My Ex Husband The Alpha His Brother The Rogue novel Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Blake’s words give me pause. My mind reeling.

I exhale a slow, inaudible breath.

51

55 vouchers

I want to deny it, but I can’t. Because no matter how much I turn a blind eye to it, I know it’s true.

I’ve known it for the longest time now, and Kael? He’s never hidden it.

He doesn’t desire me in the way any other man would, or had. Kael…he simply wants to possess everything

that’s ever been Cameron’s.

Past, present and future…

I see it in the way he looks at me. Like a trophy to be won. Like a conquest. Like his trump card in the war with his brother.

Like something to mark and discard for the fun of it. Like something to ruin just to prove to Cameron that he is the better man.

In the first year of our marriage, I’d let myself hope he’d see me for who I am, rather than just a tool to be used against his brother. Even if I knew that was the basis of everything we share.

I hadn’t hoped for much. My heart was already worn from yearning and loving Cameron while he belonged to someone else,

But for a man I would call my husband, I’d hoped we could at least be cordial.

I’d been vulnerable, weak and the more attentive he was to the newly born Liam, the more I’d let myself hope.

By the end of the second year, I’d grown numb to it all. I’d finally realised the truth I hadn’t let myself see in the beginning.

With Kael, I’ve only ever been an extension of Cameron. In his eyes, that’s all I’ll ever be.

His attraction to me is fueled by his hate for Cameron. In the same way Cameron is shaken by me, not because he regrets the past but because he doesn’t want to lose to Kael.

The Blackwood brothers had many differences. But in some ways, they were just the same men.

Men who take what they want, without a single care for who gets hurt in the process.

I know it, and yet….

My eyes move back to Kael. He shifts in his chair, his jaw tightening visibly like he’s fighting a losing battle with his own body.

The sight is unsettling. Not just because of what it means…but because of what it does to me.

14:18 Sat, Oct 11

Chapter 26

公司

55 vouchers

I shouldn’t care. Because of him, the past three years have been hard. He reminded me at every turn that this marriage is nothing more than a contract.

One day, he’s cold and the other, he’s cruel. He never lets me get too close, he doesn’t allow me a moment of warmth…not without paying for it somehow.

So why then is it so difficult?

Now, with him wrecked and drugged before me, why can’t I walk away?

“Don’t just stand there staring,” Blake mutters from the doorway, his voice tinged with irritation. “Either leave or…” He trails off, shaking his head. “You know what? Forget it. Kael was right.”

I shoot him a glare over my shoulder. “You think this is easy for me?!”

“You shouldn’t have come then,” Blake snaps back.

I want to argue, but he’s right. I shouldn’t.

I’d feared for a moment that something terrible had happened to Kael when he hung up so abruptly. Not that this isn’t terrible, but I thought the worse.

Now that I’ve seen he’s fine, breathing…strong enough to look this sinful, I should just leave. There’s nothing I can do here anyways.

Like he can hear my thoughts, Kael’s eyes open again. Just partly. His pupils are unfocused, but they land on

1. me.

The disparity between this Kael and the Kael I know shocks me.

This isn’t the same man whose harsh words cut sharper than a knife.

The one who barely acknowledges me in public unless it’s convenient. That Kael would never look at me like

this.

Something curls in my stomach, something that feels too much like intrigue… and a semblance of control,

I hate it. Because this isn’t how I want to win.

Laila… He whispers my name in a single breath. His tone is husky, “You came…

I came?

Like he hadn’t been the one to lure me here. Like I’d thrown myself into his web, rather than being pulled in by him. Even in his weakened state, Kael can’t be underestimated.

“Why did you call me?” I ask hesitantly, “Why me? Of all people?”

Kael reveals a ghost of a smile. “Why not…you?”

His response is barely a response at all. I can’t tell if his mind is too clouded by the drugs to put together a

14:18 Sat, Oct 11

Chapter 26

response, or if he’s doing this on purpose.

“Cold beds… colder nights…” He grunted, “That wasn’t our bargain…”

That statement confirms one thing, Kael knows exactly what he’s doing.

12 55 vouchers

“Walk away Laila…” He trails off, exhaling a slow breath. His tongue darts out to wet his lips and my traitorous eyes trail the motion.

My mouth goes dry. Since when was that simple motion so captivating?

Every part of him tells me that he’s in pain…pain wrapped in something darker. Hunger.

“That’s something you’re good at. Running.” He continues,

Rage surges in my veins, warring with something else. Something I have no business feeling for Kael.

He’d called me in his weakened state only to prove what? That I’m still the same weak woman from three years ago who can’t follow through with anything?

He’d let me see him like this only to ask me to leave knowing I would choose to run away again? It was a cruel joke.

“The woman who’s faithful to a man she shared with another woman for three years.” Kael grunts,

The words cut deeper than ever. Because he’s right… I haven’t been with any other man but Cameron. He was my first…my only,

And Kael knows everything. He’s called me here to pit me against my past, and have a laugh at how I squirm.

He’s in pain and he wants me to be too. He’s not asking me to help him through it… he’s showing me the difference between us.

“I didn’t ask for it to be Cameron who dropped Liam off.”

I know Kael well enough to know he must have heard by now. That’s why he’s on edge. I turn to leave,

“Face it, Laila. Your marriage didn’t end three years ago….it ended the moment you lowered your pride and chose to be pathetic”

1

pause in my step, catching myself. I’m running away again… proving him right.

My hands clench into fists at my sides. Whirling around, I cross the distance between us in a few strides.

As I walk, my hands undo the button of my shirt and by the time I stand in front of him, my shirt hangs loosely on my shoulders.

Kael’s hungry eyes are on me, his gaze raked my exposed skin, pupils dilating visibly,

“What do you… think you’re doing, Laila?” He hisses,

14:18 Sat, Oct 11

Chapter 26

51

E 55 vouchers

“I’ll take the pain away. I’ll give you every inch of me, right here… right now…” My tone is low, daring,

“But only if you beg for it…”