Chapter 65

Agnes

I stared down at the small cake in my hands, unsure of what to make of it all.

“I’m sorry.”

Was this what Elijah was doing earlier when he stayed behind in the diner? Was this cake supposed to be some kind of apology for… what? Yesterday? Or everything?

“Agnes,” Elijah said softly, his voice cutting through the sudden quiet, “I know this doesn’t fix anything. I just… I shouldn’t have let that happen.”

My eyes flicked up to meet his, and I hated the way my chest tightened at the sincere look on his face. There was no smugness, no arrogance, no hint of a lie or an attempt at manipulation—just quiet regret.

I wasn’t used to this. Not just being apologized to, but sincerely. Genuinely. With small gestures alongside the apologies.

“What exactly are you apologizing for?” I found myself asking, even though I had a pretty good feeling that I already knew the answer to that question.

“Do I need to say it?” he replied quietly, dropping his gaze for the briefest of moments.

I hesitated and tried my best to swallow the sudden lump in my throat. So this was about yesterday. This was about the kiss with Olivia—the kiss that had happened not only right in front of me, but in front of Thea.

Finally, I got a grip of myself and shook my head. “I don’t need an apology. Thea is the one who has to suffer. She’s confused and scared.”

Elijah’s jaw tightened, and his gaze dropped to the floor for another moment before he seemed to force himself to meet my eyes again. “I do plan on talking to Thea. But I felt it was necessary to apologize to you as well.”

“Why?”

Elijah’s hand twitched at his side, his fingers flexing subtly. Finally, he said, “Because we’re supposed to be equals, Agnes. I made a vow to you as your husband. Even if we’re not… in love, I promised to be loyal to you.”

The words hit me harder than I expected, and for a brief moment, I couldn’t breathe. He was right. We weren’t in love. At least, not in the way a husband and wife were supposed to be. But the thought of him choosing loyalty—choosing me—over the mate bond he still had with Olivia stirred something deep inside of me that I wasn’t sure if I was ready to confront just yet.

“I understand that the bond makes things complicated,” I said, even though my voice sounded far away to my own ears.

His face darkened. “That’s exactly it,” he replied softly. “I can’t be around Olivia without the bond flaring up. I thought I could handle it. That if I just… ignored it, then it wouldn’t matter.” He shook his head slightly, exhaling sharply through his nose. “But I was wrong. Even if she didn’t mean to manipulate the bond this time, it still happened in that moment. And that isn’t fair to you.”

My heart twisted, but I kept my face carefully neutral. “I’m not mad at you.”

“No,” Elijah said, his voice dipping lower. “I know you’re not mad, and that’s part of the issue. You’re too good for this bullshit, Agnes. You… you deserve more. Which is why…”

Elijah looked away, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. I felt my own chest tighten, as if I had a feeling as to what he was about to say.

Finally, he murmured, “If you decide you don’t want to remain in this contract at any point, I won’t stop you from leaving. I’ll ensure that you’re compensated, and you can still visit Thea whenever you want. But if it’s too much—”

“No.” The word shot out of me before I could stop it, and we both flinched as if a bullet had gone off. Elijah looked up at me, his eyes widening ever so slightly.

I shook my head and quickly schooled my expression again, trying my best to hide the panic that had momentarily taken hold of me for reasons I wasn’t about to admit, even to myself.

“Agnes—”

“I want to stay,” I said firmly. “I’m not… thrilled about the situation with Olivia, I won’t lie. But I made a promise. And I think it’s best for Thea if I’m here. In the home. Full-time. As…” I hesitated, and felt a slight heat creep into my face at the thought. “As her mother.”

Elijah was silent after that, although I thought I saw his shoulders slump almost infinitesimally. Not with defeat or resignation, but with relief.

At least, that was what a tiny shred of me dared to hope.

Hope.

Something I had only begun to feel since I’d entered into this arrangement.

Elijah cleared his throat and shifted his weight, his hand brushing against the edge of the counter.

“Well, then… I’m not sure how to handle this,” Elijah admitted quietly, a soft chuckle lacing his words. “I still think that Thea needs Olivia in her life. I don’t want to take that from her. But I can’t keep letting this happen. I can’t keep causing you pain. Or myself, for that matter. So if we’re going to keep doing this, then I think we need to figure something else out to make sure that no one gets hurt.”

For some reason, something in his words—maybe his vulnerability, or the look in his eyes, or the way he subtly shifted closer as if he wanted to close the space between us—made me want to move.

Before I could stop myself, I took a step closer and wrapped my arms around him.

Elijah stiffened for a brief second, but I didn’t let go.

And finally, after a moment, his hands slowly came to rest against my back and gently pulled me closer. I buried my face into his shoulder, the familiar scent of him washing over me, and I had to bite my lip to stop the tears that were threatening to spill over.

“You’re not alone in this,” I whispered against his shirt. “I’ll be here. No matter what happens, I’ll stand by you and Thea. We’ll figure something out.”

Elijah’s arms tightened around me, and for a few fleeting moments, the weight of everything else disappeared. It was just the two of us in the quiet kitchen, holding onto each other like the world outside didn’t exist.

I didn’t know how long we stood there, but when we finally pulled back, Elijah’s eyes searched mine, lingering like he wanted to say something more. But he didn’t.

Instead, he exhaled and glanced at the phone sitting on the counter behind me. “Are you going to tell me why you were so worked up about the phone earlier?”

My heart lurched painfully in my chest. I hadn’t expected him to bring it up. I’d hoped he wouldn’t bring it up, that we could just pretend it hadn’t happened.

I shifted under his gaze, my hand tightening slightly against the edge of the counter. “It wasn’t a big deal,” I said, though the words felt flimsy even as I said them. “It’s just a habit. I get weird about having to spend the money on replacing things. Old habits die hard, I guess.”

Elijah didn’t look convinced. His brow furrowed as he leaned against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest. “Agnes…”

I swallowed, forcing myself to meet his eyes. “It’s nothing.”

But even as I said it, I could see the doubt flickering in his gaze. Elijah wasn’t one to let things go easily, and I knew better than to think he’d drop it just because I asked him to.

A long silence stretched between us, thick and heavy, and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to keep the truth from him for much longer.

And then, just as I suspected, he said the words I’d been dreading.

“Agnes, I know about the first DNA test. Was the second one your doing as well?”