“Hey Max, this is Damien…Eros. Listen, I need to explain some things. Please call me back and we can talk. Please?”

* * *

“Hey Max, it’s me. I haven’t heard from you since yesterday, and I know it looks bad, but please give me a chance. I’ll explain everything. But I need you to call me back first. Okay?”

* * *

“Max. Please. I need to talk to you. You didn’t show up to work today again, and I’m worried about you. Just call me so I know you’re okay.”

* * *

“Max. I know you’re there. I know you’re getting these, because I know you hate having voicemails on your phone. And I want you to know that I wasn’t lying when I told you that I love you. And I’m also not lying when I say I’m really Eros.

“I was born long before mankind knew what love was. And I’ve been helping people make connections throughout the centuries. Every so often, we gods come to Earth to…I guess either to do our jobs or learn something more about ourselves. I came here to remember why I do what I do.

“You helped me with that, Max. You helped me remember what love is.

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my time. I was married to Psyche a long, long time ago, and that has really fucked up my views on love and everything. It kept me away from you.

“I didn’t use our time together the way I should have for three years. I took you for granted. And I was the scoundrel that the media made me out to be.

“Nadya is Psyche. And she’s trying to destroy what we built.

“I know that sounds crazy. I know you probably don’t believe me. I guess what I’m trying to say is… Don’t let her win. Don’t let her get between us.”

I’ve come to the end of my explanation, exhausted by all of it. I rub at my eyes as I search for anything more to say on the phone. I’ve said everything I could in previous voicemails and haven’t heard a peep back from Max.

I don’t know how this can be any different, but I can’t give up on her.

“Please call me back,” I say at length. “I love you. Don’t throw that away before hearing me out.”

I hang up and toss the phone onto my desk, spent.

I haven’t gotten any sleep in the week since Max left my office, so my mind feels like it’s been run over by a hydra. Everything seems muddied right now. I can’t focus on anything beyond Max’s absence.

Everything is incomplete without her by my side.

A part of me knows that I’m failing. A paparazzi snapped a photo of Max running away from me, and Psyche went to the press after our confrontation, saying that it’s a result of us being together.

Childish, really. Yet the damage is done.

Almost half of my clients have canceled in the fallout. Without Max, I can’t keep up with the demands of all my clients. They call me, demand answers that I can’t give, and cancel their meetings with me. I’ve had to dole out refunds to new clients and to those that have been matched but are no longer in their relationship.

Love is a reflection of my own mental state—with Max gone, nothing is working out correctly. Love in the post-Max-world is floundering. Dying.

And I couldn’t give a fuck.

All I want is Max.

I could go to her house in Jersey City to see her, but if I know Max, I know that wouldn’t go over well at all, considering her past with Logan.

I’d rather lose Max than make her think that I’m anything like Logan. But…

I just want her.

“Mr. Eros,” Carrie says from the door. Since Psyche was here, she’s been more timid in how she talks to me. Like she’s afraid of upsetting me. And I know I haven’t been the best boss in the aftermath of that argument.

“Yes, Carrie?” I sound tired, even to myself.

“Mr. Steven Liu is here to see you.”

I see him peeking around her shoulder. “Let him in.”

Supposedly, I have an appointment in twenty minutes, but I doubt it will actually happen. People have been dropping their appointments left and right.

“We have a problem, Damien,” Steven says, his voice hushed and urgent. “A big one.”

I eye him warily. “I know.”

Ever since my “scandalous affair” with “Nadya” has been brought to light, I’ve seen Steven every day, trying to think of ways to repair my image and save my business.

But I don’t have anything left in me. I don’t have the strength to keep fighting.

Poor Steven wants to, though. I can tell that he’s been wracking his brain trying to find a way. He even suggested an online coupon for deeply discounted matchmaking services. I only laughed at that.

I know I’m a terrible client. But I’ve lost everything worth living for.

“I can’t fix this,” Steven says.

“I know that, too.”

He just stares at me, aghast. “You’re not making this easy on me.”

I give him a blithe smile. “I’ve never made it easy on anyone.”

An unlovable god of love. I’m a walking contradiction.

“Damien…”

“It’s fine, Steven. Truly, it’s fine.” I sigh and close my eyes. “It’s fine. I’ve lost Max. I’m losing my business. Maybe this is the way it has to be.”

