Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Three
Kelley was standing next to the crib when Kyzer’s face scrunched up and he picked him up before he had the chance to scream. He changed him and then sat in the rocking chair as he fed him the bottle he’d made. He didn’t feel like he’d missed anything but Kyzer was bigger and heavier and his face had changed a little.
He still had the same baby scent and Kelley had held him against his chest for those first few moments, savouring the feel of his son in his arms. He couldn't imagine not being there.
The door opened and Kelley looked up just as he pulled the empty bottle from Kyzer’s mouth. He placed the bottle on the table next to the rocking chair and lifted Kyzer to his shoulder. Three burps later and Kyzer was already half asleep.
Milana had remained standing in the doorway, leaning against it. Tears were running down her cheeks and she hadn’t bothered to wipe them away. Kelley tucked Kyzer in, sighing softly in his sleep, before he turned to face Milana.
He gripped her hand in his as he walked past her and pulled her behind him towards their bedroom. His bedroom, since none of her things had been in the dressing room when he’d changed earlier. He waited until she was inside and then he closed the bedroom door.
“When did you wake up?” Milana asked him as he walked towards the sofa near the sliding doors of the balcony.
“A few hours ago, but that’s not what’s important now.”
“It is, Kelley. You woke up and it’s a miracle you’ve survived.” Milana’s eyes looked almost pleading but in that moment Kelley didn’t care.
“Yes, a miracle.” Kelley straightened his legs out in front of him and crossed his ankles. He patted the seat next to him and watched Milana as she sat down carefully. “Do you love me?”
Milana looked down, tucked her hair behind her ears and shook her head. Kelley watched every move she made, his eyes missing nothing. She wrung her hands together and then smoothed it over the robe she wore.
“Have I ever threatened you?”
Milana looked up at that and shook her head. “No.”
“Have I ever hit you or shoved you?” Kelley’s voice was soft but his tone implied something dangerous.
“No,” Milana answered.
“Have I ever thrown anything at you or physically hurt you?”
“Kelley.”
“Answer me, Mila.”
She looked up at him again at the sound of her name on his lips. “No, you haven’t.”
“Then what the hell gives you the right?”
Milana shivered. His voice sounded deadly, his eyes were ice cold with animosity. His words had been like a slap, a threat on its own and goosebumps rose all over her skin. She’d never feared Kelley, but now, now he seemed dangerous.
“I didn’t push you,” her voice broke with those words.
“You didn’t have to.”
“I never thought you’d fall backwards. I never wanted to hurt you like that.”
Kelley’s smile was anything but friendly and reassuring. “But you did want to hurt me. I had a girlfriend because you’d left. You didn’t give me any reason to think that you’d come back and I didn’t want to look for you, not after you chose the coward’s way out.”
Milana’s shoulders stiffened. Kelley saw the exact moment the defiance in her reached her eyes. She sat up straighter and lifted her chin and glared. “So divorce me. I don’t care anymore.”
“You should care, Mila. It is after all your life too. There will be no divorce unless you leave alone. Kyzer will know his father and I will know my son. I will not be a weekend father and I doubt you want to be a weekend mother. I know you will never leave him but neither will I.”
“You have no right …”
“The cops have yet to see the footage of my “accident”. What you did was attempted murder and maybe, if you have a great lawyer, it can be argued down to assault. That’s jail time considering my two brain surgeries and the numerous times I flatlined.” Kelley was bullshitting her but she didn't know that, he could see the doubt starting there and then the worry.
He didn't have long to wait before he could see the anger swirling in her eyes and she fought hard to keep her composure. He only saw it because he knew her so well. “What do you want?”
“I forgave you, Mila. I put everything you did in the past, you running away, keeping my son a secret from me, abusing yourself and indirectly also abusing him. Hospital records don't lie. You’re still not back to your normal weight. You are my wife and I will have my wife act as such. Stop hating me because I don’t hate you, despite what you did.”
“You want me on my knees?” Kelley didn’t react but deep inside he could feel the fury rising at her words. It was cruel and uncalled for.
“If that’s what you want. I remember you on your knees sucking my cock that morning and loving every minute of it,” Kelley said and smiling at the humiliation in her eyes.
“Fuck you, Kelley.” Milana was brave now and angry. The hurt and anger overshadowed everything else.
“Gladly. Just say the word.”
Milana stood up from the sofa and looked at him with her fists balled next to her sides. “Anything else, your majesty?”
“And just for future reference, you don’t inherit anything, Mila. Kyzer does. Everything goes to him and will be kept in a trust until he’s twenty-one, just in case you were thinking of killing me in my sleep. That trust would've been managed by Lee and Mason. You would’ve inherited a monthly allowance for as long as you remained living in my house and didn’t remarry.”
Milana gritted her teeth. “You don’t have to worry about me killing you in your sleep because the last place I want to be is in your bed.”
Kelley stood up too and smirked. “Then that’s exactly where you’ll be. It’s my final offer, Mila, and one you won’t get ever again. If you leave here, you leave alone and you will get nothing from me. Stay and raise our son and be my wife and your life will be a good one. Take it or leave it. You have until midnight to give me your decision.”
