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“The birds still sing, Reign, the sun still rises, and the world still turns. Everything moves on, and yesterday is forgotten, so why can’t you forget? Move on, Reign. It’s time. You left that little house and the bodies behind a long time ago, but it’s time to get up now and walk out that door. It’s time to forgive yourself.” She pats my hand. “Stop making excuses about why things won’t work and stop running at the first sign of trouble to protect yourself. Everything else will fall into place. Our place in this world isn’t always what we thought it would be, but from the happiness I saw on my screen, I would say you found yours. Fight for it, whatever that entails.”
“I don’t know if I can,” I admit, looking back at the water. “It would be easier just to disappear and forget.”
“It would,” she concedes. “But that’s the coward’s way out and you are not a coward. Not like me.”
“Vinette.” I frown, looking at her.
“I never told you my story, Reign, but I think it’s time.” She settles back, her eyes on the water and a sad smile on her lips. “My true name is Vinette Wilson.” The name is familiar, but I don’t know why. “I was a ballerina, one of the best in the world for a great many years. It seems like a lifetime ago. I never thought I could love anything as much as I loved dancing. Being on that stage brought me to life. It wasn’t about the applause or the money or the skills. I felt free when I danced across that stage.”
“Vin, I had no idea,” I whisper.
“Many don’t. I buried that life a very long time ago. It was better to let go than to let it rot me from the inside out, but even now, a part of me yearns for that stage. Don’t let it do that to you, Reign. Time isn’t always kind, but I’m getting ahead of myself. The night before my big performance, one that would have put me in the history books, I was attacked by someone I knew. He was the stage director. I knew he wanted me, I had even flirted to get what I wanted, but that night, something broke inside me. When it was over, I just lay there, like a broken marionette, as he left and told me to warm up for my performance tomorrow. I didn’t tell anyone. I didn’t report it. I should have, but I was a coward, Reign. I ran, and I didn’t stop running for a very long time, not until I got here and saw that old cabin. I made it my home, and then I found out I was pregnant.
“My daughter was born from his attack. I hated her at first. I wanted to get rid of her, but the first time I heard her cry, I knew the truth. She was all mine, and it was my duty to protect her at all costs. No matter the path that brought her to me, I could choose my future, and I did. It wasn’t what everyone else would have chosen, but it was mine and it was a happy one. I always regretted never telling anyone, though, never standing up. I always regretted never going back and showing my daughter how to stand up for herself. I cut off my old life but it never left me, and neither did my love for performing. Something like that . . . we are born with it, Reign. We are born to do it. No matter what happens, you have to be true to yourself. I wasn’t for a very long time. It was only when I lost my daughter to cancer ten years back that I started to realize how cowardly I’d been. I hid from my gift, my passion, and my past. I don’t want you to grow old and be regretful of what you could have had. I don’t. Trust me, it’s not nice. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I can’t change my life, and I wouldn’t because I got to love so deeply it will never leave me, but I can’t let you run from yours like I did mine. Shit happens, Reign, horrible fucking shit, but it’s how we deal with it that makes us who we are. I’m not saying don’t cry and not to be angry at the world, but don’t give up on it.”
“Vin,” I sob, my heart breaking for the woman who became my rock without ever letting her own cracks show.
“Look.” I follow her gaze to the birds on the water. “They know they could be attacked, yet they still flock to the water. We are those birds, Reign. Do we flock and soar high in victory, or do we fall and sink to the bottom? That’s our choice in life. We make it what it is. I made my place, and now it’s time you make yours. You’re always welcome here, but I don’t want your sad eyes here again. I want those happy ones on my screen. I want to watch you shine—maybe because I’m a selfish old lady who wants to see a woman succeed when no one else thought she could. What I’m trying to say, Reign, is live so big you scar this world with your brilliance. Love so hard that at the end, you’re not scared. Don’t go meekly into the dark. Fight it with everything within you. I know you can, if you are brave enough to forgive and to . . .”
“Move on,” I whisper.
“Move on.” She nods, glancing over at me with a smile. “Now, I’m betting those four men who have been watching us for a long time are the ones you love, no?”
I turn and find them waiting before the cabin, protecting me. Part of me knew they would follow me. Deep down, I knew they wouldn’t let me go. Did I test them by bringing them here?
Is Vin right? Am I finding excuses to sabotage my own happiness by thinking I don’t deserve it because of my past?
“Yes,” I croak as I stare at them.
“It’s your choice, Reign. Stay and live with regrets or forgive and move on.”
I look at her, searching her gaze. “I’m so sorry for what happened to you, Vin, but you are not a coward. You had the strength to bear a child born from hate and destruction and love it so much that even now, I see her with you. You are not a coward, Vinette. You are a strong, brilliant woman who took a lost woman and gave her a shoulder when no one else would, and I will never forget what you did for me.” Standing, I smile down at her, and she kisses my hand and pushes me.
My decision is made, one I already made deep down.
I will forgive them and stop running.
Everyone makes mistakes, and I know the one they made was out of loyalty for me, and maybe if I hear them out, we might just have a chance at something brilliant—something I’m unable to live without.
“Go, Reign. Be brilliant. Be what you were born to be.”
I smile as I turn to them, and it only grows.
Walking around the chairs, I head toward them.
Even now, I see the hope in their eyes, hope I’ll come home to them.
For a second, I’m brought back to the moment I first met them, knowing even then they would change my world. I wasn’t wrong, and I thank a god I don’t believe in for that.
For them.
We can solve anything if we are together, and I’m very tired of running. Vin is right, it is my choice, and I choose them.
I start to run, needing to get there quicker, and the smiles that break out across their faces only make me move faster. They meet me halfway, wrapping their arms around me.
“I missed you,” I admit. “I forgive you, and I missed you.”
“We missed you too,” Raff replies, pulling away. “I love you, Miss Harrow, and know this. Listen carefully. We’ll never hide anything from you again. I promise we did it to protect you. We want the best for you. I’m not saying we won’t make mistakes, but I swear if you give us a chance, we’ll never let you be alone again.”
