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Chapter fifty
Anniston,
By the time you wake up, I’ll probably be halfway across the ocean. I can see the look in your eyes right now. Don’t be mad. If I’d waited for you to wake up to say goodbye, I would have just ended up with my dick inside you and this whole “being the hero” act would’ve been for nothing.
You are mine.
You.
Are.
Mine.
You will always be mine.
But there is one more truth you need to know.
You didn’t deserve what I did to you that day on your bed. I became the monster I was trying to slay. I hope one day you’ll be able to forgive me for that weakness. You once told me I wouldn’t find atonement in making you pay for someone else’s sins. You were right.
I thought you were the answer. You were my key to retribution. If I could break you, I would fix me.
But you’re unbreakable, and I can’t be fixed.
Along the way, something changed. You were my reckoning—just not the way I had planned. You let me see past your mask into your soul. Maybe one day you can look beyond my demons and see mine.
Yours,
Chandler
I laid in bed and read the note Chandler had left on my nightstand a dozen times. I read it until my tears blurred the words, until I could hardly breathe because of the piercing ache in my chest.
He was gone.
And he was so very wrong.
I was now broken.
I turned to the quiet creak of my door opening, watching as Liam stepped inside. He sat on the edge of the bed, concern etched on his face.
I folded the note and held it to my chest. “Did you know about Da?”
A month ago, I wouldn’t have believed any it. Now nothing surprised me. The pristine façade of nobility I grew up in had splintered and cracked. I had seen the truth, sanctioned it with my own blood.
How did you move on after learning your whole life was a lie?
“Yes.”
Of course, he knew. Apparently, I was the only one whodidn’tknow. Everyone handled me like I was some fragile thing destined to break.
“I’m so tired of secrets.”
“I know, Ani. Me too.” His expression softened, making him look more like the playful brother I was used to. “But sometimes secrets are necessary. Sometimes they shield people from the sharp blade of the truth.” The way Chandler shielded me when he wouldn’t answer any of my questions.
Until he realized I wasn’t breakable.
“Are you one of them?” I shifted underneath the covers. “The Brotherhood, I mean.”
“Yes and no.”