Steven says nothing. I can’t help but feel like I’m letting him down, too, but I don’t have it in me anymore to fight my public image and to prove to anyone that I’m someone I’m not.

Psyche will get what she wants—my life destroyed. And maybe it deserves to be destroyed.

“I’m sorry about you and Max,” Steven says, and I open my eyes to look at him. “I didn’t realize that you would… After…”

I smile at him. “No, thank you for that. It took that push to make me realize what I had in front of me. Too late to do anything, but it made me remember why I do what I do.” For the moment. “Just…hold on to Katherine and never let her go.”

Steven’s face says everything, and I let out a shuddering breath, bracing myself for what’s coming next.

“Katherine and I are…going through a rough patch.” He combs a hand through his hair, his eyes listless. “She’s staying at her parents’ while we work things out.”

“I’m… I’m so sorry.” It’s all I can say at the moment, but I’m raging inside and fighting the urge to punch through a wall. Not only is my life in shambles, but it’s impacting those around me. I thought—was sure—that Steve and his wife would be all right through all this.

I’m not the only one who’s suffering. I’ve let him down in so many ways, and he has no idea.

He gives me a thin-lipped smile. “Well, with the baby due soon, we’ll figure it out. We have to.”

I can only nod. “I hope you do.”

He rises and extends his hand. “I’ll keep thinking of things we can do, but…”

I take it and give him a firm handshake. “No promises. I understand. You’ve been a really great publicist, Steven, and I really appreciate what you’ve done for me.”

“I’ll see you soon, Damien.” He gives one last nod and heads out the door with a loud sigh.

I put my hands in my trouser pockets, frowning after him. It feels like it’s goodbye.

Regardless, I have to get my shit together. Psyche is succeeding at destroying my life, but she’s doing so much more harm than probably she herself realizes.

Steven doesn’t deserve unhappiness.

The person I need to apologize to is Max, but I don’t want to upset her. It’s not her fault that a god fell in love with her. It’s not her fault that I’ve been such an ass and I’m getting my just deserts.

But it’s impacting everyone across the world. And I should be concerned about how it’s affecting everyone, but I’ve been avoiding the news. War could break out without love in the world.

Can I move on from this broken heart and try again?

Fuck, do I even have time before something worse happens?

I look down at my phone and have the same debate I’ve had with myself this entire week. Should I call Max? Or just head over there like a knight in shining armor?

To my shock, the phone rings just as I reach out to it. It’s Max’s number, accompanied by a picture I took of her while we were lying in bed together in a happy moment before it all went to shit. She looks like a woman in love. And now she’s calling me.

I swallow back the lump in my throat before I seize it and answer.

“Max?”

There’s a hiccup on the other end. “M—Mr. Arrows?”

I blink. “Gotham? Gotham, what are you doing, calling me?”

He lets out a sob on the end. “Where are you, Mr. Arrows?”

I close my eyes and put a hand to my forehead. Where do you even begin to talk about this stuff with a kid? “Gotham, your mom and I—”

“Daddy’s here,” he says suddenly, his voice hushed. “And he and Mommy are arguing.”

I freeze. “Your daddy’s there, Gotham?” Max has a restraining order against him. And she had done everything she could to protect Gotham from seeing him at the door. So, what happened to have them arguing in her house? “What’s he doing?”

“He’s…scary.”

“Where’s your grandfather, Gotham?” I demand, hoping that Hector would have the sense to call 9-1-1.

“He put me in his bedroom,” Gotham sobs. “And then went out again to help Mommy.”

I close my eyes and swallow back the lump in my throat. “Gotham, listen to me. When I hang up here, I want you to call 9-1-1 and tell them to come to your house, okay? Can you do that for me, buddy?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I’ll be right there, okay? Hang on. I’m going to save you and your mommy.”

“Hurry.”

The line goes dead.

I fling my phone away and look up, feeling the rage bubbling up inside me. If that creep laid a finger on Max or her family, I’ll…

I hit the intercom button. “Carrie,” I say through clenched teeth. “I’ll be right back.”

“Mr. Eros?” she asks, confused. I guess she would be since I’m not telling her anything as I leave the office. “What—”

I don’t get the rest of her question, as I teleport myself out of my office using my powers. It’s about time that Eros proved himself to Max. I’ll prove that I am who I am and keep her family safe.

And at least put the fear of this god into one abusive son of a bitch.