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25
The Devil is a Gentleman
Sage
AfterJuliana’sfriendand Cy head out, she retreats, leaving a heavy weight in my stomach.
You couldn’t have known.
Well, I know pieces. I know she was hurt, that Cy and Ember rescued her from Mathieson Enterprises, that Arrick is not the man I knew him to be. But I refused to put the pieces together. I didn’t want to face reality. I was putting it off.
My husband, Arrick, is not a good person. He was sweet at one point, but his anger was out of control right before Kieran and I left. He complained for months about how business was suffering. The paranoia consuming him was disturbing. But he never came back from the paranoia, and I lost the sweet man he was.
I figured it would blow over. His rants about how someone was stealing merchandise from him would dissipate.
How wrong I was.
The devastation on Juliana’s face when I confessed my connection to the man who tortured her was heartbreaking.
On the other hand, the hope I saw in her eyes at the prospect of seeing Griffin makes me think she’s clinging to something about her experience with him. I was not lying when I said he is loyal. I’ve only ever known the man as the gruff and socially withdrawn head of Arrick’s security. His level of dedication to my husband was admirable. Well, until I realized the full scope of the business. Learning Griffin is one of the good guys? It’s a small relief that makes all the difference.
Kieran even likes the man; he says Griffin makes the best cookies. Witnessing such a large man who handles a gun like it’s an extension of his own body offering your nine-year-old a chocolate chip cookie is quite a sight. Perhaps I judged him too harshly. Kieran isn’t one to take well to others, and the fact he trusts this man lends him some credibility in my mind.
When Juliana and Jay asked to bring Griffin here, I was hesitant. But I need answers, and maybe Griffin can finally provide some for me. Maybe he can help pull me out of this perpetual stillness I have lived in for almost four months. Maybe he’s the thing that Juliana needs to pull her from wherever she went moments ago.
Watching how Juliana shut down when I mentioned Arrick had me digging my nails into my palm in an attempt to maintain some level of composure. I can only imagine what she must have thought. Of what she’s been through and what she thinks of me because of the connection.
I hope I haven’t wrecked the friendship we have developed over the past weeks.
I find myself hesitating outside of her doorway.
This has to happen sometime.
I knock and wait for her answer with my heart thundering in my chest.
When she opens the door, my breath catches. Her eyes shine with tears, and her skin is red and blotchy. She’s a mess. Rightfully so.
Part of me hates how beautiful she looks with tear tracks running down her face. She’s vulnerable, and I’m basking in being able to see this side of her.
“Can I come in?” I ask, hoping she doesn’t turn me away. I would understand if she does.
Opening the door wider, she lets me in, and my heart rate begins to slow from its nervous patter.
I need to start this conversation, but for once, I don’t know how. I should be used to giving bad news. I worked in an ER for over a decade. This shouldn’t be so hard.
But with her, it feels impossible.
“I imagine you are feeling blindsided,” I watch her as she physically she turns into herself. “I should have told you sooner, but I didn’t want… well, it doesn’t matter. I should have told you.”
“Thank you.”
Her simple answer brings back the nervous energy that was starting to dissipate from my body.
“Can we sit?” I ask.
She nods, and we move over towards the bed, where she pulls the blanket around herself in a cocoon.
“Arrick… we met in college. I was nineteen, and he was charming. I fell for him hard and fast.” I look to her for any sign she doesn’t want to hear this. Her hands are tightly clutching the blanket around her, and she won’t meet my gaze, but there’s nothing telling me she wants me to stop. “We were married for thirteen years before I had Kieran. I wanted to wait until I was done with med school and residency. I wanted to be settled into my career before having kids.”
