Chapter 19 We Talked.
~Walter.
I never cared.
Not about things like this. Not about having a child.
I didn’t realize how much of a problem it was until I brought it up with Hannah.
She was defensive—far too defensive. Enough to make something twist uncomfortably in my chest. Enough to make me think that maybe… something wasn’t right.
I wanted to wake her up.
Force her to talk to me.
Make her give me a reason—any reason—why the idea of a child unsettled her so much.
But she shut me out.
Just like always.
Like I was meant to listen and accept.
Like my questions didn’t matter.
Like my voice had no place in the conversation.
And only now did I realize—
That was how it had always been.
Hannah spoke.
And I agreed.
I never argued.
Never pushed.
Never demanded answers.
Because my father’s greed hovered over everything, silent and suffocating, reminding me of the price of disobedience.
I hate this.
……
Hannah left very early… of course, with Mason, and all I got was, “I have a doctor’s appointment. I’ll be back by evening.”
If you’re that sick, then stay in the damned hospital.
After making sure Hannah had left, I walked back into the house.
Haven.
I’d barely seen her the previous day. It was starting to feel like she was avoiding me.
I didn’t want to believe it.
My steps were slow and steady… Haven and I were home alone. I couldn’t help the thought that crossed my mind.
Sex… a wild one.
My body missed her… I missed the way she called my name. The way she shivered under my control.
Fuck… the thought alone gave me an erection.
I took a deep breath before knocking on the door.
Haven wasn’t helping matters. She appeared in front of me in thin silk material that barely reached her thighs. Her shoulders were on display, and her nipples looked like they were screaming for freedom.
I gulped.
I want—
“Walter?” she called.
Fuck! She must have caught me staring.
“It’s not what you think,” I stuttered. “I came to talk,” I added.
“Doesn’t look like it,” Haven said, dragging her feet as she strolled back into the room.
I walked in, and the faint smell of her perfume welcomed me.
Her room was quite messy. Lipstick littered the table, clothes hung on the wardrobe door, but it still felt like a place I’d want to sleep in.
“What do you want to talk about?” Haven finally broke the ice. She barely even looked at me.
I messed up.
“Okay, um…” I cleared my throat. “I heard you on the phone the other day with your dad. You said you wanted to work. Did he agree?”
I couldn’t help but ask. I was worried.
Haven frowned. “You’ve been eavesdropping on my conversations?” she snapped, folding her small arms.
She was angry, but it looked like I could pick her up and tuck her under my arm.
I chuckled. “Sorry. Sorry… I didn’t mean to. But hey, you won’t stop going on blind dates, so I had to make sure you weren’t going on another one,” I laughed.
It warmed my heart when she laughed too.
“Well, it wasn’t a blind date,” she said. Her smile slowly faded. “I told you, didn’t I? That I want to get myself together, and that starts with working. Far away from Dad’s companies, precisely.”
“And did he agree?” I asked, sitting next to her.
She shook her head. “Not yet, but I know he will.”
Haven kept smiling, but I could tell—she wasn’t happy.
So I decided to give her a break from her own life.
“You know… life isn’t easy for me either,” I started.
Haven stared at me for a while before looking away.
“I know,” she nodded. “Your wife is sick, you have to do everything for her, your sister-in-law stays in your house, and she’s avoiding you…”
“Not that,” I whispered.
Her brows creased. “What else could be wrong with you? Your life’s perfect.”
“I wish,” I answered with a soft smile.
I truly wished.
“You know, I never get to make choices for myself. My father always makes them for me. Let’s say we’re… alike. I just don’t have a brother to compete with,” I paused. “I never loved Hannah,” I said, and Haven’s eyes widened.
I couldn’t really tell what she felt, but I could tell she was dying to hear that.
“I never loved any of you to begin with. I was on my own that evening when your dad came over, proposing marriage. Of course, money was involved, so my dad agreed. He sold me out like I was a sheep.”
It felt odd sharing how I felt, but at the same time, it was… relieving.
“So you never got to choose?” she asked, her voice etched with pity.
I shook my head. “If I did, I’d be somewhere on a boat, drinking with no worries at all,” I chuckled. “But now I’m here, crazily obsessed with the woman I said I only wanted to have a one-time thing with. You won’t even look at me,” I whispered.
Haven’s hand reached for my face, sweeping my hair aside.
“How… how do you feel about me?” she whispered.
I swallowed, my eyes fixed on her lips.
“It feels hard to breathe when you’re away. It’s harder to breathe when you’re close, but I’m not allowed to touch you. It feels like fire crawling through my skin when someone else touches you, and there’s an even greater heat when you touch me.
I’ve never felt like this—not for any woman. But I’m here, praying that you’ll look at me like this every day. Praying that you’ll share your problems with me and let me help,” I said.
For the first time, I said how I truly felt—and it wasn’t so bad.
Haven didn’t utter a word, but with the way she looked at me, her hand still on my face, I could tell. She wanted me too.
I leaned in… I wanted her—her lips, her whole body—but—
Thud!
Something sounded outside.
Haven sprinted away from me as fast as she could.
Fuck!
“I’ll check what that is,” I muttered. I got up and—fuck… I had a boner.