Page 120 of A Cold Hard Truth

“Marry a man. Be with a man. Whatever. There wasn’t a future in it, so there was no point in dragging it out. It was going to hurt either way.Iwas going to hurt him.”

Remington swallowed, heart sinking into his stomach. He’d heard this story before, and he knew how it would end. It was a common trend in families like theirs and some things never changed.

“I’m the oldest,” Rhys continued.

“Heir and spare,” Sebastian muttered, and Rhys tilted his head to give a sympathetic nod.

“I had different expectations put upon me, and I didn’t want that for you.” Rhys implored Sebastian with the sincerest expression Remington had ever seen on him. “I knew after Father told me I couldn’t be with Callahan that I wasn’t going to let him win.”

“The vasectomy.”

“I wouldn’t bring someone else into this. At least, not someone I liked.”

“Why did you propose to Ashley, then?” Sebastian asked. “That was cruel, Rhys. Especially if you had no intention of going through with it.”

“It got Father off my back for a while.”

“You can’t use people that way.”

“I can,” Rhys corrected, his features hardening. “And I have. And I will. I’ll do what I need to survive this family, Sebastian. What I need to do to make it so you are free to love whomever you want.”

Both brothers turned to Remington.

“You can do those things without being a manipulative twat,” Remington suggested.

Sebastian smirked. “It’s so weird when you use those words.”

“Words have power,” he said.

“I know. It’s just…like when you said fuck.” Sebastian’s nostrils flared, and Remington would have wagered that he had a hard-on blossoming between his legs.

“Can you two save it?” Rhys asked.

“Sorry,” Remington apologized.

“I’m not,” Sebastian said.

“I know you’re not,” Rhys said. “And you never are. And I don’t want you to ever have to be.”

Sebastian shifted, turning his attention back to his brother. Remington kept his eyes focused on the youngest St. George brother because, to Remington, he was the only one who mattered.

“Rhys.”

“I’ve handled the situation with Daniella. Your bank account is going to get healthier because of it. The alimony will stop.”

“Is she really pregnant?” Sebastian asked, the worry lines wrinkled around his eyes.

“She’s not,” Rhys confirmed. “I could have done all of this without you, Sebastian. I just…”

“You didn’t want to do it alone,” Remington finished for him when Rhys’s throat had started to work, stopping the words from coming out.

“What?” Sebastian looked between the two of them, and Rhys gestured for Remington to continue as he’d clearly made the appropriate assumption.

“Your brother loves you,” Remington said, giving Sebastian’s hand a squeeze. “You have a whole life down in Myers Bluff. You have me, and Jace, and Callahan.”

At the mention of Callahan’s name, Rhys winced and moved to busy himself with his phone.

“Rhys is here, and he’s alone.” Remington gestured to the expansive mansion, reiterating the point. “He’s here. Alone.”