Chapter 8

• Anna.
• His chin crashes into my forehead, and I fall backward.
• My rear slams hard onto the floor, and I can't suppress a whimper of pain. I glance up at the culprit and feel my irritation skyrocket.
• Damn it, Henry. I thought he had left. I heard the door close; did Dave leave? I'll kill him.
• "Are you okay?" He asks, barely containing his laughter.
• "Oh, I'm fabulous, don't you think?" I reply sarcastically. My tailbone hurts, so NO, I'M NOT OKAY, YOU JERK!
• Suddenly, he covers his face, erupting into full-on laughter. Heat rushes to my cheeks, a sure sign of my embarrassment.
• "Do you want to stop laughing like a moron and help me up?" I stretch out my hand, expecting assistance. Ignoring my outstretched hand, he bends down, bringing his face close to mine.
• "Such a dirty mouth you've got," he murmurs, his warm breath caressing my face. I push him away, shooting him a deadly glare.
• "If you don't like it, you can leave. I'd be more than thrilled," I snap, pointing to the hallway leading to the front door.
• "You wish... I don't mind your foul mouth. But I'm sure Dave isn't thrilled about it, am I right?"
• Truth be told, he's right. I never curse. But Henry triggers something in me that makes it impossible to restrain. I have an overwhelming urge to hurl insults, punches, and shouts at him. The combative side of me feels alive, years of pent-up frustration at wanting to verbally and physically lash out at him resurfacing.
• "Stay out of my life," I retort angrily.
• "I thought you were more fun," he says, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
• "You can shut up and help me."
• I extend my hand again, and when he takes it, an all too familiar warmth courses through me. I yank his hand, placing my leg between his, making it easier to throw him off balance. He crashes beside me on the floor. I suppress a laugh, only allowing a slight smirk to betray my amusement.
• "You're still deceitful. At least something hasn't changed," he observes, fully lying on the floor, his gaze fixed on the ceiling. Deliberately, he brushes his hand against mine. Annoyed, I pull away and get up.
• "You don't know me," I snap, my voice laced with venom.
• "You know you're wrong. And from the looks of it, I know you better than your fiancé does," he shoots back, his tone rough.
• "What the hell are you implying?"
• "Are you making that poor guy wait until marriage to be with you?"
• "It's none of your business what I do or don't do!"
• "Or, more precisely, what you're not doing," he says with a raised eyebrow, trying to get under my skin.
• Determinedly, I march into the living room and fling open the front door. It's bitterly cold outside, and I'm without a coat, but I brace myself.
• "Get out of my house. Now," I try to keep my composure, but all I want is to kick him out and ensure he never gets near me again.
• He walks angrily to the door and slams it shut. Is this how we're playing? Let's see how long you can keep it up.
• "You know? We still haven't discussed what really matters here. Jeremy," he says, leaning against the door and crossing his arms.
• My eyes betray me, and I can't help but admire his physique. God, he looks even hotter than before.
• "Snap out of it, idiot."
• "We have nothing to discuss about him," I murmur.
• "I think we do."
• "Where's Levingston?" I ask. He wants to talk; fine, let's talk. I have a ton of questions, and I need answers.
• "It's none of your business," he replies, clearly taken aback by my question.
• Where the hell is his friend, and why isn't Henry with him? Years ago, Levingston managed to poison Henry against me. I believe he succeeded, which is probably why, in the end, Henry left me, only leaving behind a termination letter and a notice of the company's relocation to another country that wasn't even mentioned.
• "You're right; now leave," I say, frustrated. If he's not answering my questions, I won't answer his either.
• "I'm not leaving, Anna. Whether you like it or not, it's my right to know him, just as it's his right to know me."
• "He's been doing fine without you."
• "What about in a few years? When he's a teenager and sees all his friends with two parents?"
• "Dave is there for him."
• "I won't let you lie to him."
