Page 62 of Beautiful Trauma

“I wanted to hurt him like he’d hurt my mother…like he’d hurt me.”

“I’m so sorry.”

With a humorless laugh, I replied, “How stupid am I that after our history, I truly believed he would swoop in to save me? That for once, he’d actually care.”

Kellan shook his head. “There’s nothing wrong with trying to see the good in people.”

“How can you possibly say that?”

“Because if you can’t let go of the anger and pain, it rots you from the inside. And they win.” Cupping my cheek in his hand, he said, “Don’t ever let the bastards win, Mila.”

Searching his earnest eyes, I asked the question that had been swirling in my mind since I’d eavesdropped on him. “What happened to your sister?”

The blood drained from his face. “What are you talking about?”

“I overheard you talking to her earlier.” When Kellan’s body tensed, I cocked my head at him. “She was raped, wasn’t she?”

“Yes,” he replied in a pained voice.

“Will you tell me what happened?” At his hesitation, I said, “Please. I think it would help.”

As Kellan stared past me with a haunted look, I didn’t think he was going to tell me. But then a ragged breath rumbled through his broad chest. “My father was forcing my sister to marry a man who was known to beat women. Since she couldn’t bear the thought, she begged me to help her run away.”

A sad smile curved on his lips. “None of my brothers have ever been able to tell Maeve no, so I came up with an elaborate plan for her to disappear.”

He gave a regretful shake of his head. “But on the night I’d asked her to meet me at the family crypt on our property, our father discovered us.”

“Oh no.”

“But he wasn’t the only one who found us. He’d brought Oisinn, my sister’s fiancé. To punish her for trying to run, he told Oisinn he could claim her as his wife right there.”

At the full realization of his words, my hand flew to my mouth in horror. “God, no,” I murmured.

Kellan’s jaw clenched as he stared down at his lap. “My younger brother, Eamon, and I were ready to kill him, but my father had one-upped us by having a gun trained on my mother. If we didn’t go along with his hideous plan, he would kill her.”

My stomach churned, and I didn’t know if I could bear to hear more. I’d never imagined such a story. My heart ached for Kellan and his pain.

As if he could sense my change of emotions, he dragged his agonized gaze up to mine. At the questioning look radiating in his eyes, I whispered, “Go on.”

Nodding, he chewed on his bottom lip for a minute. The battle raging within him to keep himself together was evident in both his face and body. “And then Maeve…she begged us not to have to endure the loss of our mother. So we threw our guns to the ground.”

His chest began to rapidly rise and fall. “That bastard threw her on top of the sarcophagus that held our great-grandfather, and then he…he…”

“He raped her.”

“Yes,” he rasped.

“Oh, Kellan,” I murmured.

“Our father forced Eamon and I to stand on either side of her. I held her hand the entire time.”

As a tear slid down my cheek, I started to swipe it away, but Kellan did it for me. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

Shaking my head, I argued, “I shouldn’t have forced you to tell me.”

“You needed to know.”