Page 4 of Taking What's Ours

Stepping inside, I hit the button. “There’s a bar on the top floor. I doubt they’ll look for us there.”

Five minutes later, we’re sitting at a table near the windows, overlooking a stunning view of the Denver city lights.

A waitress brings us our drinks—a whiskey on the rocks for me, and an espresso martini for her.

I lift my glass in toast. “Here’s to the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen.”

She tries to smile, but her eyes are sad. “Thank you.”

I give her a moment to sip her drink, then start in.

“I want to tell you about Elliott. What kind of a man he is.”

“I thought I knew.”

“He hides his true self well.” I lean forward, swirling the ice in my glass. “Growing up, my parents always took my brother’s side. They let Elliott get away with everything, including mistreating me on a regular basis. They blew it all off as boys being boys.”

“I had no idea. I’m so sorry.”

I take a sip of whiskey and study the lights. “He’d embarrass me in front of my friends. Belittle me. Torment me. He once convinced our father I was asleep in the backseat of our van, and left me purposely at the state park, then later claimed the same thing he did tonight with you…What’s the big deal, little brother? It was just a joke.”

“Oh my God.”

“He stole my girlfriends. Even set me up to take the fall for a string of bad things.”

“What kind of things?”

I shrug. “Like stealing our parents’ liquor, stealing money from my dad’s wallet, wrecking the family car. There’s a long list.”

“That’s horrible.”

“He made me out to be the black sheep, so I became one. Now I’m the goddamn wolf.”

“You and Maggie are the only ones who came to check on me. You’re not a wolf.”

“I am, darlin’. As soon as I was old enough, I joined the Marines just to get out of the house. The Marines made me tough, and life has made me a mean son-of-a-bitch when I need to be.”

“Like tonight?”

I huff a laugh. “That was nothing, angel.”

“I’m sorry he treated you that way. I’ve never seen that side of him before.”

“Look, Elaina, I feel the need to warn you. If you go through with filing that license, it won’t end with tonight. My brother will hurt you. He’ll belittle you. He’ll make you think you deserve that kind of treatment. He’ll gaslight you into thinking you did something wrong when you didn’t. He’ll make you doubt yourself. Until you’re broken inside. And in the years to come, he’ll do it to your children.”

Her face turns ashen.

“You think I’m exaggerating? I’m not. My parents let him get away with everything, but that stunt tonight, on the most important day of your life? That is not how a man behaves. That is not how a man treats the woman he loves. Even I know that.

“When I saw Elliott shove your face in that cake, it took me right back to the time he did it to me. It was my seventh birthday, and all my friends from school were over at our house for the party, all my classmates, even the girls. Mother made me invite everyone.

“Elliott shoved my face in the cake, and everyone laughed. Then he taunted me.What’s the matter Frosting Face?After that I never lost the nickname. I was Frosting Face all through elementary school.”

“I’m so sorry. That’s horrible.”

“Tonight, watching Elliott do it again, to someone he claimed to love and cherish not an hour ago, I knew I couldn’t let it go. I couldn’t stand there and let you be treated the same way. It was like déjà vu, and I saw the life you’d have in store for you. It flashed before my eyes. Years of emotional abuse until you’re broken, too. I don’t want that for you, Elaina.”

She dashes the tears from her cheek. “An hour ago, I thought my life was perfect. I thought I had it all. Now I feel like the rug has been yanked out from under me. I don’t know what to do. I love Elliott.”

---