Page 31 of Inked Obsession

“You know what else you haven’t done during this time?” Benjamin asked, and I shook my head. “You haven’t taken a single vacation day. You haven’t taken any time off. I know the date of the shooting. I know when things changed. I know when Brenna changed.”

My gaze shot up. “What?”

Benjamin, my normally quiet brother, cringed. “I see the way she is with you. She knows you’re hiding something. Just like I did. You were hiding things from us, and while I understand it because I’m a Montgomery and know that we tend to fuck things up, Brenna’s your best friend. You should have told her. Especially if Lee knew, though I’m not going to get into that,” he added quickly as I opened my mouth to say something.

Archer leaned forward. “You need to get out of here. Just take some time off. Talk to someone. Do something. Because we love you, and we’re sorry that you’re hurting. People might get grumpy, but fuck them. Go out, enjoy yourself. Or try to. Just relax. Be. I don’t know, just get out of here for a bit.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, confused as hell.

“Well, I was talking with Lee, and he has a friend who owns a resort…” Archer began, his voice trailing off.

“You want me to go to a beach right now?” I asked, my voice incredulous.

Archer threw up his hands and began to pace again. “I don’t know. Or to a spa? Or maybe actually, really go to a therapist. Talk to someone. Breathe. I don’t think you should come into work,” he said quickly, and I frowned.

I felt as if I’d been kicked or slapped. I didn’t know which, but maybe I deserved both. “You don’t think I can do my work?”

“You’ve been doing your work just damn fine this past year. You always do. However, you’re not sleeping,” Benjamin whispered.

Archer sat again. “Take some time. Breathe. Because you had a fucking panic attack. And that’s scary.”

Benjamin continued. “I love you. You’re my twin. Take some time. And know we’re always here for you. Promise.”

I looked at them then, wondering if maybe taking a vacation was the right answer.

Or maybe it was just running away.

I didn’t know, but as things were, I couldn’t even enjoy a celebratory beer with my friends and family because I was stressed out. Maybe I did need to get away. And perhaps I just needed to breathe. Or… I didn’t know what I needed. What I was currently doing clearly wasn’t working. Nothing was.

Chapter 11

Eliza

Istepped out onto the white sand and slid my toes into the softness, closing my eyes. It was a particularly hot day today, though it was nearing the end of the season. Hurricane season was right around the corner, but for now, it was nice. The sun beat down on my face, and I wouldn’t think about anything but the fresh air and the fact that today, it had been a year. One year since I had lost Marshall.

Only a little over a week since everything had changed.

My life could be etched in stages.

Before I had met Marshall. After I met him. Before I lost him. And after.

And perhaps now was the after I realized I had lost him long before the world took him from me.

Before I got on a plane and headed to the resort a friend of a friend owned, Eli had gotten back to me, and my world shattered.

There would be a private investigator if I needed one, a DNA test if I required it, but Marshall had a daughter. Little Madison, who had Marshall’s eyes. I had seen the proof, and I didn’t need a blood test to know what was in my heart and etched on my soul. There was a little girl with my husband’s face—who wasn’t mine.

Maybe before I found out about his betrayal, I would have been a weeping mess on the anniversary, but I didn’t know how to be anymore. Because, in reality, he had rarely been home when we were together. He had always been on TDY or on tour. He was always gone, his work keeping him far away from me. Video calls and letters and emails had only gone so far.

I had grown into the woman I had become before I lost him, and he hadn’t been around to see it.

When it came to death and marking time, numbers filled my mind. One month since he had passed. Then two. Then six. Now twelve, a new number. Months turning to a year. Today was an anniversary, but I couldn’t truly focus on what that number would have meant to me before I discovered the truth. Because Marshall hadn’t known the woman I became before he died, and I didn’t think he would recognize the woman I was now. I barely did.

I didn’t have tears today. Just confusion.

Yesterday when I arrived, I’d put my feet in the water because, of course, it was the ocean and you had to do that. And then I had eaten alone in my room, exhausted. I hadn’t wanted to see anybody, even though I was supposed to be enjoying myself. I had come on this trip because my brothers and friends had suggested it. And, frankly, because I wanted to be alone. Not so I could wallow in despair, but so I didn’t have to deal with the looks. How was one supposed to act on the first anniversary of losing their husband soon after finding out that he had cheated and had a love child?

Hallmark did not make a card for that.

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