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They came in tsunami form, laying waste to everything she thought she knew to be true. The idea of marrying Vic, destroyed. Her steadfast trust in him, demolished. The love she’d felt for him, washed away.
“Please, Aubrey.”
“No. You have one final task on your Aubrey to-do list, and that’s to drive me to my parents’ house. On the way, I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. You owe me at least that.”
He watched her for the count of five before agreeing with a nod. He gestured to the front door. She kept her eyes on the exit rather than admiring the house as she left it—a house she’d never live in. She kept her head down when she walked past the freshly mown lawn. A lawn her future children would never play on.
She’d lost her future with Vic in one fell swoop, and he had been the one who’d taken it from her. The worst part about it was knowing he’d betrayed her not once, but twice.
There wouldn’t be a third.
Vic didn’t speak during the drive back to her parents’ house. Not until he parked in the driveway. “Can I—”
“No. No to whatever it is you’re going to ask.” A tremor of regret slipped down her spine at his sincere expression. She shook it off. He’d lied to her for too long. She wasn’t going to give him the chance to explain his way out of it—or buy his way out of it by offering her a dream home. “No to living with you. No to marrying you. No to you ever touching me again. In fact, I don’t want to speak to you again. We have nothing left to say to each other.”
She hopped out and slammed the truck door, the aggressive action renewing her strength. He sat in his truck in the driveway, engine idling. He could sit there until the cows literally came home. She meant every word of what she’d said.
“Mom! Dad!” She threw open the door and tossed her purse onto the kitchen counter.
Her parents were in the living room, books open on their laps. Her father blinked as if he’d just woken from a nap. He slid his glasses onto his nose.
“How could you betray me like that?” she asked them both. “How could you let me believe that Vic was a part of my life?”
“Now, honey, calm down.” Her father set his book aside.
“Not going to happen.” She turned to her mother. “You had plenty of opportunities to tell me the truth. I thought we were growing closer. And you—” she pointed at her father “—you have always protected me. Did you decide there was a time limit on safeguarding your daughter?”
“We were following your doctor’s—” he started.
“Orders. I’ve heard, I’ve heard. I’m going to pay her a visit next. I’m going to drive myself there. She was worried about me driving, but tumbling into bed with my ex-boyfriend was well within the confines of her Hippocratic oath.”
“Dr. Mitchell explained her concerns in detail. The human brain is a complicated web of—”
“Daddy! Seriously. Stop.”
He did, his shoulders sagging under the weight of what Aubrey could only guess was guilt. “I’m sorry. We’re both so damn sorry. We made a mistake because we were trying to protect you. We love you so much.”
“You should have seen Vic when he was here,” her mother interjected. “He was truly agonized. Practically in tears when he confessed he was in love with you. He said he wanted more than anything to win you back. He begged us to let him tell you the truth himself. He’s taken on the blame, but it’s not his fault. We had hoped him being back in your life would give you a safe place to land while your memory returned. You were so happy whenever he was around.”
She tried not to let the words penetrate, but picturing Vic here, his heart on his sleeve, cut her to the core. The man she had spent the last month believing she loved was a different version than the man she’d driven away from ten years ago. That night she’d broken his heart and hers. She’d cried and cried, stubborn tears she’d believed might never dry.
But they had.
They had dried, and then she’d made the epically stupid decision to go to bed with Vic because he’d been charming and offered her a knotted cherry stem. But she’d made a life for herself without him. It was a good life. One without regrets. It could have stayed that way, too, if he hadn’t come along and shown her a glimpse of the life she’d lost out on. Including the dream home they’d imagined moving into when they were younger.
That bastard. He’d used the best part of her—her trusting heart—against her. She’d never forgive him. “Vic and I have issues that are our own and none of your damn business.”
“Like it or not,” her mother replied, “you were happier before you knew the truth.”
“Ignorance is bliss, Mom? Really? Any happiness you thought you saw was a fabrication. It was based on the fairy tale you were allowing me to believe.”
“Darling, we love you,” her mother continued.
“I know you do.” Her voice wobbled with unspent emotion. Anger and sadness, regret and heartbreak warred for first place. “I suspect Vic believes he means it when he says it, too. That’s not what’s up for debate. The question is how will I choose to move forward now that I have the complete information. Only I can make that decision. And I have.” She swung to face her father, adding, “I’ve decided to move out immediately. I’m going to return to my apartment, and I’ll let you know when or if you’re allowed to see me again. You’re both going to respect my privacy. Like I told Vic, it’s the least you can do.”
Her piece said, she stormed to her borrowed bedroom and slammed the door. She flipped the lock, yanked her suitcases out of the closet and began packing her clothes. While she did, she cried.
She cried out of grief at Vic’s and her parents’ betrayal. She cried out of joy for her regained memory. And she cried out of sadness, because the ugly truth was that she did love Vic.
She loved him more than she should, especially knowing that he’d kept her in the dark about their past. A tiny voice in the back of her mind asked what else he’d been lying to her about.
Could she trust the man she’d spent the last several weeks with? Or had he been charming her for his own gain, much like he had the night at the Silver Saddle?
