"You don't have to leave Silas. Can't you stay for a little while longer?" Valeria asked softly.

"We can't." Silas sighed loudly and turned towards her. "We've already had this conversation. We can't stay here any longer."

She moved forward and gripped his arm. I watched as she led him away and talked to him in low tones. I couldn't hear a thing she was saying to him but I could only guess. Silas wasn't as close with his family and after everything that had happened; I finally had the answer to a few of my questions. I knew exactly why he left home at such an early age.

"I thought you'd left already."

I turned around to find Avery standing close behind me. The smile on her lips was clearly for show. To anyone else it would look like we were having a friendly chat. I wasn't in the mood for her snarky remarks, so I turned back around and ignored her.

Avery of course couldn't take a signal. She moved closer and placed her hand on my shoulder. I winched when her warm breath fanned the side of my face. She was too close for comfort but I couldn't move away. Every time I made a move to step away, her hand on my shoulder tightened painfully.

"I heard something really interesting this morning," she whispered. "I heard that a certain someone cannot conceive without both her mates."

"What does that have to do with me?" I asked her.

She laughed and gave my shoulder a squeeze before she stepped around me to stand in front of me. Her smile had widened and her eyes were sparkling with something close to joy.

"It has everything to do with you, silly!" she said. "You see, you can never carry a baby full-term unless Ethan has contribution to you conceiving. Does that make things clearer, Lara?"

My breath got caught in my throat when her words penetrated my mind. Was that why I had lost our baby in the first place? I shook my head and took a step back from her. It wasn't true. It couldn't be true.

My eyes darted towards Silas who stood talking to David now. How much does he hate me now? What more was there left for us if I couldn't give him an heir without his brother? Why couldn't we do anything without Ethan? Silas turned then and caught my eyes. He showed no emotion, making it hard to figure out what he was feeling.

"He doesn't deserve you," Avery said, snapping my attention towards her. "Neither one of them deserve you. We were great together and it's only a matter of time before they realize that." She stepped closer and her smile dropped. "It's only a matter of time before he realizes what a mistake he made. You can never give him what he wants."

"Avery!" Ethan growled as he gripped her arm and ripped her away from me. "What the hell are you doing?"

She sneered up at him and ripped her arm free. "Telling her what you and your idiot brother should've told her."

Ethan's eyes snapped over to mine. His eyes instantly shot back to Avery. He growled something softly and then started pulling her away. She yelled and clawed at his hand but Ethan held tightly. I watched them until they disappeared from sight.

It couldn't be true.

When we left half an hour later, Avery's words were still playing through my mind. Ethan was driving us to the airport because neither David nor Devon could do that. Valeria was also busy. Silas could've hired a car but it was too risky. These days everything was too risky.

The drive to the airport went faster than it had when we arrived. This time we were boarding a private plane instead of a passenger plane. We'd be on our own all the way home. Would he tell me about what Avery had said then? Why hadn't he told me before? Why hadn't he told me the truth instead of making up the lie he had?

I frowned when Ethan pulled Silas aside before we could board the plane. They stood off to the side, talking and glancing over at me every few seconds. Silas was frowning when he walked away from Ethan. He walked right passed me and disappeared into the plane. I turned when Ethan stopped next to me.

"Is it true?" I asked him before he could speak. "Please don't lie to me."

Ethan sighed and ran a hand through his hair and moved closer. "I'm sorry."

Tears filled my eyes. I turned away and took a few steps away from him. Why was this happening to me?

"Lara—"

"Don't."

But he ignored me. Ethan wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me against his chest. He buried his face against my neck and sucked in a breath. His big body trembled against mine. I could feel his pain. I shivered when his lips brushed my skin.

"I might have made my choice and it was probably the wrong one but I've done it for all the right reasons. Remember what I told you." He stepped back and turned me in his arms. "Whenever you need me, all you have to do is call. No matter what the problem is. I'll be ready to help."

"What about Avery?"

"What about her? She isn't as important to me as you are Lara. You'll always come first, I promise you," he whispered.

I squeezed my eyes closed when he leaned down and pressed his lips against my forehead. His lips lingered there for only a few more seconds before he pulled away. And then he was gone, leaving me standing there wishing that I had never met either of them.

***

Two weeks later. . .

"Lara, I need you to eat something for me, please."

Silas sighed loudly when I made no move to turn away from the window. From my side vision, I watched him pick up the tray he had placed next to me, and turn away. We've only been back for two weeks and things had gone back to normal—as normal as it could be after everything that had happened.

Silas had gone back to work almost immediately after we returned. It was like he wasn't even mourning the baby we lost. Maybe he wasn't or maybe he was just handling things differently than me. If I could, I'd act like nothing had happened, but I couldn't. I couldn't forget the fact that I had lost a child. I couldn't forget the fact that we couldn't have a baby without Ethan. I'd lost Ethan too.

It shouldn't matter because he had chosen Avery.

"Lara." Silas took a seat in front of me next to my feet. "Please look at me."

I swallowed and then turned my head to look at him. For the first time in a week, I really looked at him. Silas looked years older than his actual age. His appearance worried me—especially when I realized that he'd lost a lot of weight. I raised a shaky hand and traced a finger over the dark half moon circle under his left eye.

"It matches yours," he said softly. "You're really starting to worry me, sweetness."

Silas cupped my cheek and leaned closer. I turned my head away before his lips could brush mine. He tensed and slowly pulled away. I could feel his eyes burning into my skin as I avoided looking at him. My actions had hurt him, I could feel it.

Licking my lips, I sucked in a deep breath and slowly blew it out. "I don't think this is going to work."

It was his turn to suck in a sharp breath. "What?"

It took everything in me to turn my head and look at him. "This," I pointed between us, "isn't going to work."

He jumped to his feet and spun away from me. With his back to me, it was easier to tell him what was on my mind.

"I knew when I met you that you that things were too good to be true. Things between us were happening too fast."

"Things between us happened the way it should," he yelled, spinning around to face me. "We were made for each other."

"If that was true then why am I so miserable?"

His mouth opened but instantly slammed closed again. Silas frowned down at me.

"Why can't we be happy? Why can't I give you a baby without Ethan?" I stood on shaky legs and walked up to him. Stopping in front of him, I tilted my head back and stared up at him. Tears filled my eyes and instead of stopping them, I allowed them to spill over. "How can I make you happy when I think about another man?"

"Ethan?" he questioned softly.

I nodded. "I'm sorry."

He gave me a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "So am I."

Silas swallowed and stepped away from me. He licked his lips and turned around. I watched him as he crossed the room to the doorway where he paused. "I need to go to the office. Once I get back we'll talk about this."

"Silas." He paused but didn't turn around. "I love you."

He turned and smirked at me. "I love you too, sweetness."

And then he was gone. I listened until I heard the front door close behind him. My mind was a mess but one thing was very clear—I could never give him what he wanted. I loved him with all my heart and because of that, I needed to walk away and give him a chance to find happiness.

Spinning on my heels, I hurried over to the desk and searched for paper. I sunk down on the chair once I found paper and a pen. It was hard to put my thoughts onto paper but I managed. When I was done the ink was smeared in some places by my tears. I neatly folded the letter and wrote his name on the front.

Silas deserved someone who could make him happy and give him everything he wanted, and I wasn't that woman.