The Devious Husband (The Windsors, #6)

by Catharina Maura

“Let me guess?” I croak out. “An abandoned warehouse? What a cliche.”

I only have to stay alive long enough for my family to find me, and the creep sitting opposite me has no idea whose wrath he’s invoking. It isn’t just the Kingstons he’ll have to contend with. It’s the Windsors too, the Sinclairs, no doubt, not far behind them. He has no idea how big of a mistake he made when he targeted me. I’m so much more than just Xavier’s wife, and he’s about to find out the hard way.

“Right now, I’d just be grateful for how long that list is, and how well she’s keeping calm.”

“This is his worst fear come true, Sierra. That man just lived his worst nightmare, and I don’t think he’s snapped out of it yet. He’ll be okay once he realizes you’re okay.”

I have years of experience taunting him. I excel at it more than I do my actual job.

“I’ll wait a million years and a day, Xavier, if that’s what it takes.”

“I’ll wait, because I still want you, and I still love you. Not even the way you’re treating me right now will change that.”

“Mom liked the suit you bought for Xavier,” he explains when he finds me staring at it. “So she got matching ones for me, Elijah, Hunter, and Zach. I haven’t been able to tell her that the boys are all too old for matching outfits.”

“Sweetheart, if I could force him to get help, I would. I’m not above locking him in a room with a psychologist, but that won’t make him talk.”

If you ever, EVER, touch my cookies again, I will kill you. — I’m keeping this as evidence of premeditated murder.

Is your coffee as bitter as the look on your face when you lost that project?

Screw you. — Hopefully someday, Kitten. ?????

I remember when she seemed invincible, an immovable boulder in my life, and I took it for granted.

“I’d begun to worry about you both, you know? Seems like it was for naught, judging by how indecently you behaved with my sweet little girl right in front of my house.”

To be wanted by her was one of the highlights of my life, and I wish I’d savored the experience more.

It’s an odd thing to be upset about, given our circumstances, but her wearing my t-shirts has always been our thing, and the thought of her wearing another man’s t-shirt while she’s lying in my arms hurts more than I expected — even if it belongs to one of her brothers.

It isn’t until

I silently vow that I’ll ensure she’ll never regret it, if it’s the last thing I do. I’ll find a way to make her happy again, to make her smile again, no matter the cost.

“You need to think long and hard about the way you’ve treated her, Xavier, and what you’ve been telling her with your actions every single time you didn’t show up for her. She stood by you and fought for you and your marriage, and you repaid her by pushing her away instead of confiding in her and working with her to overcome what had happened.

It was a horrible experience for you both, and I understand why it triggered the fears and traumas you thought you’d put behind you, but here’s the thing, Xavier… you don’t get to decide what Sierra needs.

Pushing her away served you, not her, and the sooner you realize it, the sooner you can start fixing the damage you’ve do...

“You once told me that I shouldn’t lower my standards just because you failed to meet them, and I’m finally taking your words to heart. I’m done expecting better from someone who is more attached to his fears and insecurities than to me.

You built me up, only to shake the foundations I thought we had, and you didn’t even have the decency to watch me fall apart.

“You haven’t come home in a while, so we weren’t sure if maybe your cars were all broken or something.” “You didn’t call, that’s for sure. Had to check if your phone plan was still active, and it is, so I’m not sure what that’s all about,”

“It’s okay to not be okay,” Valeria says. “Healing takes time, Sierra.”

there wasn’t anything in life I couldn’t relate back to my love for books.

I’ll never regret you, Kitten. You will always be the best thing that’s ever happened to me.

I know I don’t compare to the heroes you read about, but I will never stop trying to make your wildest dreams come true.’

This was supposed to become her new favorite book, our story her favorite of all.

After all, ‘Happily Ever After’ isn’t a moment. It’s a choice,

Her list of enemies is longer than that of all her brothers combined, but she seems entirely unfazed by it.

“You know what? All my life, I’d been scared that no one would ever live up to the heroes I read about, and I guess it’s true.” He tenses, his expression falling. “You’re better,

“I have a surprise for you,” I admit. “I know,” she replies. “Why else would you have been scheming all morning? Not to mention that you bought an island and I’m only just finding out, when you usually tell me everything.”

I just know I’ll follow this woman to the end of the world if that’s where she chooses to lead me.

“Every day, I’m fighting for my life against the romance heroes you love so much.”

You deserve the world, and nothing makes me happier than trying to give it to you.

“Are you ready?” “What would you do if I say no?” “Why, I’d get the jet ready, of course. Mom always has an exit plan ready.”

“I hope you’re looking forward to being a DILF.”

somehow, she still seems to think she got the better deal out of the two of us. But then again, she’s always been a little crazy, so that shouldn’t surprise me.

“That guy chose to marry Valeria,” I remind them. “He clearly has no sense of fear, nor any self-preservation skills. Trying to intimidate him is like throwing a drop of water in the ocean.”

“You are going to fail her at least a few times. It’s inevitable when you share a whole lifetime with someone. Things aren’t always going to be perfect. What matters most is how you handle your mistakes, and whether or not you learn from them. You’ll both fuck up occasionally, but each time it happens, you’ll become stronger together too.”

You have to earn the right to be with someone every day, in little ways that show them you care, that you love them, that you still choose them, long after you say ‘I do’.