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“The fake marriage.”
He shrugs. “Worked on you, didn’t it? And the Bellasios are not as nosy as you are.”
“Ilarion.”
“I told you, Taylor: she’s family. By name, by friendship, and…well, by you, technically. And Adam.”
He has me there. I fall silent and try to wrap my head around everything that’s moving so, so fast.
So many lies. Noble ones, well-intentioned ones, hopeful ones. It doesn’t matter in the end. A lie is still a lie, no matter how beautifully it’s dressed up.
It’s ironic—I felt some version of that over the years when I learned about Dad’s double life. And somehow, despite how much I resented it for him, I allowed myself to fall into the same black hole.
I did to Celine what Dad did to his family.
What he did to me.
“Celine doesn’t love me,” Ilarion whispers. His hands come to rest gently on my waist, the heat of his palms burning through the fabric. “But you do.”
I’m already at the edge of the balcony; there’s nowhere else for me to go. I grip the edge of the rough stone and pray that I have the strength to withstand whatever hurricane he’s going to rain down upon me with those eyes. Those hands.
I bite the inside of my cheek until I taste blood. “You can’t say that.”
“Of course I can. It’s true.”
“If she wasn’t in love with you, she wouldn’t have broken the snow globe,” I blurt without thinking about my words.
Dammit,I scold myself the instant I see Ilarion’s brows raise. “Ah. That explains the shattered glass.”
“You took her to the cabin, too,” I accuse. “That’s how she knew.”
“Yes, I did. Once, before I even knew the two of you were related. Before the garden party. Before any of this came to a head. If it makes you feel any better, we slept in separate rooms.”
“That’s not what I was asking.”
“Wasn’t it?”
Okay, so maybe it was. Who cares, though, right? What difference does it make? What hope is left?
“All these years,” I whisper, allowing my gaze to lift to his. He’s standing closer now. If I move even a fraction of an inch, I will touch him. “There was no one else?”
He nods once, slowly. His eyes bore into mine as if blinking will make me vanish. “There was never anyone else.”
“Why stay faithful to me?” I ask. “You had no reason to.”
His fingers brush along my arm. “I hadeveryreason to,” he corrects softly. “I know I’ve never told you that I love you. But why tell, when I could show?”
Those words…
Those words are the hurricane.
He grabs the side of my face and this time, I do nothing to stop him. I let go of the fight I’ve been clinging to. I let go of all the roadblocks I’ve created in my mind.
I gave him away because I thought it was the right thing to do.
But in the end, I could never truly give away what’s rightfully mine.
“I’m sorry, Ilarion.”
