Page 104 of Betrayal of a Billionaire

“Thank you for rescuing me, Julia.”

Julia gently stroked her stepdaughter's hair as Sierra nestled her head against her shoulder. “You’re welcome, Sierra. I never would have left you there.”

Sierra sniffled as she clung tightly to her.

“Are you okay?”

“No,” Sierra moaned.

“What hurts?” Julia asked.

“My heart,” Sierra answered.

“What?”

“What?” Sierra sobbed back.

“Sierra, are you hurt somewhere? Ankle, wrist, ribs?”

Sierra snuggled closer to her. “My wrist hurts a little, but it’s not too bad.”

Julia gently rubbed at the wrist Sierra had wiggled. “Feels a little swollen. You may have sprained it grabbing that tree.”

Sierra nodded, her face sliding against Julia’s wet raincoat.

“Are you cold?”

“A little.”

Julia shifted, tugging her raincoat off and laying it over her and Sierra as they settled against the wall again.

“Thanks, Julia. Even though I don’t deserve it.”

“What does that mean?” Julia asked as she slicked a lock of wet hair behind Sierra’s ear.

“It means I don’t deserve your kindness. And that’s why my heart hurts.”

A chuckle bubbled up from Julia as she tried to parse through the statement. “What are you talking about?”

Sierra sniffled as her shoulders shook with sobs. “I’m a horrible person, Julia.”

Julia craned her neck to glance down at her stepdaughter. “No, you aren’t.”

“Yes, I am. I’m horrible and awful. Just like my mother. And I’m going to end up all alone because of it.”

“Sierra, that’s not true. Where is this coming from?”

Sierra wiped at her cheeks. “It is true, Julia. It’s true. I’m horrible. I’m part of the reason you left this morning, aren’t I?”

“No, Sierra. That’s not true. It had nothing to do with you.”

Sierra curled her fingers into fists as she sniffled. “But–“

“It didn’t,” Julia insisted. “It was purely about what’s happening between me and your father. It was a stupid argument, and it had nothing to do with you at all.”

“But that doesn’t mean what I said isn’t true.”

“It isn’t. Why do you think it is?”