Claimed by the Betrayed Mercenary

Chapter Four

Connor’s POV

I’m awoken by the ringing of my cell phone, dragging my eyes open to the darkened room around me. Groggily, I shove myself off the bed, stumbling toward the table where I scrabble for the phone, swiping the screen and pressing it to my ear without checking the caller ID.

‘Lo’ I grumble, rubbing my tired eyes.

‘You cancelled my cards?!’ Eva’s irate voice fills my ear, and I sigh heavily, taking a seat at the table, my elbows resting on the laminated surface.

‘I’m not allowed to talk to you Eva’ I mutter, ‘you took a restraining order out on me.’

‘Unblock my cards Connor’ my wife snaps, ignoring me, ‘Grace needs diapers and I need food.’

‘Then get Duke to buy them’ I retort, snapping awake now, ‘you know, her REAL daddy.’

Eva’s voice falters for a second, ‘I . . I . . ‘

‘You what Eva?’ I demand, anger building in me again, ‘tell me! Please! I’d love to know.’

‘I didn’t . . ‘ she falters again.

‘’Didn’t what? Didn’t mean to cheat on me?’ I snarl, ‘didn’t mean to pretend that Grace was mine when you knew damn well she wasn’t? Didn’t stand up in front of a judge and f.ucking marry me, knowing that you were carrying some other asshole's kid? Tell me Eva! Tell me what you didn’t do.’

‘I didn’t mean for it to get this far’ she finally admits, ‘I didn’t set out to hurt you Con.’

I suck in a breath at her words, my fingers tightening around the cell before I force out, ‘were you still seeing him after we got married Eva? Did you ever stop? Even when I f.ucking married you, did you stop seeing him?’

My wife is silent at the other end of the phone, and I already know the answer but I need to hear her say it.

‘Tell me’ I order bitterly, ‘tell me that you weren’t f.ucking us both the whole time.’

‘I . . . I was’ she mutters, ‘I didn’t . . you have to understand! I was scared, Duke, he . . he wasn't sure if he wanted to be a father, if he could be! Then you found out and asked me to marry you. I meant to tell you the truth, but it all happened so fast and before I knew it I was in front of a judge! What was I supposed to do? Go 'oh sorry, can I just stop you there? You see, this baby is another man's, is that OK?' You didn't give me time to think, time to breathe! You just bulldozed your way forward without a second thought.'

I laugh harshly, 'I was doing the right thing Eva' I snap, 'you were pregnant, I thought it was mine! Of course I married you! I'm not a deadbeat asshole who doesn't take responsibility for his mistakes.' I laugh harshly, 'though it wasn't my mistake was it? No, it was Duke's and he was happy to let me take the fall for him until he suddenly decided he wanted to play daddy after all.'

'Grace deserves to know her father!’ my wife growls defensively, 'she has the right to know who her parents are.'

‘Yeah, and I deserved to know that it isn’t me’ I snap back. ‘I deserved to not get attached to her, love her, bond with her and then have my f.ucking heart ripped out of my chest when your sordid secret decided to finally step up and be a f.ucking man. So no Eva, I won’t be unblocking your cards, you are not my problem anymore. You’ll be getting divorce papers in the mail to my f.ucking house along with a damn eviction notice.’

I go to end the call but Eva’s panicked voice halts me.

‘Wait!’ she yells desperately, ‘you can’t do this Connor, this isn’t you! I know you are angry with me, and you should be, but Grace is innocent! Don’t punish her for my mistakes.’

‘Mistakes?’ I spit back, ‘this wasn’t a mistake Eva, this was a deliberate decision. You didn’t trip over and fall on his d**k, you chose to f.uck him behind my back, you chose to let me believe Gr. . .’ I swallow, unable to say her name, ‘your daughter was mine. You chose to marry me and you chose to keep f.ucking around on me even after I put a ring on your finger.’

Eva gulps loudly, ‘I’m still your wife’ she states quietly, ‘your name is on Grace’s birth certificate, you still have to . .’

I snarl loudly, ‘I don’t have to do s.hit’ I cut her off, ‘you want me to pay you money? I’ll see you in court. Until a judge forces me though wage garnishing, I won’t give you another penny of my money.’ I clench my fists tightly, blinking back tears, as I add, ‘and like you say, my name is on her birth certificate. If you want to go down this route with me? I’ll fight for custody, I’ll take your daughter out of your arms and smile as you cry.’

‘You can’t . .you wouldn’t’ Eva gasps, fear lacing her words.

‘I can and I will’ I retort, ‘and you tell your little boyfriend that after I’ve been through his assault charge, I’ll be going after you and him for back payment of all the support I’ve paid for raising his f.ucking kid.’

I don’t bother to wait for her answer, cutting the call and throwing my cell across the room where it hits the wall and falls to the floor.

Everything breaks, the rage washes over me and I push up to my feet, my fists slamming into the wall over and over again as I scream. No one comes, as I destroy the plasterboard, no one knocks the door, this isn’t an establishment that worries about guests kicking off.

I rage until there is nothing left, my fists are a mess of blood and broken skin, the wall in front of me, a huge gaping hole. Sinking to the ground, I grab my hair, tugging hard as sobs wrack my body. I fall to my side, curling into a ball, hoping, somehow, that I can hold myself together as my heart aches, the pain far outweighing everything I’ve inflicted on my body.