Never Again Yours (Isadora and Magnus) novel Chapter 95

Bar.

Magnus was downing drink after drink—hard, fast, relentless. His head was pounding, but he didn’t put the glass down for a second.

Sammy sat beside him, watching as Magnus drank like this for nearly two hours. He’d tried to stop him a few times, but every attempt was shut down by the icy glare Magnus shot his way. After that, Sammy didn’t dare intervene again.

He didn’t understand why Magnus had only called him out tonight. None of the usual crew—Scales or the others—had been invited. Was his job tonight just to watch Magnus drink himself into oblivion? The thought left Sammy feeling uneasy.

He glanced at the expensive bottles scattered all over the floor. If Magnus kept this up, he’d wind up passed out right here before the night was over.

Unable to hold back any longer, Sammy finally asked, “Magnus, what the hell happened?”

Magnus was clearly drunk, his eyes red and unfocused. He paused for a long moment before answering.

“The day I married Elise—Isadora was kidnapped.”

“Yeah, but you said that was just a cover story, right?”

Sammy remembered the wedding well. He and Scales and the rest of the guys had shown up, but really only out of loyalty to Magnus; they didn’t stick around long. Most of the guests were Elise’s friends anyway.

During the ceremony, Magnus had gotten a call from Isadora, claiming she’d been kidnapped. Later, even Scales had mocked the whole thing. “Of all the days to stage a kidnapping—it just happens to be when Magnus is marrying Elise? Lame. Not even a toddler would buy that story.”

Magnus frowned, his voice rough. “No... it wasn’t fake.”

You’ve got to be kidding me.

Sammy’s jaw dropped. He shot upright in his seat. “It wasn’t fake?”

He blurted out, “No wonder Isadora broke up with you. If I were her, I wouldn’t just dump you—I’d probably punch you in the face.”

Magnus watched Sammy’s outburst with a look of resignation—his first time not arguing back, just offering a bitter smile.

Sammy fought the urge to be brutally honest. He’d let things slide before, but this was different. This was a kidnapping—and while his fiancée was in danger, Magnus had been marrying another woman. If Isadora could put up with that, she deserved a medal for World’s Most Patient Girlfriend.

“Fine. Keep looking after Elise. But set Isadora free. No woman deserves to be treated like this by the man she loves. If she says it’s over, this time it’s for real.”

Magnus slammed his glass down on the bar. “I can’t. I just can’t.”

Sammy sighed. “Magnus, do you even love Isadora?”

Love?

Magnus stared down at the bar, lost in thought. “Isadora’s been by my side for years. I don’t have to work to love her or try to understand her. She just... loves me. She’s warm, caring, always looking after me. She’d make a perfect girlfriend—or even... Mrs. Wainwright.”

Sammy listened, but still couldn’t tell if Magnus actually loved Isadora or not. “So, do you love her? Or don’t you?”

Magnus opened his mouth, but the words got stuck in his throat. If he was honest, he’d never really thought about it before.