Page 115 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

“But you guys are so cute together,” I whispered helplessly, only to watch more tears fall from my sister’s face as she looked away. I needed to fix this, or I needed to punch someone, but she was tying my hands here.

“It doesn’t matter. He said we weren’t second-chance mates, and I should find mine. He doesn’t want to get attached.”

“But—” I tried.

I was sure he already was attached. I was so sure Chris was in love with my sister. It broke my heart that he was letting this go because they weren’t second-chance mates. The Moon Goddess didn’t always get it right. I was a prime example of that.

“I won’t bully him into taking me back. I probably bullied him into it in the first place. He told me the first night we kissed that he thought he was taking advantage. I practically forced him,” my sister sniffled.

“That’s bullshit, Vi. That boy never looked at you like you were forcing him into a relationship.”

I was willing to let my sister and Chris make their own choices, but I wasn’t willing to let my sister feel guilt for being brave. That man loved her. She didn’t bully him into anything... but I might.

“Just leave it be. Please. For me.” Violet begged, even as more tears were falling down her face.

“How do you want to handle this, then?” I asked, wanting to pull my hair out. “Do you want me to send him back to Crescent Moon?”

“No. You didn’t tell anyone, right? About Chris and me?” she asked.

“No. I promised you.”

“Let him stay. We’ll go back together and no one will know,” she finished, looking down at her hands.

“You still want him to guard you?” I asked.

Violet shook her head, tears falling and splashing on her hands.

“I-I can’t. It’ll hurt too much. I can make it by myself to the office now. I think,” she said quietly.

“Vi—” I started.

“I’d like to try at least,” Violet told me, looking up at me with determination etched in her face through her pain-riddled ears. on top of the pain.

“Okay,” I acquiesced.

“Chris can stay and you can put him to work or he can hang out. He probably needs a vacation,” she chuckled dryly.

“He breaks your heart and you want to give the man a vacation?” I asked, dumbfounded.

My fucking sister was a goddamn saint.

“He’s basically been working eighteen-hour days since we got here. He deserves it. I don’t want Cory to punish him because he chose to end things with me. That only proves to him that he’s beneath us and deserves to be punished for what he did; that he shouldn’t have gotten involved with me. I owe him a lot, Bells. Itdoesn’t matter how this ended. He’s the reason I’ve gotten this far.”

I tucked her hair behind her ear.

“You know he is right about something: He doesn’t deserve you. No one fucking deserves you, sister.”

Violet started crying again and crawled back into bed, hugging a pillow like it was her lifeline. I pulled the covers over her and bent to kiss her forehead, realizing the reason she was holding onto the pillow was because it smelled like Chris. My heart broke further, and I wished I could take all the pain away from her.

“I’ll be right back. Don’t lock the door. I’ll be just down the way a little.”

“Okay,” Violet whispered, closing her eyes.

I stepped out of the room, walked a little bit away from the door and called Cade.

“Can you grab Adam from daycare at four?” I asked.

“Of course. What’s happening to Violet?” Cade asked.

---