Page 82 of Sweet Nothings

“Oh.” He smirks. “He didn’t tell you?”

I look at him, wide eyed, terrified of what I’m about to hear. Lennon’s kiss still lingers on my mouth, reminding me of the three words he said to me upstairs. Another tear spills when I close my eyes, his feather tattoo at the forefront of my mind.

Cautiously, I open my eyes. Admittedly, I’m shaking with fear. I hate that Kellan is eliciting this kind of reaction out of me, but he’s not the same brother I knew growing up. He’s changed, and I’m not exactly sure when it happened. It’s been a slow, progressive change, one where every crime he committed was expertly executed with slick precision, remaining undetected. Until it wasn’t.

He’s devious and manipulative, pulling the strings until he gets what he wants.

“When our uncle told me you married Lennon, I couldn’t help but sit in my cell wondering why the fuck my sister would agree to marry someone whose reputation precedes one such as his father’s. He’s the eldest son of the richest man in New England after all, and that man is JamesfuckingHarding.” He sneers, venom spewing from the tip of his tongue. “But then with a little more prying from Fred, he told me you didn’t marry Lennon for love.” He clicks his tongue against his teeth, shaking his head. “He told me Lennonhadto marry you in order to inherit his father’s company.”

My bottom lip quivers as a sob escapes my chest. I press my hand against my heart, feeling it thrash under flesh and bone.

Kellan is standing closer to me now, ensuring I hear every single word.

His eyes form into two small slits as he tilts his head to the side. “Tell me, sister,” he whispers. “Did you ever stop to think why James Harding put it in his will for his oldest son to marry a Branford? Did you ever stop and wonder why he’d tried to get you to fuck one of his son’s when you met them for dinner at Eclipse over a year ago?”

I swallow the lump in my throat and stare at my brother in disbelief. My heart is racing a mile a minute and my limbs have gone numb.

“That’s right,” he continues. “Fred tells me everything.”

Fucking Frederick and his big fucking mouth. If I never felt betrayed by my uncle before, I certainly do now.

“Why?” I ask, choking out the word. “Why did he tell Lennon to marry a Branford?”

His shoes touch the toes of my heels. He looks down before lifting his hooded eyes, piercing me. My heart shatters when he tells me the truth. “James Harding was looking for retribution. James and I had an understanding for many years. I convinced him to sell me drugs and lend me money years ago, but I could never pay him back. When he realized I was never going to give him what I owed, he tried hitting me where he thought I would hurt the most.”

“But that doesn’t make sense.”

“Of course it does, Laurel.” He scoffs, stabbing his finger against his temple. “You’re a lawyer. Use that fucking brain of yours. James Harding never did anything without making someone else pay. He planned out the whole dinner at Eclipse that night so that he could set you up for a news story branding you a slut if you slept with one of his sons. He was planning on using you as a bribe to get money from Fred. And when that didn’t work, he crafted you into his will. He knew the only way he could get to you was in death. Lennon was set to marry a Branford sister to take our family legacy down from the inside.He figured he’d raised his son to be just like him. He wanted Lennon to take everything you own and everything you claim under our family name and destroy it.”

“I don’t believe you.” I shake my head. I already know I’m lying to myself. I know Lennon didn’t have anything to do with his father’s scheme at getting my brother back for his debts. Deep in my bones, in every cell, I know Lennon does love me. Because loving him is as easy and as natural as breathing. Then I think back to our terms and conditions. Lennon easily accepted mine, laying out that I wanted to keep all of my assets and my job at my uncle’s law firm. He agreed and signed without hesitation.

“I don’t believe you,” I repeat. “Lennon wouldn’t do that.”

“For a lawyer, you’ve always been a terrible fucking liar.” He snarls. “He’s going to destroy our family. You know that, right? That’s all Hardings do. They bleed others dry until there’s nothing left.”

“No.” I shake my head.

“You’re nothing but a business transaction, Laurel. You’re a piece of trash they’ll think nothing more of once they’re finished with you.”

All my anger and frustration over the past several years boils over. My skin is hot, and my hands curl into tight fists at my sides. My vision turns to red, and all I can think about is back to when we were kids. Kellan taught me how to ride a bike. He beat up the group of bullies who used to follow me home from school every day, taunting and making fun of me. He used to sneak me into parties I was too young for, but he did it so I felt included.

But then all of it changed. He became a darker version of himself, stealing our parent’s cars and money. He lied to them left and right. Eventually, his crimes escalated, and the more I saw his deeds go unpunished, the more my hate for him bloomed. And then when I discovered he’d wiped my entire trust fund clean, my hate transformed into something else entirely.

I bite the inside of my cheek, forcing myself to stand my ground and say what’s been on my mind since the last time I spoke to my brother.

“Fuck you, Kellan.” I curl my lip. “I really don’t give a shit what did or didn’t happen between you and James fucking Harding. The man was an asshole and deserves to rot in the grave he’s been stuffed into for the rest of eternity. But don’t act like you’re some fucking saint.” I raise my chin, suddenly getting a burst of courage and energy. “You stole from everyone. You stole from James. You stole from Mom, Dad, and Roe. And you stole from me!”

I’m yelling, my throat swelling with every word being pushed up and out of it. I press my finger against Kellan’s stiff, puffed chest. The veins in his neck have popped, and his face turns beet red with anger. His gray eyes are like two circular pieces of steel, darkening and hardening with every word.

My insults and accusations are daggers being thrown in his direction after the door to my soul has been unlocked and swung open. Every dark thought and every resentment are finally being set free. “Do you want to know why I didn’t say a word to you on the day of your sentencing?” I ask him, bitterly. “Why I wouldn’t even look in your direction as they handcuffed you and escorted you out of the courtroom?”

I don’t bother waiting for his answer.

“Because every word and breath I’d used to defend you up until that day had been a fucking waste. You think you’re any different than James? You’re the fucking same. You’re a disgrace to this family. Honestly, it should have been you climbing that cliff instead of Mom and Dad. We’d all be better off.”

The sting against my left cheek doesn’t sink in right away. A gasp leaves my chest as my hand instinctively lifts to cover the side of my face from the amount of force used against it. I’m shaking as I look down at the floor. The stinging sensation startsin the middle, feathering out at the edges until it reaches the corner of my eye. Fresh tears fall to the marble floor followed by a drop of blood coming from the corner of my mouth.

“Kellan?”

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