Page 51

We watch him go. Stassi sighs and looks at Roisin. “He literally runs every time I try to talk to him about something deeper than the weather.”
“Liam’s… Liam,” Roisin offers lamely.
I lean in.
She gives me a wary look before shrugging. “We weren’t raised together. I don’t know where he gets it from. His mom was protected because she’s too high-profile to hurt, and she was able to raise him separately as part of the divorce agreement.”
“Divorce?” Stassi says, her eyebrows pinched together. “Divorce doesn’t happen in our world.”
“For her, it did. She and Niall, our father, had one. He raised Kieran. She raised Liam.”
“Splitting up brothers is brutal,” I mutter.
I’m surprised at how quickly the truth falls out of my mouth.
Both Stassi and Roisin turn to me.
I shrug. “I have two brothers. And a sister. I’ve been through a lot with them,” I offer.
It’s the tip of the iceberg. I would die for them.
I always planned to die for them.
When did that become past tense?
“Wait, but you didn’t live with your dad?” Stassi is looking at Roisin again.
Roisin’s shoulders slump, and I fight the urge to reach for her.
“No. I lived with my mom. Until my dad found us. Until Kieran found us,” she whispers.
If I could kill that motherfucker a million times, I would.
The sorrow that’s painted across her features makes something feral inside of me rise up and snarl with frustration. I want to destroy things, just to change that pain into something else.
I’m so riled up, I don’t know how to fucking calm down. It takes everything in me to take deep breaths and try to keep my shit together.
You need to let this go. She’s not yours. She’s been using you. She’s still using you. Let. It. Fucking. Go.
Stassi sighs, interrupting my stream of consciousness. “Families are complicated. I’m sorry, Ro,” she reaches for Roisin’s hand. “I met Kieran. He was a dick. I’m glad he’s dead.”
“I am too,” Roisin whispers.
Fuck. This.
I stand, running a hand through my hair. “I have to go,” I growl. Without another word, I leave the dining room, the women holding onto each other as I storm out.
I shouldn’t have agreed to this.
The manor isn’t huge, but I head straight for the front door. Choosing to be around Roisin like this was a fucking stupid idea.
I can’t stop myself, it seems, from caring about her. I can’t stop myself from wanting to help her and protect her.
Which is so fucking stupid, because she’s not mine.
She never was.
And even though we’re faking it right now…