Chapter 53. Cadmus

I started to make my escape since she hadn't seen me as yet, but then she cupped the back of his head as she gazed down at him. There was such tenderness in the move that I felt that shit in my core. How could she show such kindness to my child if she hates me? Isn't it a foregone conclusion that if a woman hates the father of her child, then she would hate said, child?

And I had no doubt that she absolutely hates otherwise why would she leave me in the way she had left me.

I slipped back out of the room, confused as hell. I'd played around with the idea that she'd become my wife to use me as a sperm donor, but that didn't gel for me. Unless I'm the world's biggest dumb man, there's no way I was wrong about her genuine feelings for me. And besides, I was the one who'd gone after her, hard.

She'd done everything to avoid me in those early days after our chance meeting at the store where she was partnering. I'd gone in there to find something for mom for her birthday and found more than I'd bargained for. Something about the soft-spoken unassuming woman who didn't go out of her way to fawn all over me when she learned my name had caught my interest.

When her attitude didn't change when I dropped a cool million on an designer jewelry, I was even more intrigued. Usually, in this town, all it takes is my name to have women putting it all out there, but not this one. She'd acted as if I were no different from anyone else in the store and had barely spared me a glance as I left.

I'd stood outside the window out of her sight, of course, to see what she would do next. My egotistical ass couldn't believe that she had been as unaffected as she pretended. Not since school has there been a female who could resist my charms. Surely she was going to rush to her phone as soon as I cleared the door to call all of her friends and gush about me.

I was well aware of the games some women played. And since she knew I would be back to pick up the jeweler was packed, maybe she was just playing a game of cat and mouse. But no, that day she hadn't gone to her bag to grab her phone. She'd just tagged the jewelry as sold and made some notations as to what kind of packaging etc. at least I think that's what she was writing.