Page 376 of Power Play

“And when he did, she handed it to him.”

“Yes.”

Her agreement stole some of the anger from my next response.

Bliss looked down at her folded hands. “Aura realized Charm wasn’t afraid of what we would think about you. She knew we loved you, and she knew we would be happy for both of you.”

“Then why hide it?”

“Because telling us required her to admit how much you mattered.”

I stared at her.

“She has spent her entire life believing anything she loves can be used to control her,” Bliss continued. “Her father threatens money, school, her mother’s happiness, and every part of her future. Charm thought if she kept you hidden, no one could take you.”

“That isn’t love. It’s avoidance in the face of adversity.”

“No,” Bliss said softly. “It’s fear.”

“It felt like shame from where I was standing.”

“I know.”

“I asked her to call me her man.”

“I know.”

“She wouldn’t.”

“I know.”

“She came into my life, took everything I offered, and kept me somewhere no one important to her could see.”

“I know, Ryan.”

“Stop saying that like her reasons are supposed to change the experience.”

“They aren’t.” Bliss leaned forward, her hands still tucked inside her sleeves. “You’re allowed to be done. You’re allowed to decide you can’t trust her again. You’re allowed to love her and still refuse to be with her.”

The words settled somewhere beneath my ribs.

“What you aren’t allowed to do,” she continued, “is use everything she trusted you with to punish her until you stop hurting.”

Anger stirred again. “She used everything I trusted her with against me.”

“She did.”

“So, she gets understanding, and I get rules?”

“You get friends willing to tell you when your pain is turning you into someone you’ll hate later.”

The kitchen went silent. Briggs dried one plate that had already been dry for several minutes. Easton stood beside him with his arms folded, while Rider leaned against the counter and watched me without judgment. Cade remained beside Bliss.

“I already hate him, amiga. I have for years.”

“El Cuchillo?” Briggs asked.

I glanced toward him. “That part of me is hateful and unforgiving. I learned easy on you needed to be scarier than everything else and everyone else, around you. That side of me is what kept me alive.”