I go to turn when his voice whips through the crowd, turning my legs to jelly. I close my eyes. Please don’t let it be my name he just called.

“Katia?”

It was my name.

I turn back slowly and his eyes are on mine, deep brown depths I’d thought I loved once. Now, now they just remind me of the precious eyes I look into every day. The only thing he gave me. The only gift I walked away with.

I take another shaky step back, and his arm drops from the woman it was wrapped around. His hands are shaking and he begins striding towards me, his face unreadable.

That’s when I turn and run.

I’m not ready after all.

~*~*~*~

My feet pound over the pavement. I’m moving as quickly as I can, running until my lungs scream. I reach Candy’s car just as his fingers curl around my upper arm. A jolt of something runs through me—what it is, I don’t know. I don’t know because I spin around and I slap him so hard my hand instantly burns. With a ragged cry, I grip my fingers.

“Katia.”

His voice. God, I loved that voice once. I open my tear-soaked eyes and stare at the man who ruined my life. Then I raise my hand and hit him again. He lashes out, catching my wrist and jerking it away from his face.

“Stop hitting me,” he barks.

“You horrible, disgusting, piece of shit!” I scream so loudly he flinches. “I lost everything and you’ve been here, living like this? You lost nothing. You still have every-fucking-thing. How is that possible? How the hell have I been living in darkness while you’ve been dancing in light?”

“I tried—”

“Don’t,” I yell. “Don’t you fucking dare tell me you tried! You’re a monster. A cruel, ugly monster.”

His jaw clenches. “Katia, I searched. I’ve been looking for you, and—”

“And what?” I wail, my voice pathetic and broken. “And fucking what, Marcus? You were going to apologize? Tell me you fucked up? Maybe beg me to sign something to keep your business? Well?”

His face scrunches, and if I’m honest, I’d say it’s in agony.

But I have no pity for him.

“I sent money and—”

I cut him off with a cold, broken laugh. “You sent money? Because that would fix everything.”

“I never meant to.” He drops his head and growls low. “You know what, I did fuckin’ mean to do it so I won’t bother saying I didn’t, but at the end, things changed for me. When you left, it ruined me.”

I shake my head, a mixture of rage and agony tearing through my body. I want to throw myself into his arms, yet at the same time reach in and rip his heart out the way he did mine.

“Yet you still walked away with everything, including a piece of myself I can’t get back,” I whisper.

He closes his eyes, dropping his chin down to his chest and making a low, agonized growling sound. “Katia,” he rasps. “I know what I did. I know what I am. I also know I’ve never been the same since you left. I’ve searched for you.”

I laugh bitterly. “Funny that. The woman you were just taking photos with really didn’t seem to think so.”

His head jerks up. “It was business.”

“You mean the business you were supposed to lose?” I throw at him.

He flinches. “Walter died.”

“How convenient.”

He holds my eyes and we glare at each other for a long, tense moment. It’s him who breaks the contact. “Why are you here? Why now?”

“It’s time to end this. I want a divorce, Marcus.”

His eyes grow hard and his shoulders straighten. “Are you going to speak to me? Give me a chance to explain and—”

“No,” I bark. “I’m not. I can’t stand you, Marcus Tandem. I hate you with a fire that burns my soul on a daily basis. I don’t want a second longer with you than necessary. I just want this over, so I can move on with my life and not have the constant reminder that I’m married to you every, single day.”

His eyes flash with hurt and anger, and I’m forced to move my gaze from his, unable to look any longer.

“No.”

My head jerks up. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me, Katia. I said no. Not until you talk to me. Not until you hear me out. Not until you let me tell you how it’s been.”

I shake my head, horrified. “You haven’t changed, have you? You are still fighting for only yourself.”

“Fuck it, Katia. You just don’t see it, do you?”

“See what?” I scream, lunging forward and shoving his chest. He’s going to make this hard for me. He’s going to try and hold me back. “What the hell do you think I could see that is going to change my mind? I despise you. You ruined my life. You let me love you.”

His fingers curl around my shoulders and he pushes me back slightly. “If you’ll listen . . .”

“No,” I bark. “If you won’t sign the papers, Marcus, I’ll find a lawyer and get it done.”

He lets me go and steps back, his face a familiar hard mask I remember so well. “Very well.”

And with that, he’s gone.

I spin, pulling the door to Candy’s car open and throwing myself in. I drop my head against the steering wheel and scream in frustration.

I should have known he wouldn’t make this easy.

CHAPTER SIX

KATIA