of a cobbled street. River waited across the street, pacing back and forth until finally, his patience shattered.
Through the window, he saw them Jeaning close, heads touching. The man reached over to wipe cream from her lip, then pressed another kiss to her mouth. It was tender.
Intimate.
And River snapped.
The door to the café slammed open as he stormed in, the little bell above it jingling violently from the force.
Allison barely had time to look up before River was there, grabbing her arm and yanking her out of her seat.
“What the hell is the meaning of this, Allison?” he growled, fury radiating from every part of him. His eyes flared as he pointed at the man. “Is he? Is he the one you cheated on me with?“8
Allison stared at him, her eyes wide, her body rigid in shock “River?!”
“Answer me!” His voice was a thunderclap across the café.
And then, slowly, her shock melted into anger!
“Yes,” she snapped. Although, not real, she decided it would be for the best. “Yes, he is.”
River’s heart dropped.
“What the hell does that have to do with you anyway?” she said bitterly. “You don’t get to ruin my life twice.”
“What does it have to do with me?” he barked. “I’m your husband!“}
“No,” she hissed, yanking her arm free. “We’re divorced. I already filed it and left it at your house.”
“We’re not done!” River shouted. “I never agreed to that divorce. You were sold to me to pay for your family’s debt. I own you, Allison!”
That did it
The man, Joseph, stood up, placing himself between River and Allison, jaw clenched. “No. You don’t own her. She’s my girlfriend now. And if you’re so worried about the debt–l pay it all. Every damn cent.*8
River’s fists curled at his sides, chest heaving.
“So that’s it?” he asked, turning his gaze to Allison. “You’re just going to waste everything we had? Throw away our marriage like it meant nothing?”
Allison laughed, a sound laced with bitterness and pain.
“You think I wasted it?” Her voice trembled, but not from fear, From fury. “You are the one who destroyed our marriage the moment you chose Candice over me. I heard you, River. I heard everything.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked, confused.
She swallowed hard. “That night… I heard you tell her I was just convenient. That I was part of a business deal, a debt to be paid. That you were going to dispose of me soon. And Candice? She made it easy for you, didn’t she? She told me to leave–and I did.”
River’s eyes widened. “No.. Allison-
“You wanted her,” Allison said, her voice rising, her chest heaving now. “You chose her. And I gave you exactly what you wanted.”
“I didn’t mean it River whispered. 1 was angry. Confused, I didn’t mean any of it.”
But Allison stepped back. “That’s not my problem anymore.”
Then she tumed away.X
“No” River breathed. “Please._“}
She didn’t stop.
“Please
She froze at the tremble in his voice. Slowly, she turned back.
And there he was.
other” Alison said her voice tong her cheat hearing now. “You shope hen And I gave you sactly wh
didn’t mean (C” River whispered 1 was angry Confused I didn’t mean any of it’s
But Alison Steccled back. That’s not my problem anymore?
She didnt secl
She fire at the emblem to voice. Sowy, sne sumed back
Once the feard cold–blooded man who commanded sons and amiss–13
front of her.
The gados from surrounding tables echoed in the silence that fell like a stroud. Joseph stepped forward, but Allison raised a hand
Sover locked
eyes glassyl
Tim sory” he said, voice raw know I don’t deserve you. I know I broke everything. But I came here for you. Not because you owe me.
1 but because I love you And I’m not too proud to beg
