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“What was real? Was anything you said that night real? Did—” A knot forms in my stomach. “We left her for no reason?” My tongue dries up, sticking to the roof of my mouth. “We left River… My daughter… We left everything…”
My face falls at the realization. All the fucking hate in my heart for the woman I loved was false. I was misled into believing all these radical bullshit lies. I’ve treated her like utter shit since we reconnected because I was under the assumption she cheated on me and fucking deceived me when the snake in the grass was my own damn brother.
“You fucking snake,” I hiss, stumbling back.
“How could you?” Callum says, breaking the silence with a low growl. “We fucking loved her, and you knew it! You fucking knew how we felt, and you…you took that from us!” Callum’s fingers ball into fists, and his body vibrates with pent-up anger. “How could you fucking do that to us?” He shudders, stomping forward. Before I can stop him, his fist connects with Asher’s nose once and then his ribs. Blood spurts from his face, dribbling down his lips and chin. The more hits that come his way, the less he blocks and takes the pain. “We lost five years with River and our daughter. All her firsts! All her…everything!! Because of you,” he grunts, slamming his fist into his cheek and knocking him to the side. “We lost the most precious gift on the planet.”
“Stop,” I grunt, pulling Cal back before he fucking kills the little snake. Not that I don’t want to obliterate him. He deserves every fucking piece of pain doled out to him in retribution.
“I’m sorry,” Asher wheezes, clutching his side. His eyes squeeze shut, leaning against the wall for support. “I thought…I was doing the right thing. I thought I was saving us,” he says, taking painful puffs of oxygen.
“Saving us?” Rad rasps through his emotions, still clutching River as her eyes glaze over. “How would you be saving us?”
Asher blinks several times through the pain ricocheting through his body. Good. He fucking deserves it. Fucking deserves the pain and resentment and fucking hate we feel.
“I was so fucking stupid,” he gasps out, cringing from the pain when he tries to straighten out his spine. “And selfish. I know I was. I’ve been carrying this around for years, and it’s been killing me.”
“That doesn’t fucking absolve you of your goddamn crimes,” Callum growls, tracing the carnage he left behind with his fierce eyes.
“I can’t believe you,” I say, shaking my head. “You’re a fucking manipulative dickbag!”
“What about the restraining orders?” Rad asks, pulling River’s trembling body into his.
“That wasn’t me,” Asher whimpers, grimacing when he tries to reposition himself. “That was all Gloria.”
“Gloria?”
“She started it,” he whispers with a voice filled with shame and regret. “She came to me and offered me money. She even told me about Van and the tapes. She…she told me everything.”
“Money?” Callum growls.
“How much was your betrayal worth?” I shout, filling the room with my voice.
“Keep it down,” Rad chastises, nodding toward the wall separating us from our sleeping daughter.
“How much?” I growl, lowering my voice. No matter how angry I am, I don’t want to startle the little girl sleeping just down the hall.
“It wasn’t just the money,” he wheezes. “It was a way to get us away from Nigel. Away from that fucking house!” he grits out like that justifies his actions.
“How much fucking money did you take to pull your betrayal off?” Callum grits out, flexing his fingers again.
“Five grand and a promise to keep Nigel out of it.” His eyes squeeze shut again, sucking in air. “And a promise to leave her behind,” he whispers so softly I almost miss the implication.
“You fucking weasel!” I bark, stomping toward him and taking him by the shirt again. “You made a goddamn deal with the devil and lied to us about everything!” My fist tightens again, ready for another round of bashing the asshole who lied.
“Stop,” River says, clearing her throat. We all watch as she slowly walks forward, eyeing Asher with apprehension. Standing before him, her lips curl. “Did you send Van to my apartment?” she whispers, almost in shock.
“Yes. I knew they’d go to you, so I had to have a backup plan to leave. I—” Asher’s face jerks to the side when River slaps him across the face, leaving behind her handprint.
“River Blue,” I whisper, pulling her trembling body into mine. From behind, Callum touches her shoulder with reassurance. A worried look twists his face as he stares at the girl he once deeply loved, so much so that he trusted her with his virginity.
She shakes her head against my chest, burying her face in my shirt before pulling away with flaring nostrils. Anger rests behind her glossy moss-green eyes, ready to burn down the world.
“How could you?” she accuses sharply, balling her fingers into a fist. “How fucking dare you do that to me and send him to my fucking apartment.” She shakes her head in disgust, curling her lip back.
“You’ll never know how fucking sorry I am,” he gasps again. “I was a stupid fucking idiot. Please believe me when I say I’m so fucking sorry. I know—” He cuts off, bending out the waist and crying out in pain. “I know I fucked up so fucking hard.” Tears roll down his cheeks in rapid succession. Whether it’s from the pain or the deep regret, I don’t fucking care. He took everything from us when he went behind our backs and fucked us over. “Please,” he whispers, looking at River. “Please don’t take her away from me.”
“How fucking dare you!” I growl, making a move toward him again.
