004 Just a rebound

***

~~Soren Lancaster~~

***

The door creaks open. Knox emerges, a bottle of drink in hand.

“What if Delilah leaves?” He asks, handing me a glass.

“She won't,” I answer tersely.

His eyes stays on me. “Everyone has a limit to what they can take, Soren.” he snorts. “Honestly I'm surprised you let Ashley waltz back into your life after jilting you. And bringing her home is wrong,”

Sure, I'll admit that I never bargained for this. It was a one time mistake.

A drunken misstep.

But the outcome is irreversible. there's a child involved.

I need this baby. It's mine just as soon as Dr Frank confirms it.

Ashley's my past. She might've saved me from dying but she left and that chapter is closed.

Delilah, though…?

She crawled into my head and stayed there.

She's home.

I turn to Knox and sit up straighter. “She's carrying my child. Delilah knows what's at stake. Moreover Ashley leaves soon,”

Knox studies me for a moment. He takes a slow drink, then exhales through his nose.

“You make it sound simple,” he says. “Like variables on a page,”

“It is,” I reply. My voice doesn't waver. “It doesn't have to be that complicated.”

He shakes his head once, not amused. “People aren't equations, Soren.”

“No,” I retort. “But outcomes are. I want this baby. And I'm certain Lilah won't leave me,”

Yes. I've seen the fire in her eyes. I see the way she spirals when I touch her. How she trembles under my stare.

She'd always hover, sit and take my shit. She never walks away.

That level of commitment doesn't wear off fast.

And somehow, that fire, that devotion — that's what gets me…what turns me on.

So yes. Delilah won’t leave me.

She's not allowed to.

I'm not willing to let go either.

Another beat. Then Knox stands, setting his glass down a little harder than necessary.

“For your sake,” he mutters, “I hope you're right,”

I take a breath.

So do I.

******

Delilah.

I went home.

Of course I do.

I'm breathing hurt. Moving hurt.

My head is spinning. I feel weak.

But Ashley has taken from me once. She always has it her way.

Not this time.

Soren's my husband. He made it clear in her presence.

I won't let her take that away from me.

The butler greets me as he pulls the door open.

I head to the kitchen for a bottle of water.

But then I hear voices.

It stops me cold.

It's the unmistakable voices of our helps.

I stalled at the door.

“A guest? She's not.” Brenda tells Susan, the cleaner. “He's the boss's ex-fiance, the only woman he had ever admitted to dating in public. It was also rumored she's his first love.”

“Why's she here?” Susan asked, her voice etched with curiosity.

“I don't know. I don't like her. She's trouble,” Brenda says. “Forced me to add peanut butter in the toast, even though I mentioned madam Lilah’s allergic to it,”

My brows rose.

“That's sad. But first love never dies,”

My throat goes dry. I chew on those words like they're stale gum with my fist clenched hard.

“Right. You need to see the way our boss looks at her. He never looks at madam Lilah like that.”

My chest tightens. I couldn't take in more.

I clear my throat.

They jump, scrambling off, disoriented.

I don't say a word. I just walk over to the refrigerator, grabbed a bottle of water and left.

But as I start up the stairs, their words follows me.

First love never dies.

That's a food for thought.

Can I really win this?

What if Soren still wants Ashley?

But that thought dies off clean the second I opened the door.

On the bed lies a massive bouquet of roses, three boxes and a cake.

My heart skips a beat.

I inch closer, taking the bouquet and sniffing it.

It smells…nice.

I spot a paper tucked beneath the ribbon. A small note. ‘I’m sorry about yesterday. Happy birthday, Lilah.”

A sad smile crawls it's way to my face.

I tear my gaze away from the card and look down at the other boxes.

There's a small one resting on top of a box.

I carefully put the bouquet down and take it.

A necklace. Dainty. Expensive. Beautiful.

My fingers trace the edge, making me feel all warm inside.

I pick the next one, it's a medium size box. I open it.

Chocolate.

I stare at it.

I don't like chocolates. Maybe he forgot — it's the thought that counts.

Right?

I go for the bigger box that has a bowtie ribbon on it.

A knock on the door startles me.

I put it back down, and with a calm breath I walk to the door, and open it.

Ashley's standing there with a sloppy smile, lifting her arm a little too much.

My brows rose.

It's not her smile or imposing presence that has me on the edge.

It's the bracelet on her wrist.

A handcrafted bracelet. Sapphire gemstones embedded in the design.

A lump forms in my throat.

It's simple— carefully crafted.

Mine.

I ball my fist so tightly that my nails dig into my palms, but I barely feel the sting.

It's the exact bracelet I lost in highschool, the same one I had the night I saved Soren after an attack.