~JOEY
Like Rowan just told me, I knew I had to set boundaries for Morgana. She was obviously planning something, and I knew it wasn't going to be good.
But since I was the one who caused all of these, I knew I had to be the one to clean up the mess.
Which was why Morgana was the person I went straight to, the moment I stepped inside. Lydia was there, and I knew my wife must have been surprised to see me drag Morgana away without a word at her, but she would understand.
She had to. Afterall, I was doing this for her. And well, my wife had always known that I was a very focused man. Whenever there was something I needed to do, all of my attention would be pulled away from anything else.
And right now, getting rid of Morgana was my mission. It had all of my focus, and I needed to clear the air between us once and for all.
I dragged Morgana to the garage, away from the main house. Immediately I let go of her arm, she crossed both of her arms over her chest and eyed me warily.
"What's eating at you, Joey? Is everything okay?" she asked, and her voice was so innocent that if I didn't know how devious she was, I might have fallen for her cute little trap again.
But not this time. I have had enough.
My jaw hardened and I took a stop closer before I spoke.
"Listen to me, Morgana. I don't care what you think we are, but there's nothing between us. I used to consider you as a friend, but now, I am not so sure. You want something that's not yours, and you're willing to go through anything to get it. But what you want will never happen, Morgana," I paused and held her gaze.
The words shimmered between us, and I let the silence stretch on for a while before I continued.
"I will never be with you. Lydia is my wife, and she's back, and she's all I need. All of your frequent visits, the food, the calls, everything needs to stop. I don't need you to keep doing them for me. I was going to let you know without making a fuss about it, but Lord knows that you are a difficult woman. So I am telling you now. You need to leave me and my wife alone."
My voice was low and even as I spoke, but it had an edge to it, and I was pretty sure she could hear how much I meant each and every one of the words I just said.
Morgana stared at me for a long moment after I stopped speaking, and her gaze was cold. Distant. Calculating. The smile that was on her face before I started speaking had fell away, and she looked different from the Morgana I knew.
"You're such an ungrateful bastard, Joey," she spat at me. Her outburst was so sudden that I was stunned into silence. All I could do was gape.
Of all the things I expected her to say, this was definitely not one of them. Not even on the list.
She went on, not bothering to let me come up with a response.
"When that bitch left you to probably cheat on you with another man, you were so fucking miserable. You had no one! Not even your so called best friend was there for you the way you needed him to be. I was the only one you had, Joey. I stepped up. I helped you. I put my entire life on hold just to help you get better and make you forget about your ugly as sin wife. And now you have the guts, the nerve to tell me to stay away from you? Have you lost you whole fucking mind?" she yelled at me, her eyes blazing with anger.
My hands tightened into fists.
"Don't you dare, refer to my wife as a bitch. And I didn't ask you to do all of that. You chose to do it all by yourself. I never asked you for anything," I snapped in return.
She shook her head at me, and her expression was a cross between disappointment and rage.
"But you had no issues indulging me then, did you? You accepted me. You gave me the code to the house. You didn't say anything because you craved the warmth I was providing. Hell, if your wife hasn't resurfaced all of a sudden, you would have given in to my sexual demands. You would have fucked me like I wanted you to. Because no matter how much you deny it, you want me. You can deny it all you want, but I know you, Joey.
I have known you for years, and you would have been mine if you hadn't met that bitch!"
"Stop calling my wife a bitch!" I roared at her, my heart hammering violently against my chest. My anger continued to rise, and I had to restrain myself from doing something I have been done in my life.
But what the actual fuck was this woman talking about?
"I will call her whatever I want! Why do you think I pretended to be her friend all these years? Because of you. I got close to her for you. All because I wanted to be close to you. And now...now that I have my chance, now that I finally have a shot, you want me to leave?"
I ran my hands through my hair, frustrated beyond measure.
"Listen to me. Yes, we were friends before we got married, but we weren't that close. I was never attracted to you. Not back then, not right now. I only allowed you to do everything you did because I thought we were friends, but apparently not."
Regret flooded my veins. How could I have been so foolish, so blind? Why did I not know how she felt?
Morgana scoffed at me.
"I won't back down, Joey. You should be mine, and I'll do everything in my power to make you mine. Lydia is the outsider, and she will eventually have to leave," she said solemnly.
Bitter laughter slipped past my lips.
"You're the Intruder, Morgana. My wife is not going anywhere," I quipped.
Morgana smirked.
"Oh yeah? Is that what you think? I guess we'll have to see about that," she smiled as she spoke, and before I could even do as much as blink, Morgana stepped forward and pressed her lips against mine.
I pushed her away immediately, but it was too late. Someone gasped behind me, and I instantly knew who it was.
My wife had just witnessed Morgana kissing me.
Fuck.