“I know. It blows, but most of the planning is already done,” I say quickly. “Next week, everything will go back to normal.”
I hear the falsehood in my own delusions, but I can’t bring myself to postpone the wedding, not yet. There might still be time to find a way out, a solution. Mabel might still come home and take care of the monsters.
But even then…
How can you marry Lachlan when he has no idea who you truly are? When you know he would never believe the truth?my inner critic asks. This relationship was doomed from the start.
It’s not like I haven’t had doubts before now, but it’s the first time I’ve actually listened to that voice. The first time I wonder if I’m even allowed to drag this beautiful man and his perfectly normal family into my fucked-up world.
“Mother had to pull strings to get our choreographer. You missing last night’s rehearsal already piqued her enough. Imagine what she’ll say when I tell her the bride will be MIA forthe weekend. Do you want to give her a heart attack? Can’t we just hire a nurse?”
“I told you, Mabel is a very private person. She hates strangers.”
“What about me, Max? My boss invited us over to his house for dinner on Friday. It won’t make sense for my fiancée not to be there. Let me hire a nurse for the night. Mabel won’t know the difference.”
My mouth opens and closes as I struggle to find an angle he won’t argue against. “She took me in when nobody wanted me. Ioweher this.”
“You’re a grown adult, and she’s holding you back from the life you ought to live. You don’t owe her anything.”
We argue back and forth for a while, enough for a languid ache to take hold of my heart, and tears glaze my eyes. I’ve been working so hard to prove to the world that our romance could work, and I let many things slide, mainly his disdain for my foster family.
It’s probably my own fault.
Most of my lies have described Mabel as an eccentric old hermit. I might have overdone it and painted her in such a poor light that he can’t understand how I feel. But no matter what I said to excuse her quirks, she’s still family. If she were truly sick, there’d be no question of hiring a nurse. I summon the righteous anger I need to deny his suggestion, but guilt gnaws at me.
We’re fighting over a make-believe story, a band-aid I put over a leaking, bloody mess of a situation.
But what other choice do I have?
You could tell him the truth,my conscience whispers.
My eyes screw shut. I could tell him the truth about me, my family, my blood. But I can’t pretend not to know how that would end. If I told Lachlan about monsters, ghosts, and Fae,he’d never look at me the same again. And he wouldn’t want to marry me anymore.
Chapter 7
God needs the Devil
E
He made her cry. The fucker made her cry.
Max dries her tears before climbing the stairs, her eyes baby green, like ferns in the rain. I’m glad I eavesdropped on their conversation. Glad I uncovered his infamy.
Instead of listening to what she needed, he huffed and puffed and twisted her guilt around her. Made her feel small for choosing to care for a mother who’s not her blood. Planted sneaky little comments to make her wonder if her family could ever be as relevant as his, and asked for her unfailing loyalty when he couldn’t care less to give his.
She lied, of course. Lied and lied until she was blue in the face.
I hate him. I hate the way his voice grated through the phone, slick and condescending. I hate how his casual cruelty was disguised as concern for her well-being, when it was actually meant to belittle her.
That’s not love. Love can be harsh and dangerous, but it doesn’t judge. It’s all-consuming, like fire burning through anempty house. Love is standing in the ruins with your twin flame, fighting their monsters, their fears, their sins. It’s cherishing every part of who they are, be it smoke, dust, or ashes.
I’d dissect this man from the inside out and take his place if I could, just to show Max what true devotion really looks like. What a man should do for his mate when her family is in need, when she’s overwhelmed and lonely.
She meets me in Mabel’s room as discussed, even though I barely beat her up the stairs.
“Did you find that book?” she asks.
I can’t mask the growl in my voice as I answer, “Don’t pretend you don’t know I stayed down there.”
