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He knew.
“When I heard it, I got so mad. I couldn’t take it anymore. I was holding this glass in my hand, and I flung it at the wall.”
My fingers touched his bloody wound. “And a shard ricocheted off the wall and hit you,” I finished for him.
“Why did you lie, Chloe?” he asked, his voice sounding strangled. “Why didn’t you tell me that the reason Dad left was because of me? Not your stupid college tuition.”
My lower lip trembled. “Because I didn’t think you could take it,” I said finally as Henry’s gaze bored into mine. “On top of everything else you were going through, I couldn’t trust that?—”
“I could handle the truth?” he demanded angrily.
I nodded, finding it impossible to speak for a second. All those emotions were flooding back through me. “You were thirteen, Henry. I couldn’t do that to you.”
“But what happened when I turned eighteen? Or twenty-one? Heck, I’m twenty-three now, and you still haven’t told me the truth. It was him—that man who is biologically our father—who gave me the truth.”
I nodded, breaking down in tears. “I’m sorry, Henry. You deserved to know the truth. Just like you deserved to know that I went to visit Dad recently to ask him to show up for your graduation. I made mistakes, over and over again. Not just this, but also for the day you got hit by the car. I hate myself for it, for not being able to protect you from that, and I don’t think I can even forgive myself. I’m sorry, Henry. I really, truly am.”
He wheeled over to me, and I leaned against him, sobbing on his shoulder while he hugged me tight.
“Hey, hey,” he said, wiping my tears off my face. “I don’t blame you for the accident. If anything, it was that stupid car that hit me. That driver who was driving high. You have no reason to feel bad about that, Chloe. Do you hear me?”
I raised my head and looked at him through my tear-filled eyes. “It isn’t as easy as that to wipe off my guilt, Henry. Believe me, I’ve been trying.”
He laughed a small laugh. “Try harder,” he said, resting his head against mine. “I didn’t know my sister to be weak enough to give up. The Chloe I knew was strong. She wouldn’t let some stupid guilt take control of her life. Who are you, and when can you give me my sister back?”
I laughed, lifting my head and wiping the tears off my cheeks. “I think I last saw that girl ten years ago. She’s been missing in spirit ever since.”
Henry held my gaze for a long time.
“I’m not going anywhere, Henry. I told you that. You’ll always have me, Henry.”
I hugged him tight, tears streaming down my face as I saw the scar was three inches long. I needed to get him to a doctor.
He looked at the broken pieces of glass on the floor while I tried to stand up. When he looked up, his expression was filled with regret.
“I don’t know what came over me, Chloe. I did not know what was going on with me?—”
“You were terrified, Henry. I promise you, it’ll never happen again, Henry. I’m not leaving you again. Now, can we please get to the doctor?”
The silence in the room was thick and heavy while he debated what to say.
Finally, he nodded. “Let’s go.”
58
SEAN
The past few days had been tough. When Chloe had texted me, letting me know what she saw when she returned home, I’d had a bad feeling.
I was relieved that Henry was fine, but Chloe seemed to partly shut down, refusing to talk for longer than a minute over the phone.
During this, I’d pulled off a major acquisition that I’d long hoped would one day define my legacy.
I’d successfully navigated merging Tassater with Hathwell Textiles. Now, I could expand the Tassater empire into new territories. But when I shook hands with the CEO of Hathwell, rejoicing on our deal and the millions this would bring in to the company, I felt nothing. No joy, no exhilaration, nothing.
When Chloe wasn’t with me, my life seemed dull, the happiness ebbing away.
And now?