***
When Marlow finally hangs up after another brutal round with her lawyers and PR team, I don’t give her a chance to escape. I catch her arm, drag her straight into the study, and shut the door with a sharp click before locking it.
“What the hell, Es?” she snaps.
“We’re doing this,” I say firmly, planting myself in front of the door. “We’re talking.”
“Talking! You want to talk? Fine. I’ve got a lot to say!”
I nod, bracing myself for every word I know is coming, every sting I probably deserve. “Say it, Low. Say whatever you need to.” I gesture toward the massive sectional in the study, and we sit—across from each other, opposite sides, like rivals instead of family.
For a moment, there’s nothing but silence. Silence and tears. Hers and mine.
“I don’t cry. I don’t let shit get to me,” Marlow starts, her voice breaking. “But these fucking baby hormones have me acting delirious!”
I bite back a laugh, though something about the mention of her baby pulls at my chest in a way I can’t name. So I just give her a soft smile.
“But also,” she goes on, “I’ve never let anyone this close to hurt me, Es. I loved you even before I loved Declan. And this betrayal cut me more than I ever thought possible.”
My throat aches. “I’m so sorry, Low.”
“And I hate that I let you call me that,” she snaps, her words slicing clean. “Because that’s always been reserved for family.”
I bow my head, because that one…even though I knew she’d say some hurtful things, that one hurt deeper than I expected.
Her voice softens a fraction. “I’m sorry. I know I’m saying everything that comes to mind without a filter and I sort of don’t care if it hurts.”
I laugh through my own snot and tears. “Then why are you apologizing?”
She smiles through tears but it’s a painful one. “Because I fucking love you! And even though I am mad as hell at you, you don’t deserve my venom. But fuck—I’m so mad!”
The dam in me finally breaks. I reach across and pull her into a hug, holding tight as she shakes against me. “Shhh. I don’t want you to upset the baby.”
I pull back just enough to meet her eyes, and what I say feels like ripping myself open. “I’ll stay in here with you until you yell, scream, curse me out for as long as you need. And I’ll still love you. And then…I’ll go out there and break things off with your dad.”
Her eyes go wide. “What?”
“I choose you. I’ll always choose you. Even though…” My voice cracks, my head bows, and the ache nearly swallows me whole. “…eventhough I lovedhimfirst. I loved him before I loved you but, Low, I’ll still choose you.”
Something inside both of us snaps, and suddenly we’re clinging to each other, sobbing harder than either of us can control.
Declan’s nonna had the right idea—lock us in until the fight burns out—because for a long while, we justtalk. Voices rise. Accusations flare. Tears spill. But slowly, the poison drains. And when it’s done, we’re sitting on the floor, backs against the desk, legs stretched out like two kids who’ve cried themselves clean.
“Eslin?” Marlow’s voice comes out small, almost childlike.
“Yeah?” I answer, wiping at my face, bracing myself for whatever comes next.
“I’ve never seen my dad like this. With anyone. Not since my mom. I watched you two from the corner of my eye earlier, when he was pulling out the Christmas decorations, and…” She lets out a shaky laugh. “It made me smile. To see him so smitten.”
My heart stutters, caught between guilt and something dangerously close to hope. “Okay?”
“And I guess what I’m saying is…” She swallows hard, tears brimming again. “I love you both. And if you fought that hard to resist each other out of respect for me, I can’t imagine how difficult it was. Because when I look at the two of you together—you’re perfect.”
The words hit me like sunlight after weeks of rain. Relief. Honor. Fullness. I can barely breathe past the lump in my throat. “Thank you,” I whisper, voice trembling. “I love him so much, Marlow. I promise I do.”
Before I can say more, the wall she’s been holding up finally crumbles. Marlow collapses into me, sobs ripping out of her, raw and unrestrained again.
Every ounce of pressure she’s been carrying—her marriage, her father, her career, the baby—it all spills out, shaking her from the inside out.
