Charlene
"I… we should leave this room and…"
"Charlene!" Draven yelled at me, but I quickly covered his mouth because I knew Adrian would react immediately and rush into the room.
He slapped my hands away from his mouth, then grabbed them, pulling me closer. "Are you doing this on purpose, bringing me into a room that reeks of him?"
"It's not what you think and I…" I tried to explain, but he let go of my hand and laughed.
"Are you taunting me, Charlene?"
I blinked in confusion, having no idea what he meant. "What do you mean?"
"You brought me to this room filled with your pictures with him and the children just to rub it in my face, right?" he demanded. "And you…" he pointed at me. "You're still supporting him even after how he treated me."
"That's not what…" I began, but he silenced me with his glare.
He let out a loud chuckle and moved around the room, staring at the pictures plastered on the walls and the frames on the floor.
"You let that human take over the role of father and even act like your husband because you refused to come clean to me. You made a fool of me!" He paused and pointed to a picture of the triplets after their birth. "Charlene, you made me miss the birth of my children and let that human take over," he said, pointing to the photo of Adrian and me holding them.
I didn't speak; I just watched him. He made it sound like it was my fault, but everything that happened was because he didn't trust me. Just like he suffered, I did too—maybe even worse—because he abandoned me when I needed him the most.
If only he had listened.
"I wasn't here to listen to their first words, to watch them take their first steps. And now… Damian is suffering and…"
I couldn't take it anymore, watching him wallow in self-pity. I walked towards him, reaching out to touch him but dropped my hand, reminding myself not to sympathize with him. After all, he was the same man who had abandoned me.
"Don't worry. I will make sure you get to know them as soon as Damian is fine. All this time you missed will be…"
He turned to face me, his eyes boring into mine. The way he stared at me made me want to crawl into a hole and hide. I could feel the anger burning in him, ready to be unleashed if I said something else.
"Look, I get that you're mad about everything. I am too. Damian has been waiting for you his whole life and now that you're here, there's something I should tell you."
"And what is that?" His deep voice vibrated through the room, sending chills down my spine.
I rubbed my hands together and cleared my throat. It was what Damian wanted, but I didn't know how Draven was going to take it.
"Damian wants a father figure in his life, so introducing you to him would make him feel we are…" I scratched the back of my head nervously.
"Think what?" He took a step closer to me while I stepped back until a framed picture stood between us.
"He would think we are a couple," I said.
He gave me a confused, questioning look. "Why would he think that? Aren't you married?"
I rolled my eyes and raised my hands. "Hello? There's no ring on my finger. And besides, if I were married, would I agree to come to Salvador with you?"
"Fair enough," he said. "So you want to lie to Damian about our relationship?" he questioned, taking another step and pushing the frame between us to the ground.
It was a picture of Adrian holding Drew.
In the blink of an eye, he was in front of me, leaning closer until I felt his warm breath and the intoxicating scent of cedarwood and his cologne.
"What are you trying to do?" I demanded as he reached out, grabbed me by the waist, and pulled me into his arms. "Draven… I…"
He cut me off with a kiss.
My eyes widened in shock as he slowly pressed his lips to mine. At first, I didn't respond, but my body was electrified, and it was hard not to kiss him back.
I responded immediately to the kiss. Muscle memory.
Then the memories of five years ago flashed through my head. I realized what I had done and angrily shoved him off. "What the hell is your problem, Draven!" I yelled.
He chuckled and smirked at me. "I was just testing something."
"You kissed me just to test something? Are you insane?"
Draven smirked again and then burst into laughter. "Insane? I'm not the one who's going to plant lies in a child's mind."
"What… you are…" I stammered, unable to find the right words.
"If you want me that badly," he spread his arms wide, "you should have said so. And if you can admit you cheated on me, then maybe I'll forgive you and give you what you want."
I snapped and raised my hand, slapping him hard across the face.
He laughed again and wiped the blood from his lips. "What? Are you trying to deny it?"
"Draven!"
"It's the truth. Admit it, Charlene. You can do without me. That's why…"
I didn't let him finish. I kicked him hard in the groin.
His face turned red immediately and he fell to the ground, groaning in pain and holding himself. "Charlene…" he groaned. "What…"
"This is me reminding you, Alpha King douchebag, that the world doesn't revolve around you. I survived without you for years, so I've already moved on."
"It hurts," he clenched his jaw. "Of all the places you could attack, Charlene…" he groaned.
"Serves you right, royal jackass," I responded and laughed. "Permit me to leave if we're done here." I bowed and headed towards the door.
He rushed after me just as I unlocked the door, turning me around to face him. I tried to free myself from his grip but couldn't. Then the door opened, hitting me on the back.
I yelped and pushed hard against his chest, and we ended up falling to the ground with me on top of him.
"Mommy, where are you?" Drew's soft voice sounded at the entrance.
My eyes widened in shock as I exchanged looks with Draven, and we both turned towards the door.