• "You're mistaken. You can't just show up five years later, claim me as yours, and on top of that, want my son. IT DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT! I don't love you anymore! My son will never know you or call you 'dad'! Because you aren't!"
• "I love him," he suddenly blurts out, leaving me stunned.
• "What?"
• "When I first saw him. Before...," he pauses, "before I realized he was ours. When I saw his face, I had this overpowering urge to hug him. I didn't know why. When he looked me in the eyes, I wanted to cry, but didn't know why. And when Jeremy called you 'mom' in that room, everything came crashing down, Anna."
• I'm frozen, speechless. Never in a million years did I envision this situation, let alone hear these words from Henry.
• "I've missed five years, and I refuse to miss more. I love him. I want to teach him things. I want to be his hero. I want him to call me dad. And if you're by my side as all this happens, I'd be ecstatic... But even if you're not, I'd always have a piece of you with me," he says, his voice breaking, and his eyes becoming glassy.
• "Henry, I can't... I just can't. You can't just waltz back into my life. If you enter his life, you enter mine," I say, sinking into the sofa, overwhelmed by the maelstrom of conflicting emotions inside me. Henry's words had caught me off guard, weakening my defenses.
• "Hadn't you moved on from me?"
• "Yes, but you were someone who hurt me deeply. You shattered me," I say, looking at my hands and nervously picking at my nails.
• "You talk as if you were the only one who loved in this relationship," he counters.
• "I was the only one who loved in this. Remember? You used me."
• "You know I was lying."
• "No, I didn't know then, and I still don't now."
• He moves closer to me, and I know that if I don't stop this now, he's going to touch me and I'll react. Worst case, I'll crave the feeling of his skin against mine.
• "You don't love him anymore, Anna. You don't want him."
• "Henry, you showed up five years too late. How can you do this to me? I don't love you anymore. I don't feel anything for you. Can you understand that? So much time has passed... If you'd come back even a year after everything happened, I think the foolish part of me might have forgiven you. But it's been five years. You can't expect me to still be the same girl from back then, let alone to still be in love with you. It doesn't work like that. Time has passed, I've changed, you probably have too. I love another man now, I moved on with my life, and you should too without ruining mine once again. Did I love you? Madly. Did I need you? All the time. Do I forgive you? I can't. I'll never forget what you did to me, and I'll never be able to forgive you, not even for the sake of friendship, let alone because you're my ex."
• He looked shocked, and I felt I'd said all that needed to be said. Though in this version, I left out the more hurtful things and the shouting. But it worked for me.
• "Yes, Anna, I showed up five years too late. I know, and I regret it every day. But do you know why I came back? Because I couldn't take it anymore, Anna. A lot of time had passed, and I expected this reaction from you. What can I say? I know you. I knew you'd shout at me, hate me. I knew you'd want me out of your life as soon as you saw me, but admit that when you saw me, you felt your heart race, and you felt like you could breathe again. And if you didn't feel it, I did because I was dead without you."
• Words that touch my heart and are hard to deny.
• "You left me, dammit! How can you say you were dead without me when you were the one who left?!" I shouted, hurt.
• "You know very well I lied that night. Do you know what would've happened if I'd stayed with you? They would've sold you to people who would harm you. Do you think I could've lived with that?"
• "I don't want to talk to you anymore. Leave."
• "No! You say I left you? Well, before you spout nonsense, listen to me, and you'll see."
• "I'm not talking nonsense," I said through gritted teeth, nearly slapping him. "If you did it to protect me, you could've come back sooner than five years, don't you think?"
• "Sit down, and I'll tell you why I came back now."
• "I'm not interested."
• "You talk and interject, but you don't listen."
• "No matter what you say, I won't forgive you."
• "Fine, if you don't want to listen, that's your problem. But Jeremy is going to know I'm his father, and you'll see me every day, Ann. When you're ready to listen and stop acting like a child, let me know."
• "CHILD, YOU SAY?!" I screamed, and he stormed out the door. "Oh no, you son of a bitch! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!" I yelled, alone in the living room.