AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You don’t have any of your own money?”
“I have some.”
But Anna heard the tone. She didn’t know if she could step out on her own. “Listen, I can’t tell you what to do. I would just suggest you figure out what makesyouhappy. Life is too short to live it under someone else’s rules.”
There was a long moment of silence before tears filled Cynthia’s eyes. Panic hit Anna first and foremost. Cynthia let out another laugh, and it hit Anna that she’d hardly ever heard the other woman laugh. They had gone to school together, and Cynthia rarely looked happy.
“Don’t look so scared, Anna. It doesn’t fit the image,” she said, pulling out a tissue.
“I’m not…okay, I don’t do well with other people crying.”
She dabbed her eyes. “It’s just that you are right. I have felt so stressed out about the wedding, being married. Do you know that I have never rebelled against my parents?Ever. My brother did that enough for the two of us.”
Her brother was a complete douche if memory served, Anna thought. “But now?”
“Calling off the engagement was the first time I did something they disapproved of. The yelling and the threats…it was very upsetting to me. I like to please people.”
Anna nodded but said nothing. She didn’t want to spook Cynthia. She had a feeling that the other woman didn’t open up to other people that often. If she said anything, it might break up the momentum.
“He threatened me.”
Anger rushed through Anna as she stood and grabbed her phone.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m letting Max know.”
The sound of Cynthia’s chair hitting the floor stopped her fingers from sending the message. “You think he physically threatened me. He didn’t.”
“You said—”
“I said he threatened me. He threatened to take away support…monetary, that is. I don’t need that. He just doesn’t realize it.”
Anna studied the other woman. “Are you sure?”
She nodded and then looked back at the chair. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
“No,” Cynthia said as she leaned down to pull the chair back up. “I am. I confused you.”
Max’s need to rescue her was starting to make sense. She didn’t seem equipped on the surface to handle life in general, but as Anna studied her, she realized that was the surface. It was the Cynthia she showed everyone.
“Okay, but if it changes, you tell me. I’ll kick your father’s ass.”
Another snort. “He outweighs you by about two hundred pounds.”
“I might be small, but I’m mighty.”
They shared a smile. “You really don’t need to be nice to me.”
“I don’t have to, but I want to,” Anna said, knowing in her soul that it was the truth. “Remember, if it wasn’t for you, Max and I wouldn’t have pulled our heads out of our butts.”
“And I tried to break y’all up.”
Anna waved that away. “Hey, you were under stress. So,” she said, motioning to their seats. “Let’s talk about your love of baking and what cool flavors you have come up with.”
* * *
