Page 92 of A King’s Obsession

Her arms fell to her sides. For a second, she just stared at me, and I knew exactly what she thought I’d admitted to.

“Jru, listen—” I stepped toward her, but she shook her head.

“After last night?” Her voice cracked, and I watched her struggle to keep her expression together. “After everything I told you? I trusted you.”

“I know. Let me explain.” I reached for her again, but she moved back before my hand could touch her.

“Then who the fuck is your wife?” She swallowed, looking away for a second before facing me again. “You moved me into your house. You’ve been telling me I’m your woman. Why would you pursue me if you’re already married?”

“Jru—” I started, trying to get her to slow down long enough to hear me.

“No. Answer me.” Her voice rose, and she stood there waiting, her jaw tight.

We stared at each other. She waited, her jaw tight, while I tried to figure out how the fuck to explain what I’d done without making this worse.

“Jru, let me—” I took another step toward her, but she wasn't letting me get close enough to explain anything.

She raised both hands and took a slow step backward. Then another.

“I don’t even know why the fuck I’m here.” Her voice dropped, and for a second, she looked more hurt than angry.

I moved toward her, but she shook her head.

“Fuck you, Ezra. I’m done.” She turned before I could get another word out.

She turned and walked off, passing Malachi as he came down the hall. He looked after her, then back at me.

“Man, what—” Malachi started, his expression changing when he saw my face.

“Fuck!”

I snatched the glass off my desk and hurled it against the wall. It shattered beside the cabinet, scattering across the floor.

Malachi stopped in the doorway. “What the fuck going on?” He looked at the broken glass before turning his attention back to me.

I braced both hands on the desk, staring at the papers spread across it. A few hours ago, she’d been sitting beside me signing off on plans for her restaurant. Now she thought I’d made her somebody’s side bitch.

“She heard me tell Simone I’m married.” I dragged a hand down my face, already knowing how bad that sounded without the rest of the story.

“Simone?” His eyebrows drew together. “What the fuck she doing here?”

“Does that shit matter right now?” I snapped, looking up at him.

He glanced toward the stairs. “Then tell Jru who you married to.”

I looked up at him.

Telling her she was my wife would clear up one thing and give her a whole new reason to walk away.

Chapter 19

If this baby was trying to kill me, it could at least wait until I got my salon open.

I’d spent twenty minutes staring at flooring samples on my laptop before a picture of somebody’s lunch sent me running to the bathroom. Wasn’t even real food in front of me. A fucking picture.

Now I was back on the couch, sucking on a cracker like it owed me money.

Malachi had left water, crackers and enough instructions to make me feel like I needed adult supervision. I appreciated him. I did. But if he asked whether I’d eaten one more time, I was throwing up on his shoes.