Page 183 of My Ruthless Opponent

“Because it does.”

I close my eyes. Fuck. His honesty hurts. And still, his honesty prevents me from running off mid-conversation.

“She is my foster sister.”

My head snaps to him. He slowly turns his eyes to me and nods. “Summer and I go way back, Hannah.”

A look of nostalgia covers his features.

“I was eight years old when I met her. The system used to move me from one home to another because of… well my bad behavior. I showed up at the Samsons—the new family’s house—and there was this girl with long dark hair in a shabby dress who approached me without any fear.”

My brows bunch together in confusion. What was so novel about a kid befriending another kid?

My thought must be written all over my face because he explains further. “The Samsons already had four foster kids. And their son; Caleb.”

A shadow darkens Raleigh’s eyes, turning the blue orbs to black.

“Raleigh?”

He blinks then shakes his head. “Anyway, this girl was the only one among the five kids who dared to walk straight to me. When the others were scared to even talk to me, she strutted to me and extended her hand and introduced herself as Summer.”

???

“Hi. I am Summer.”

I look at her small hand then at her. With effort, I reach up and take it.

“Raleigh,” I mumble.

The girl with long hair and two different colored eyes smiles.

She turns my palm and drops something in my hand.

I look down and find a red-colored candy.

“I stole it from Caleb’s room.” She points at the taller kid. She leans closer, then whispers, “It makes the pain go away.”

She tucks her long strand behind her ear and I see a bruise similar to mine marring her temple.

“Why were they scared to talk to you?” Hannah’s question pulls me back to the present.

“My face was covered in bruises—”

“What?” Hannah’s whispered exclaim makes me realize I overshared.

No one knows about this part of my life. I never let anyone in. I don’t want anyone’s sympathy.

She clutches my arm with both hands, her gray eyes brimming with pain. “You… I… how? What happened to you back then, Raleigh?” Thousands of emotions play on her face.

I cup her jaw. “It was a long time ago.”

Her hand slides up and clutches mine, leaning against my palm. “But it still haunts you, doesn’t it?” She shakes her head, a tear falling because of the movement. She searches my face. “That nightmare?”

I swallow thickly. It does. It will never leave me. Those horrors I lived through are something that may forever chase me. But what I am is the result of my experiences.

Had I not suffered so much, I would have stayed a loser. I wouldn’t have reached the point where I am currently standing.

“That nightmare was triggered by your accident,” I tell her about Caleb. And the years of bullying Summer and I tolerated.

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