Chapter 6

Romano snatched up his phone to dial a saved number.

"Victor?"

"I assume you located your omega." His father-in-law's patronizing tone was likely directed at both he and Eliza, but Romano found himself feeling defensive only for Eliza.

"I did. Wanted you to know so you wouldn't worry."

"I wasn't worried. Eliza has always done as she's told and obviously you need to figure that out. Give her clear direction. Set your expectations. That way you won't be looking for her or have any other issues with your omega."

Anger warred with shame as Romano sought an appropriate response, managing not to point out Victor’s own spouse had defied him in the end.

Leaving her only child to deal with him alone.

Had Eliza moved from one autocratic household to the other? Indeed she had.

Eliza made her way to one of the luxurious guest rooms and tears welled in her eyes; Romano’s cruel words had struck a nerve.

Eliza had lost the baby after just five months of marriage and three months of pregnancy, and she had always felt that the miscarriage was her fault.

When she had discovered that she was pregnant, she had wished the child away—her relationship with her husband had been so cold that she had been unable to fathom bringing a child into such a loveless environment.

Worse, after she lost the baby, she had been ashamed to admit that relief was mingled with the heartbreak, she had hated herself for that, had felt that there was something wrong with her for wishing her own child out of existence, because omegas are known to be nurturing and fiercely protective of their children, in those months after the miscarriage she had thought that maybe she never deserved that child.

Eliza had never shared what she had felt with Romano, and they had mourned the tiny life's passing separately, never talking about it. Now she suspected Romano had known all along, and that it had increased the alpha's contempt for her.

Despite her extreme depression afte the miscarriage, she had worked through it in her own way, sometimes overworking herself to the bone, sometimes sitting at a place with a numb body, for hours. Ryan and Nadia hadn't even known about her pregnancy.

Eliza had felt so terrible about her reaction to the baby that she had never told them, feeling that her behavior had been indefensible.

But tonight, Romano’s cruel taunts had quite simply sent her over the edge.

She sighed, trying to shake herself out of her maudlin mood, and after a quick shower, she fell into bed wearing only the T-shirt and panties that she had quickly grabbed from her chest of drawers in the master suite.

Despite the drama of the day, she fell asleep almost immediately. Eliza didn't know how long she had been asleep before she heard the quiet knock on the door, she immediately awoke and sat up, pushing her tangled hair out of her face.

"Eliza! Open the damned door!" Romano angrily thumped on the wood again, and this time it was loud enough to make Eliza jump up and hurriedly unlock and open the door, for fear that the alpha would wake their live-in housekeeper.

Despite the fact that his voice had been only a grim whisper through the wood, Eliza was in no doubt that her husband was absolutely livid.

Eliza stood staring up at Romano in the dim light and was surprised by the flash of hot fury on his face, which was so quickly masked beneath the more familiar mask of icy indifference, that Eliza wasn't sure if she had imagined the emotion.

"What are you doing here?" He asked stiffly.

"I've decided to move into this room," Eliza informed him, not quite succeeding in keeping the anxiety from her voice, and Romano’s jaw clenched.

Eliza had not anticipated having this conversation until morning. Romano was full of surprises today.

She had known that he would be upset about her moving out of their bedroom. Romano enjoyed s*x with her, (of course outside of her heats) and seemed happy to have his omega conveniently within arm's reach.

Still, it was completely out of character for him to actually come thumping on the bedroom door, demanding an explanation in the dead of night.

She had expected a cold and controlled conversation about it over the breakfast table.

The light from the landing was just bright enough for Eliza to see the stormy emotion brewing in her husband's eyes, and she swallowed a lump of disappointment when the emotion was doused in ice.

"I can see that," he gritted out. "I think the pertinent question is why?" And she could see that it just about killed him to ask it.

"I'd feel like a hypocrite if I stayed in the master bedroom with you." Eliza shrugged again.

"Just this morning I told you I wanted a divorce, so it wouldn't feel right if I continued to share your bed as if we'd never had that conversation."

"You're being ridiculous," Romano said dismissively.

"No...I think I'm actually making sense for the first time in nearly two years."

"My omega"—Romano placed sarcastic emphasis on the last word—"sleeps with me. You will come back to our bedroom, even if I have to drag you there kicking and screaming!"

"I-I...m-may have to sleep with you, Romano," Eliza conceded, knowing that if he chose to do as he threatened, the omega would definitely lose to his superior size and strength.

"But I won't be having s*x with you anymore."

"You would deny me, your husband, Your alpha, this basic marital right?" He sounded frankly astonished by that, as astonished as Eliza felt for even daring to say the words.

"Yes, and you were never for a day were my alpha, remember we never had a bond."

Romano’s eyes narrowed and he took a threatening step toward her.

"What's to stop me from just taking what belongs to me?" Romano asked speculatively, ignoring Eliza’s refusal to accept him as her alpha, his eyes raking dismissively over her thin, shivering, T-shirt-clad body.

Eliza crossed her arms over her chest and hunched her shoulders defensively.

"I don't belong to you," Eliza said softly yet firmly.

"Well, I certainly forked out huge amounts of money for you. That feels like ownership to me."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Eliza protested in frustration, and Romano laughed softly.

"And you're still singing the same tired old tune," he mocked.

"This is beside the point. I have no wish to rehash these details, it achieves nothing. Come on, we're going to bed!" He grabbed her hand and tugged her back toward their bedroom a few doors down the hall.