Page 116 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

“I’ll explain later, but the short of it is, Chris broke up with her,” I explained.

“What? But he looks at her like she hangs the moon,” Cade huffed.

“Yeah, well, like I said, it’s a long story. I’ll tell you the long version later. Right now, I’m going to spend some time with my sister.”

“You got it, Princess. I’ll make sure Adam is picked up and fed.”

“Thanks, Cade.” I hung up and went back into the room, crawling in behind Violet and wrapping her in a hug.

I let her cry until she fell asleep. I stayed there for a bit longer, thinking about all Violet had been through. I knew Chris was perfect for her, and she was perfect for him. They helped each other be better, braver, more open.

I really hoped they found their way through this. I hated that I gave her my word that I wouldn’t intervene, but it was her decision, and I needed to respect it. Chris needed a reality check.

I knew Violet was right. Chris always felt like he was beneath us. It showed in the way he treated us. The way he refused to speak with me without using my title. The man had a chip on his shoulder the size of Texas, but I thought being with Violet was slowly chipping away at it.

Dinner time came, and Violet was still sleeping. A small knock on the bathroom door sounded, and I stood up and went to open it. Chris tensed when he saw me standing on the other side of the door. I pushed him back, not wanting to wake my sister.

Once we were in his room, I sat him down on his bed and got right down to business. “My sister is not your responsibility anymore.”

“I—”

“I’m not done. No one in Crescent Moon knows what was going on between you and Violet. Violet didn’t want to put that pressure on you. I was going to send you back, but Violet refuses. She wants you to stay here until she’s ready to head back. She won’t tell anyone that you were dismissed from guarding her, but she doesn’t want you around her anymore.”

“What about her training?”

Chris couldn’t even look me in the eyes. They were solely on the floor. His shoulders were sagged and though I couldn’t see his face very well, the pain radiating from his soul was palpable.

“I don’t know, but it’s not your responsibility anymore,” I said a little softer.

“I would like to talk to her,” he said, finally looking up.

I scoffed. I may like Chris but I wasn’t giving him an opportunity to hurt my sister again before he got his head out of his ass, and listened to his heart.

“And I would like a million dollars. You broke up with her, big guy. Now you’ll wait until she’s ready to talk to you.”

“But—”

“No buts. It is what she needs.”

Chris looked down at his hands again.

“I didn’t mean to hurt her,” he whispered so low I almost couldn’t hear him.

“And yet, here we are. Are you going to respect her wishes?”

“Yes, Luna.”

Chris looked so miserable that I couldn’t even really give him a piece of my mind. I shook my head and headed back to the bathroom to get back to my sister, but stopped at the door and looked back at him over my shoulder.

“I’m not a luna right now. I’m just the sister of the woman’s heart you just broke, and I don’t like you very much because of it right now, Chris. Violet’s been through a lot over the last year. And even with this, I know she’s going to get through it all. The question is, will you?”

Chris looked back up at me, a question in his eyes.

“She’s not going to chase you, Chris. She’s going to let you go because she respects you and loves you. She’ll let you lose her and find someone else, even though it will kill her. Because that’s how big her heart is. But one day, you’re going to realize you just gave up on a woman who would have given you one hundred percent of herself. Violet doesn’t half-ass anything. When she gave you her heart, she was in, all the way, and you just threw that away.”

Chris looked away, swallowing hard, and I left. My job was to help my sister with her broken heart, not his.

By the time Violet woke up, it was nighttime. She seemed calmer and told me she was just going to watch some TV or maybe get Elim to hang out with her. I let her know I told Chris her wishes and left, knowing she needed time alone to process. Ibrought her some food, even though she said she wasn’t hungry. I didn’t want her to go without dinner if she got hungry halfway through the night, and she didn’t want to go downstairs alone.

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