Chapter 28 Jealous?
DASHIELL
What the hell have I gotten myself into? Why was I behaving so abnormally? After that night with Nova, everything changed for me. I couldn't interpret it, but it felt like she took something from me. She left behind a hole in my chest. Sex with Lilith didn't interest me as much as I did.
How else do you explain how I couldn't get hard for a freaking 10 minutes? I had to imagine Nova, on her knees with her legs spread for me before I could get my dick up.
This hadn't happened before. I had always prided myself on my health, and how easy it was for me to get down and dirty with anyone, anytime and any day. However, for the past two days, since I returned from the business trip, I have been battling with so much emotional stress that it has been taking a toll on me. Lilith didn't notice at all. If she did, she would have asked me about it like she normally did.
"Dashiell? I want this one!" Lilith's shrill voice broke through my reverie, cutting it short as she forced me to focus on her.
"You can get it." I was bored with this. Since early this morning, she had been dragging me around to purchase things for her as an apology gift for not taking her on the business trip.
Though I was glad to be out of the house, I wasn't happy with running around. Especially shopping, when I wasn't a fan.
"Thank you!" She placed a kiss on my cheek, before turning to give instructions to the sales clerk who had been patiently following us with a permanent fake smile on her face.
Just like me, she was obviously fed up with Lilith strutting around, but she couldn't do anything at all. This was, after all, her job. She has no right to complain.
"Can I get the pink one to pair it off?" She pointed to an ugly bag with a huge amount to it, something I wouldn't be caught dead buying, not because of the price but how terrible it looked.
"Yeah. You can buy anything you like." I waved, letting her do whatever she pleased, knowing it made her happy.
I turned when I felt a pricking sensation on the back of my neck, and my face morphed into a frown when I saw her back. There was no way I could mistake her in the world, not when I was familiar with the back I watched as I rammed into her, doggy style. Nova was in a fucking mall with another man.
"Dashiell? What are you looking at?" Lilith tugged on my arms. "Are you tired? Do you wish to rest for a moment?"
"Not at all." Smiling, I peered at her. "I need to check something out. I will be back before you notice my absence." "But-"
"It won't take up to ten minutes." Placing a kiss on her forehead, I hastened out of the shop, my gaze going through the people walking towards the direction I just saw Nova walk through with that damned Brion Marshall.
Not for the first time, I felt an itch to punch a hole in his face, and I knew I would do that should I find him, but I didn't. It seemed like they disappeared into thin air. I searched all the stores around but didn't find them. I went up the escalator to check around, but there was no sign of them. It looked like they had evaporated into the air just as they appeared. Or maybe Nova was avoiding me. Something I knew she was capable of.
It wasn't as if she would be happy to see a man who took advantage of her in her drunken state. Though I loved it, I still held some regrets about it.
Disappointed at losing their track, I returned to the store, where Lilith was waiting for me. The moment she saw me, she leapt up from the chair she was sitting on and approached, hugging me. "I thought you left without me." She pouted, looking up at me with misty eyes.
Seeing that expression reminded me of Nova and how she used to look at me five years ago. Back then, I never paid attention to her needs, something I hoped I had done.
"How can I do that to my lovely girlfriend?" I smiled down at her, the expression a bit forced. I was still yet to get over the anger I felt seeing Nova together with that damned bastard, doing something I had never done with her before. Seeing them on a couple's shirts was another blow to my gut. The feeling is not showing any signs of abating at the moment.
"Your soon-to-be wife," she said with a smile, her cheeks reddening when I placed a kiss on her forehead.
I didn't consent to her words, nor did I refute it. Deep down, I knew I might not fulfill that one promise to her. I was already married. Getting a divorce was out of place. Not when I have a wife and a kid...
Wait a damned minute. Nova never responded to my questions about our baby. She always walked around it. And those kids she was with on the day I met her in front of the school? Who are they? Her kids?
I didn't get a good look at them, so I couldn't tell whether they were hers or not. I think I will have to visit the school once more, to verify them, and -
"Dash? What are you thinking about?" Lilith demanded, cutting my thoughts off for the second time, irritating the hell out of me.
Forcing a smile, I gave her a response I knew she craved to hear, "Thinking of our next stop. Are you hungry? Want something to eat before we tour the aquarium?" "Yeah. Lunch sounds great." Smiling, she leaned on my arm, listing out things she wanted to do with me while my thoughts returned to Nova and the mysterious kids.