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"Glad you admit that you’re still a prized asshole," I cut in, venom in my voice. "That makes two men in my life who were too fucking stupid to do right by me. Nash, who used me, and you, who…broke me.”
His nostrils flared, and his fingers curled into fists at his sides. "You think I didn’t look back? You think I didn’t hate myself for it?"
I glared at him, furious that he dared to look wounded, to act like he was the victim here. "Your regret is not my problem, cowboy.”
His lips pressed into a thin line, his silence speaking louder than words ever could. And then, like it physically pained him, he admitted, "I brought Fiona with me because I was afraid, Elena. Afraid I’d take one look at you, and it’d be game over." He exhaled roughly. "And it was."
I stared at him, the truth slicing through me like a hot blade. "Coward," I spat.
He didn’t deny it.
"Just like Nash," I went on, my voice rising, my vehemence burning through me like wildfire. "Just like my mother. Running from the truth, letting otherpeople clean up the messes you’re too fucking weak to face."
Hurt and shame flickered on his face. But I wasn’t done.
"You came here to do what, exactly? To claim me like some fucking prize? You really think after everything, you can just waltz in here, say ‘I love you,’ and I’ll fall into your arms?"
"No," he quipped. "I don’t expect that. But I’m not walking away from you, baby. We’re going to talk. We’re going to mend this."
“This”—I jabbed a finger against my chest, right over my heart—“is broken beyond repair, asshole, thanks to you. You have no idea the devastation you left in your wake. There ain’t enough forgiveness in the world to make up for what you did.”
“I’ll make it up to you even if it takes me a lifetime.”
“God! What? Did you hear that in a Lifetime movie? Well, here’s a movie-like response:a hundred lifetimes wouldn’t be enough.”
He wouldn’t understand—couldn’t—what it was like to sit by that river with everything inside me unraveling. Nash, furious. My mother, disappointed. Duke, gone. And me? Pregnant. Alone. Too damn tired to keep fighting.
The river had been dark, rushing fast over jagged rocks, swallowing the moonlight in its depths. I’d sat there for hours, my body heavy, my mind hollow. I didn’t plan it, not exactly, but when I stood and stepped forward, it was like the decision had already been madefor me. To just…disappear. To let the current take me, strip me down to nothing, and make the silence permanent.
I barely remembered the fall—just the shock of the cold, the way it ripped the breath from my lungs, the way my body tumbled like it wasn’t even mine. But I remembered Hunt. His hands, rough and strong, dragging me out. The way he yelled my name like he could pull me back from the hell I was in with just his voice.
I remembered the pain, the bleeding, the cramping, and the realization that I hadn’t just lost myself—I’d lost the baby, too.
And now Duke wanted to talk about love and regret—about us? He didn’t have a damn clue.
I pointed at the door, my entire body trembling with fury. "Get. The fuck. Out."
Duke’s eyes locked onto mine. “I’ll go.”
He turned, his boots heavy on the worn carpet, his hand gripping the doorknob.
"But you better be ready," he drawled over his shoulder, "because I’m coming back for you, and baby—I plan on layin’ the kind of claim that don’t shake loose in the wind."
I clenched my jaw, refusing to let his words get to me.
"Go fuck yourself, Duke Wilder."
He smirked, the cocky bastard, and then he was gone, leaving the scent of his cologne and heartbreak in his wake.
CHAPTER 30
duke
Istood outside the house that my father paid for with his moneyandblood.
It was incredible how I didn’t doubt one thing Tansy said. I believed her because, in the back of my mind, I’d always known that the story I was told had holes. But I didn’t want to see them when I was young because I couldn’t, and then it just became a habit.
I was Mama’s parent, her bulwark, her support system—and to find out that I was also her patsy was shattering. I felt like an anvil was pressing down on my chest, tearing my insides apart.