Chapter 60 60
Stefan swallowed hard at the mention of his former job. His plan was to leave tomorrow, but he'd wanted to do this for her first, "You made me this way, baby." He replied.
She shook her head. "If anything, Juliana did."
He smiled, all papa proud. "Yeah. She is something."
She laid her head on his shoulder, hugging him. "So's her daddy," Alana said. "He's a knight you know. Sir Galahad. Maybe you've heard of him?"
Stefan laughed to himself. A man would never have to worry about his ego or pride around Alana. He felt like a king in her arms. He felt loved and wanted. He was madly in love.
And he knew what he had to tell her later tonight would tear them apart and destroy her trust.
___________
The scent of the candles still hung in the air. Steam curled lazily from the bathwater, long gone lukewarm, and the soft flicker of the only candle that was still on danced across Stefan’s bare chest. Alana lay against him, her cheek resting just below his collarbone, tracing small circles over his skin with absent fingers.
It had been the perfect evening. The bath, the way he’d touched her like she was the only thing in the world that mattered. The silence was calming and Alana sighed contentedly, but when Stefan spoke, his words cracked through the quiet like a bullet.
“I’m leaving tomorrow, Alana.” He said simply.
For a moment, Alana thought she’d misheard. Her hand froze mid-trace, her lashes lifted, and her gaze met his. “What? I don't understand. Where are you going?”
He sat up a little. She was still in his arms, but he was unable to look at her. “It’s a mission. Reese is in trouble. He’s been captured in Bucharest, and they need me to help bring him out.”
Alana could feel her heart start to beat faster. This was it. The thing she'd been scared of. It was happening. She tried to stay calm even though she wanted to scream. Maybe she'd do it into a pillow so Juliana wouldn't hear, “I thought you quit,”
“I did, but this is important so I have to go back for this one mission,”
The soft romantic glow of the room seemed to dim instantly. Alana’s heartbeat stuttered even more. “You’re kidding.” She said as she got off him, grabbed a towel and began to dry herself.
Stefan knew she wouldn't appreciate telling her how incredibly sexy she looked, so he kept his mouth shut and watched as she wrapped that beautiful, sexy body in a robe and tied it up,
“I wouldn’t joke about this.” He replied.
Her laugh came sharp, bitter. “Oh, I think you would. You’d light candles, pour wine, make love to me like nothing else exists—” she gestured around the bathroom, trembling, “—and then tell me you’re leaving. Was this your way of softening the blow, Stefan? Did you think this would make it easier? Did you think anything would make it easier?”
He turned to her then, eyes shadowed. “That’s not fair.”
“Fair?” she echoed, “You want to talk about fair? Fair is not marrying a man who swore he was done with danger and finding out almost four weeks later that it was all a lie!”
He stood and got out of the tub as well, water dripping from his glorious body, jaw clenched, not caring one bit about his nakedness as he faced her.
“It’s not a lie. I am done, Alana. I was done. But this is Reese. He’s not just a colleague — he’s my friend. I can’t sit here knowing he’s trapped, maybe tortured, and do nothing about it.”
“Then let them handle it. You left. This is not your fight anymore. You have a daughter for fucks sake. You are going to risk your life…What if something happens to you? What if we lose you, Stefan?”
“You won't,” came his reply.
Tears burned her eyes, but her anger refused to let them fall. He was so determined already, and she could feel herself losing this fight, “What about me? What about us? Our marriage? Our daughter, Stefan…”
He moved toward her, reaching for her, but she stepped back. “Alana—”
“Don’t,” she warned. “Don’t touch me right now. Because if you do, I might forgive you, and I don’t want to. I want to hit you instead.”
Her voice cracked on the last word, and that broke him more than any accusation could have. “I don’t want to go,” he said quietly. “But I have to. If it were me out there, Reese would come for me, and you know that.”
Alana pressed her trembling hands to her temples. “This isn’t about Reese. It’s about you. You don’t know how to stay still. You don’t know how to stop chasing danger, even when you have everything you ever said you wanted right in front of you.”
He closed the distance between them then, his hand finding her arm. “You are everything I want.”
She wrenched her arm away and slapped him hard across the face. “I said don't touch me, Stefan,” she cried, “Did you plan all this? Earn my trust? Get me to marry you so you can have access to your daughter…Just so you can leave us knowing you have everything you want,”
He shook his head, “No. Of course not, Alana. I would never do such a thing,”
“Then prove it!” she cried, “Stay. Stay with me. Stay for Juliana. For us.”
Her tears finally fell, hot and heavy. She hated that she loved him this much. Hated that she couldn’t stand the thought of him walking away again — not when she’d just started to trust him.
But his silence said everything.
She gave a small, broken laugh, shaking her head. “I knew it,” she whispered. “Deep down I knew this wouldn’t last.”
“Alana—”
“No. You made your choice, Stefan.” She turned toward the door, clutching the robe around her like armor. “And now I’ll make mine.”
She stormed out of the bathroom. The sound of her bare feet hitting the floor echoed like the beating of his own heart. Stefan ran a hand through his hair, grabbed another robe, then followed her down the hall and down the stairs, putting the robe on as he went. He found her in the kitchen, pacing.
“Go away,” she said when she saw him, “I only came down here because I didn't want to wake Juliana,”
“I didn't want it to be like this,” he said, his voice low, strained. “I didn't want to hurt you like this,”