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“I don’t know if he knew then or if he found out later, but it was more than just a simple adoption. He always thought he was his parent’s natural son because that’s what they told him.”
Theo nods again, his lips pulling to one side. “They can’t be the first people to ever lie to their kids about that. It’s shitty, but—”
“They had a son before him,” I say, cutting him off. I need to get this out before my throat closes up entirely. “They had a son, and he died, and they adopted Dominic and gave him their dead child’s name. They raised him to fill the shoes of their own dead kid. They tried to erase his old life, to wipe it out.” My pitch is rising, my words growing more strained. “He had a stuffed animal, something from his childhood, and he… he said it was named LaLa.”
Theo blinks at me. Then his eyes widen suddenly, shock overtakin
g his features. “Holy fuck.”
I nod, the movement jerky.
His mouth opens and closes once, then he makes a quiet scoffing noise. “No. No fucking way. You don’t think…?”
“I don’t know.”
Even as I speak the words, I can feel the lie in them. I’ve been trying to deny it ever since Dominic said the name, but the truth is, I do know. He’s my brother. It would take a DNA test to confirm it, and I could cling to the hope that this is all just an insane coincidence until I see tangible proof.
But it doesn’t change the certainty that sits heavy in my chest.
He’s my brother.
“Jesus.” Theo blows out a breath, his grip on me tightening a little. “Motherfucker. That guy?”
I almost laugh. Theo really is the only person who can make me laugh when everything else in me feels like crying.
“Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction,” I say, making an attempt at a smile.
“Fuck.” His lips curl back, and he looks a little disgusted.
I know how he feels.
Then he cocks his head, his eyes narrowing. His fingertips trace up and down my spine as he thinks for a long moment. When he looks down at me again, he sighs.
“Honestly, it kinda makes sense. What his parents did, I mean. Not that it makes it in any way okay. But you’ve seen our parents. Ry’s and Marcus’s, anyway. It took us longer to fully recognize it than it should have, but our parents used all of us. They treated us like pieces on a chess board. Dominic’s parents just took it to a whole new extreme. They raised him to be a tool, so maybe that explains why he’s such a… well, a tool.”
This time, I do snort a laugh. It’s the most apt description of Dominic I’ve ever heard.
Theo grins, looking pleased that he managed to pull me from the depths of my emotional breakdown. Then his face grows serious.
“This is insane, Rose. And I can’t even begin to imagine the kind of shit you’re feeling right now. But just remember that Dominic was raised by assholes. He’s a product of his upbringing. If he’d had a different life, if he’d still had you, he could’ve been a different person. A better person. Hell, the only reason Ry, Marcus, and I aren’t completely fucked up is because we found each other. We had each other to lean on.”
He reaches up to brush a lock of hair behind my ear. I still have the remnants of the simple updo I pulled it into earlier, but it looks like a rat’s been crawling around in it now.
“They took him away from you, and that’s not your fault. Who he turned into isn’t your fault either.” He grimaces. “And maybe, in a small way, it’s not entirely his fault either.”
My heart squeezes tightly, and I blink as new tears burn my eyes. “Are you trying to help me see the good in Dominic?”
Theo looks a little horrified at the suggestion, then wrinkles his nose, chuckling lightly. “Yeah, maybe I am. Mostly, I’m just trying to make you not hurt.” His palm cups my cheek as tenderness fills his expression. “I wish I could do that for you, Rose.”
He can’t. No one can.
But what Theo does for me is better than that. It’s better than taking the pain away.
He makes me believe in hope and love despite the pain. He helps me find happiness in the midst of hurt, and the brilliant rush of emotion makes my knees wobble.
Reaching up, I capture his hand with mine, pinning it to my cheek as my own smaller one molds over his. “I love you, Theo.”
His eyes widen, a look of surprise passing over his face. I expect him to grin at me, flashing his teeth and his dimples in his signature gorgeous smile. But instead, his face grows more intense than I’ve ever seen it.
