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Neri’s eyes widened. “You’re asking me how I’ve been?” She shot me a look full of hurt and confusion. “I-I don’t know how to answer that.”
Fury scalded my blood. I couldn’t permit this to go on.
“You’ve delivered her bike and phone,” I snarled, wading out of the pool to the sandy shore. Ice frosted my bones as I wrapped a spare white towel around my waist, grateful my cock no longer tented my black boardshorts. “Now go.”
Zara sucked in a breath, her nostrils flaring. “I only meant...”
“Have you forgotten what you said to me that night?” Neri asked coldly.
“No, I—”
“You were awful to me, Zara.”
“I know. I was drunk and hurt and—”
“That’s no fucking excuse,” I hissed, going to my wife’s side, curling my arm around her and tucking her ever so close. “You were a cold-hearted bitch.”
Neri sighed in relief as she leaned against me, drawing strength from my embrace. “You really hurt me, Zar.”
“I know. I’ve felt terrible about it for weeks.”
“Yet you only come by now?” I glowered at her. “You’re not worth Neri’s time.”
Zara stiffened, looking from Neri to me and back again. “I said bad things, I know. But...it was only because I was hurting. I miss you, Nee. So much.”
My hackles shot to full bristle. “Fuck off, Zara. You’re no longer welcome here—”
“I know I hurt you,” Neri said softly, cutting me off. “I meant what I said, Zar: that we’d grow old together and have our children grow up as cousins, but I was wrong to let you think I would have those kids with Joel. I led you on in that way. I led both of you on, and I’m sorry for that.”
Tears shot to Zara’s eyes. “I was protecting my brother. I let him tell me who I could and couldn’t be friends with. I can’t stop thinking about what I said to you at that party. I didn’t mean it. I—”
“Did you hear me?” Neri interrupted, shivering in my hold. “Did you hear me screaming?”
Zara’s entire face crumpled. That one question set off a torrent of confessions. “Nee, you have to believe me, I had no idea what happened. None. Not until that detective visited us this morning. He was searching for my boyfriend. My parents have been allowing Coop to stay with us while he finds his own place, now that he’s decided to move here permanently for me, and when Cooper stepped outside to talk to the detective, I hid by the open window and listened. Fuck, Nee. The detective asked such awful questions. He said there was an allegation about Ethan Karlton. That he’d raped someone at my house the night of my party when my parents were in Singapore. He said Ethan was missing, and his family in Adelaide hadn’t heard from him in over a month. He...he said the alleged rape occurred around ten p.m. and that got me thinking which then got me horrified.”
Tears poured down her cheeks. “You were there then. We fought—”
“You called me a brother fucker and a whore,” Neri murmured.
“You did what?” I roared, stepping forward, fully intending to wring Zara’s neck. “Fuck, how could you?”
How could Neri not tell me that? I’d just assumed Zara had said the typical bitchy things, not such vile, abhorrent slurs.
Zara scrambled backward, raising her hands. “I did. I won’t deny it. I said those awful things, but even as I said them, I didn’t mean them. I’m so sorry. You have to believe me, Neri. I was heartbroken. I missed you so damn much. And Joel, he told me if I ever talked to you again, he’d disown me as his sister. I said those things so I never had the chance to be your friend again. I knew you’d never forgive me.”
“Ethan overheard you,” Neri breathed. “He took it as an invitation to see just how much of a whore I was.”
A tortured groan escaped me as Zara sucked in a sob and wedged both hands into her lower belly. “Did...did he hurt you? Is what the detective said true? That you were—”
“When you went upstairs with Cooper, Ethan grabbed me and wouldn’t let me go. He drugged me in your kitchen, tied me to Joel’s bed, and raped me.” Every muscle in Neri’s body snapped to stone. “I screamed for you, Zara. Fuck, I screamed. And even though you were only a room away, you never came. You never heard me. But Aslan...” She looked up at me with blue fire in her stare. “He heard me. He wasn’t anywhere near that party, but he heard me because he loves me. Because he cares for me. He came for me and—” She pursed her lips, cutting herself off and sighing heavily. “I’ll always be sorry for lying to you about how I felt about Joel. And I accept your apology for how you acted toward me, but...I’d like you to go away now.”
Zara nodded repeatedly, tears plopping off her chin. “I’m so, so sorry, Nerida.”
“It’s over. We’re over. Just—”
“I hope Ethan is dead,” Zara blurted, shooting me a look. “I hope his guts were ripped out, and he’s crab bait somewhere. I never liked him. He scared me. Something in his stare was empty and cold. Cooper warned me to stay clear of him if he wasn’t with me. He didn’t invite Ethan to visit him. I need you to know that. Cooper’s been trying to shake Ethan for years—”
“Why are you saying this?” I growled. “You heard Neri. Leave.”
