“Is this déjà vu?” he asked.

“Sort of feels like it, doesn’t it?” I replied.

While Henry stitched me up, he started to ask questions. “So, why were the two of you over at Ashlyn’s place, but most importantly, what was she doing there? I thought she was in jail.”

“Apparently, she posted bail and they let her out on house arrest,” Peyton said.

He put the final stitch in and kissed me on the head. “All fixed up, again.” He smiled.

Connor didn’t say a word. He just kept staring at me with a look of disappointment and anger. “Peyton, I’ll drive you home and Connor can take Ellery home in the Range Rover,” Denny said.

Great, I thought to myself. I didn’t want to be alone with him. I knew the biggest of arguments was coming, and I didn’t feel good or strong enough to fight with him. He extended his hand to me and helped me off the table. I turned and looked at Peyton.

“I want you and Henry to come over tonight for dinner.”

“NO, Ellery. You need to rest,” Connor said.

“Don’t worry about me. We have some things to discuss.”

“We’ll bring dinner. So don’t worry about anything,” Peyton said as she walked over and hugged me.

Connor pulled the Range Rover up to the entrance and sat there. I thought he would’ve gotten out and opened the door, but he didn’t. He was being a complete asshole, and I didn’t appreciate it. My heart started beating faster when I climbed in and shut the door as he took off out of the hospital parking lot and drove us home.

The ride home was silent. He didn’t say a word and neither did I. I walked up the stairs and into our bedroom. Mason had texted me earlier, saying that he was at the park with Julia and they’d be back later. I sat on the edge of the bed and waited for Connor to come and start yelling at me. He walked into the room and handed me a white pill and a glass of water.

“What the hell were you thinking?” he snapped.

“Before I say a word, you are to answer two questions.”

His angry eyes glared at me. “You are in no position to tell me what to do, Ellery.”

“Did you know that Ashlyn was out of jail?” I asked.

Connor ran his hands through his hair and took in a sharp breath as he turned away and walked across the room. “Yes, I fucking knew!”

As my body shook, I set the glass on the nightstand. “You knew and you didn’t tell me? You lied to me, Connor.”

“And you lied to me, Ellery!” he said with a raised voice. “I told you a hundred times that you were to stay away from her and you didn’t listen. That’s your problem: you never listen. You’re always going off and doing whatever the fuck you want to without any consideration for me or my feelings.”

“She’s going to destroy you, destroy us, and our family. I couldn’t sit back and let her do it.”

Connor became enraged as he stepped closer to me and pointed his finger in my face. “I told you that I wouldn’t let her do that, yet you didn’t believe me and had to take matters into your own hands. You could’ve been killed. She’s crazy like that!”

“How did you know I was there?” I asked as I got up from the bed.

Once again, he wouldn’t look at me and he turned around. “It doesn’t matter how I knew.”

“Were you having me followed?”

“No.”

Then suddenly, my mind kept going back to the times when he would randomly show up at the places where I was. I remembered when he showed up at FAO Schwarz and he knew exactly what floor I was on and what section Cassidy and I were in. I looked over at my phone, which was lying on the bed.

“You motherfucker! You were keeping tabs on me through my phone?! You were tracking me?!” I yelled.

The air was thick and he didn’t need to say anything, because his silence said it all. I closed my eyes as I felt dizzy, and I needed to lay down on the bed.

“You had no right,” I whispered as a tear streamed down my face.

“You gave me no choice, Ellery. I knew you would do something like this,” he said calmly as he took a few steps closer to the bed.

“I want you to get out of this bedroom and leave me alone. My head hurts and I need some space.”

“I think we both need some space,” he said as he walked out and shut the bedroom door.

After grabbing the bottle of Motrin from the bathroom cabinet, I walked into the living room and straight to the bar. Shaking two pills into my hand, I popped them in my mouth and chased them down with a glass of scotch.

“Don’t you think it’s a little early to start drinking?” Denny said as he walked in the room and sat down in the leather chair.

“It’s never too early to start drinking. Would you like one?” I asked as I held up my glass.

With a wave of his hand, he politely declined. “Did you and Ellery have it out already?”

“Sort of.” I sighed.

“I told you she was going to find out that you knew Ashlyn was out of jail. Did she find out how you’ve been tracking her?”

“Yes,” I said as I sat down on the couch.

“I warned you, Connor. I told you that it wasn’t a good idea to keep secrets from her.”

“Like I had a choice. Look at what she did.”

“Exactly! She would’ve done it anyway. So wouldn’t it have been better to tell her from the start? Because if you ask me, the pain she’s feeling now is far worse.”

“Yeah, well, what about me and how I’m feeling, Denny? She lied to me. She lied about what she was doing and where she was going today.”

“You lied, she lied. You two are perfect for each other. Listen, Connor, I know why you did what you did, and I know why Ellery did what she did. The truth of the matter is that at the end of the day, regardless of all the bullshit that went on earlier, you two love each other more than you did yesterday. I’ll tell you something, though; you were one cold-hearted bastard to her in the limo and at the hospital.”

I got up from the couch, walked over to the bar, and poured another scotch. “Don’t start with that, Denny.” I sighed.

“Damn right I’ll start it. Your wife, the mother of your baby, is upstairs with stitches in her head because of that psycho girl you used to date, and instead of apologizing to her and comforting her, you’re down here, throwing back scotch.”

“And talking to you, may I add,” I said with irritation. “You know Ellery, and you know how she can be. She’s pissed off, and she told me to leave the bedroom because she needed space.”

Denny got up from the chair and started walking towards the elevator. He stopped, turned around, and shot me a look. “You’ll feel like an ass soon enough.” He smiled.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I yelled as the elevator doors shut.

As I sighed and walked over to the bar to set down my glass, I heard the elevator door open. At first, I thought it was Denny, but I was pleasantly surprised when I looked over and saw Mason and Julia.

“There’s my baby girl.” I smiled when I took her from Mason’s arms. “Did you have fun at the park?”

“We had a fabulous time. She has made the most amazing friends and all the mannies love her.”

I looked at Mason in confusion. “What?”

“Once a week, I meet the other mannies with their babies in the park. You wouldn’t believe the stories they tell me about the families they work for, and I just sit there and brag about you and Ellery. Speaking of Diva Girl, where is she?”

“She had a little accident earlier, and she’s upstairs lying down.”

“What?!” Mason exclaimed. “What happened?”

“She fell and hit her head and needed a few stitches. She’s okay.”

Mason put his hand over his mouth. “Did she fall here?”

“No. It’s a long story. She’ll tell you all about it tomorrow. She needs to rest.”

“Do you need me to take care of the princess for a while longer?” he asked.

“No. Consider yourself done for the day. Go home and relax.” I smiled.