Page 34 of Restitution

Aria rolls her eyes. “Tobias. Behave.”

“With all due respect, sweetheart, I behave for no one when it comes to our children.”

She throws her hands up and starts pacing around. “Fine. But you don’t need to threaten a little girl.”

His eyes darken. “She’s not little. She’s also not oblivious to howevil her parents are. She knew Bernadette was drugging our son, and she still went after him. She witnessed his mistreatment and still demanded he marry her. She’s as much the devil as her bitch of a fucking mother and deserves the same treatment. And when I see Archie? Not even a gunshot to the head will fucking stop me.”

Cassie wipes her face. “Kade loves me.”

I flinch and turn away from them as Tobias laughs. “You might be more delusional than your mother.”

I glance over my shoulder at the silence. She’s narrowing her eyes at Tobias. “And I’ll still become your daughter-in-law someday. Now stop threatening me.”

I stare at my fingers for a second. They’re shaking like fragile leaves in a heavy wind. I glance back up and fist my hands, sitting on them. I want to hit her.

“You’re not fucking marrying my son.” Deadly and cold, Tobias looks at her, a snarl on his lips. “I promise you, and everyone in this room, if you get in my way, me threatening you will be the least of your worries. You’re lucky to still be fucking breathing as it is.”

“My mother will come for me. She will come, and you’ll be thrown back in jail where you belong, you psycho!”

“If your mother ever comes, you’ll get front-row tickets to her demise, and you’ll follow.” He blinks twice, harshly. “Don’t fuck with me.”

Aria stands between the two of them before grabbing her ex’s hand. “Come with me, Tobias.”

Ewan shifts on his feet, Jason whistles and heads round the side of the house for another smoke, and Cassie excuses herself and escapes to her designated room.

As soon as she’s gone, a twinkle appears in Tobias’s eyes, andhe winks at me as Aria stomps out into the garden. He follows, messing my hair as he passes.

Ewan stares at me, noticing my puffy red eyes. “For the record, with everything you’ve gone through in your life, I think you’re strong. I just wanted you to know that.”

I look down. “I don’t feel it.”

“You are. This, all of this, isn’t what we wanted for the twins. Me and Aria raised all three kids to have respect for others, and I believe Kade is still innocent. He… cared about you. He went to considerable lengths to deny it at the beginning, because he thought he was going to break your heart, but he cared about you a lot. I believe he still does.”

“I hope you’re right,” I reply, and his eyes flicker over my head, to the pair talking across the garden. I glance over my shoulder, and Aria is crying into Tobias’s chest again. “Forgive me for saying this, and tell me to stop if you think I’m out of line, but… those two, the way they still are…” I bite my lip. “You deserve better.”

He chuckles, as if he’s heard it a thousand times.

“She tells me that. Often. I love her too much to accept it. We’ve been important to one another since we were eighteen. I… I cheated on her when we first got together. I was such a dick back then. It was one time, and it’s still my biggest regret. Jason was only a few months old when we got together, and when she fell pregnant, during our break, to Tobias, we stayed active in each other’s lives. I could never leave her, even if she still loves him.”

I give him a warm smile. “It doesn’t bother you?”

“Nah. She’s happy, and so am I. At the start, I would have probably left, but their connection, it’s… I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. It helps them both. But thank you,” he replies. “Everythingwill work out in the end. I feel it. He’ll come back. We’ll get Kade back, and Luciella will be home soon. Then all I need to do is find Jason somewhere in that shell.”

“I’m going to speak with Giana. When this is all over.”

He smiles at me briefly, then he walks back inside, out of sight.

Everyone’s busy. I could easily sneak away now and wait for Kade’s message.

Maybe it’s idiotic to think this’ll work, but if giving up my life means Kade gets his freedom, then I’ll do it. I have nothing. No real family. No job. No reason to keep going, but look at what Kade has. He has everything.

I make my way to my own room quickly, noticing the time. It takes me a few minutes of breathing and hyping myself up, but I manage to pull on clothes and brush my teeth.

My phone vibrates.

He’s sent a screenshot of the Maps app, with a pinpoint on where we’ve to meet. A small parking place at the bottom of a hill walk in the middle of nowhere. I guess he needs privacy – no witnesses while he puts a bullet in my skull.

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