Page 53 of Second Chance Husband

“What the hell did that bitch do?” Heath asked, his voice low.

Well, it seemed that Heath remembered Paisley’s mother from the wedding, or perhaps had met her along the way with Devney’s job.

“Her mother had plans for Paisley.”

“And you just let it happen? Her mom had plans with Paisley’s ex-husband as well, and we see how that turned out.”

“It wasn’t just that. There was a big deal at the start of Paisley’s company that she needed to focus on, and her mother wanted that deal to happen more than anything but swore to me if I held her daughter back…” My voice trailed off as I swallowed that bile once again, my hands shaking.

“What did her mother say she’d do? That she’d ruin the deal? The deal that she wanted her daughter to have?” Luca asked. “I don’t buy it.”

“Her mother tried to sell her to the highest bidder right out of college,” I growled. “It didn’t matter that we were engaged at the time. She kept introducing her to these older men who wanted younger wives with money. The same way that she sold off Paisley in the beauty circuit, and all through school with all those championships that she won. Paisley always had to be perfect. And I was the stain on that perfection.”

“But not in Paisley’s eyes. In her mother’s. What the hell were you thinking?”

“If I had stayed, Paisley would have lost everything. She would have lost the business. She would have lost the proposal she needed that’s launched her into the success she is now. I don’t know what the plan was after I left, but that was what was going to happen. Paisley was going to lose everything if I stayed. And she wouldn’t have been able to grow with me. So I left. It was the best thing I could do for her.”

“You’re lucky I don’t beat the shit out of you right now,” Heath whispered, before he stepped away, shaking his head.

“And Paisley has no idea this happened.”

“No. I just filed for divorce and walked away. But look at her now. Look at everything she’s done. She keeps your wives employed.”

“Fuck that. They would have found other companies where they had other jobs. And even then, Paisley could have built something else from the ground up. Have you seen that woman work? She is a fucking savant at this shit,” Luca said. “And you took that choice away from her. For her to fight for herself. Instead you had to be the sacrificial knight.”

“Her mother is already trying to sell her off to Jacob again, so I don’t know what would have happened back then. All I know is if I had stayed, she would have lost everything. And she wouldn’t have been able to grow.”

“It sounds to me you were embarrassed about our family. And hell, I was embarrassed too.” Heath let out a breath. “Embarrassed about our parents. About the fact that we didn’t even know our baby sister. So yeah, I get that. But you are an amazing teacher. You need to remember that. Hell, you still teach me things every day. And we’re fucking twins. I thought we were supposed to have twin minds and all that,” Heath said, scoffing at his poor execution of a joke.

“I did what I thought was best at the time. I don’t even think my frontal lobe was fully developed.”

“Are we sure it is now?” Luca asked, concern in his gaze. “What are you going to do about this? You need to tell her.”

I shook my head. “If I tell her, she’ll hate me.”

“I’m pretty sure she already hated you for leaving in the first place,” Heath put in.

“But what good would it do if I told her? I’m not going to be our parents. I’m not going to marry the same woman again.”

“How the hell does that make you our parents? Other than the actual causality here. It’s just a comparison. And I’m not saying that you should marry her, but maybe you should have a damn conversation,” Luca snapped.

“If I tell her, it will hurt her. And I’ve already done that enough.”

“Keeping her in the dark is hurting her too. And I cannot believe I’m the one having this conversation because you know I hate talking about my fucking feelings,” Heath roared.

My lips twitched despite the subject, and I sighed.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen between Paisley and me. Because if we do something, and it falls apart, she’s not going to have anyone. You’re her family.”

“Then figure it out so no one gets hurt,” Luca said simply even though there was nothing simple about it. “Because you deserve happiness too.”

I sighed, before I picked up my water bottle and walked toward the door.

“I’m going to make my way home. Don’t feel like finishing working out.”

“Think about it. Talk to her. She deserves to know.” I nodded at Heath’s words, then headed out to my car.

I knew that the guys wouldn’t tell Paisley, but they might tell their wives. And they should. Because there shouldn’t be secrets.

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