War God is Back for his Mother

Chapter 9: His Own Words

Selena stood up from her desk and pointed at the door.

"Get out. Go back to the hospital. Right now."

"I'm fine, Selena. Really. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"You were bleeding internally twelve hours ago. You should be lying in a bed with an IV in your arm, not dragging yourself across the city to check on me."

Dennis smiled weakly. It was a soft, boyish smile. The kind that made him look harmless and sweet and completely incapable of hurting anyone.

"I couldn't stay in that bed knowing you might be upset because of me," he said. "I kept thinking about what happened. About your wedding night. About Alex."

He lowered his eyes and his voice dropped.

"Has he... misunderstood us? Because of me?"

Selena's jaw tightened. She looked away from him.

"It's not your fault, Dennis."

"It is my fault. Everything is my fault. If I hadn't gotten sick, you would have stayed at the hotel. You and Alex would have had your night together. None of this would have happened."

"Stop blaming yourself."

"I can't help it." He paused and looked at his hands. "Can I say something honestly? I don't want to overstep."

"Say it."

"If I had a girlfriend, and she had a close friend who needed help, I would trust her completely. I would support every decision she made without question. Because that's what love is supposed to be. Trust. Not jealousy. Not control. Not accusations."

Selena stared at him. Something in those words landed perfectly.

"You're right," she said quietly. "That is what love is supposed to be."

"Alex is a good man. I know he is. But sometimes good men let their insecurities get the better of them. And when that happens, the people around them suffer for no reason."

Selena nodded slowly. Dennis was making more sense than anyone else had all day. More than Sarah. More than Alex. More than her own thoughts spinning in circles.

"I want to explain things to him personally," Dennis said. "Man to man. I'll tell him there's nothing between us. Maybe hearing it from me will help."

"Don't bother," Selena said flatly. "Alex is narrow minded right now. He's blinded by jealousy. He won't listen to anything you say. He won't listen to anything anyone says. Just wait until he calms down."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I'll handle him when the time is right."

Dennis nodded obediently. "Okay. I'll follow your lead. Whatever you think is best. For now, I'll just focus on getting better."

Selena looked at him for a moment too long. Something soft passed through her eyes. She did not notice it herself.

"Take care of yourself," she said. "Eat properly. Sleep properly. No more skipping meals."

"I will. Thank you, Selena. For everything."

He turned and shuffled out of her office, each step slow and painful. The door closed gently behind him.

In the hallway, out of sight, the weakness in Dennis Doom's face melted away. His spine straightened. His steps steadied. And a slow, knowing smile spread across his mouth. The kind of smile that belonged to a man who had just moved another piece exactly where he wanted it on the board.

At seven that evening, Selena Sterling walked through her front door carrying nothing but exhaustion.

The house was dark. The kitchen was cold. No lights had been turned on. No food had been prepared. Every other night for three years, this moment had been the best part of her day. Alex would meet her at the door. He would take off her shoes. He would hang up her coat. He would lead her to the dining table where four or five dishes were waiting, still steaming, arranged perfectly. He would pull out her chair and smile and say something simple like "you look tired" or "eat first, talk later."

Tonight there was nothing.

The silence hit her harder than she expected. A cold wave of panic shot through her chest. She dropped her bag and moved quickly through the house. She opened the bedroom door. Empty. She opened the bathroom door. Empty. Her heart was pounding now.

Then she checked the closet. His clothes were still there. His shoes were still by the wall. His toothbrush was still in the cup by the sink.

She exhaled. He hadn't left. Not yet.

She sat on the edge of the bed and waited. Twenty minutes later, the front door opened.

Alex Crown walked in carrying a folder under his arm. His face was calm. Distant. Like he was returning to a hotel room, not his home.

"Where were you?" Selena asked immediately. "I've been here for twenty minutes. The house was empty. No dinner. No message. Nothing. Where did you go?"

Alex walked past her without responding. He went into the bathroom and turned on the faucet. She watched him wash his face slowly, methodically, as though she had not spoken at all.

"Alex. I'm talking to you."

He dried his face with a towel and hung it back on the rack.

"Did you hear me? Where were you all day?"

He finally looked at her. His expression was completely flat.

"Do I have to report everything I do to you?"

Selena's mouth opened. The words hit her like a wall.

One week ago. Dennis had been bitten by a venomous snake during a field visit. Selena had grabbed her keys and rushed out of the house without explanation. Alex had called after her, asking where she was going. And she had looked over her shoulder and said those exact words. Do I have to report everything I do to you? Then she had slammed the door and spent the night at Dennis's side.

The guilt surfaced before she could stop it. It showed on her face like a stain spreading through white fabric. She swallowed hard and looked away.

"That was different," she said weakly.

"Was it?"

She recovered quickly. The guilt shrank back down and frustration took its place.

"You could have at least told me you wouldn't be home," she said. "I came back expecting you to be here. I haven't eaten anything since this morning."

"Then cook something."

"What?"

"Cook something. Or hire a housekeeper. You're a grown woman. Feed yourself."

"I never needed to cook because I had you."

Alex looked at her with eyes that could have frozen water.

"I am not your servant, Selena. I was never born to stand in your kitchen and wait for you to come home so I could take off your shoes like a dog greeting its owner at the door. If that's all I ever was to you, then you never loved me. You loved having a pet."

The words cut deep. Selena flinched. Her mouth moved but nothing came out.

She looked at him standing there in the bathroom doorway. Same face. Same body. Same man she had married two days ago. But something behind his eyes was completely different. The warmth that used to live there was gone. The softness that made him feel safe was gone. The man who would have crossed the room to hold her hand was gone.

This was someone else. Someone cold and sharp and unreachable.

Selena Sterling realized, with a sinking feeling in her stomach, that Alex Crown had changed. And the panic that filled her heart was quiet and deep and impossible to ignore.