Page 148 of When Hearts Awaken

I smile inwardly as I walk toward the elevators. The brothers will be all right.

In the meantime, I have a riddle to solve.

Chapter 61

“I’m glad you didn’tgive up on her,” Liam murmurs when I take a seat next to him. We stare at the painting on the wall in front of us.

The deep azure of the ocean, the waves lapping on to the golden sand. Seashells scattered along the shoreline. Beautiful mansions and cottages in the distance.

The Hamptons.

“There were days when I wanted to,” I whisper. “I thought I was keeping her hooked up on machines because I was too selfish to let her go, which would be in line with what you probably think of me.”

Liam sighs and out of the corner of my eye, I see him adjusting the sleeves of his jacket, his silver rings gleaming on his fingers. “Charles, I don’t think you’re selfish. If anything, the selfish one was me.”

The heavy regret in his voice causes me to turn toward him. Emotions flit across his face as he looks down at his hands. “I could’ve gone to her that day. I knew you were busy—I mean, a CEO for a large company had to be busy. But I was looking forward to my trip, and we were almost at the airport when she called. I knew you were much closer to her than I was. I…I just…”

He clears his throat, his nostrils flaring. “I shouldn’t have pinned it on you. She called me first.”

“But I was the one who forgot about her that day.” Regret slices through me as I reflect on my actions for a thousandth time, wishing I could turn back time and make a different choice. Things would’ve turned out differently. She wouldn’t have gotten injured. Liam and I wouldn’t have had this rift.

All these years wasted.

“I was just angry. I hated myself for not listening to Firefly that day. That self-loathing was poisonous, and I wanted to blame everyone other than myself. I know you took on a lot for us. Mom and Dad are a joke,” Liam scoffs.

“You were always the one looking out for us growing up. The mature one. The serious one. The one who followed the rules. The one with all the responsibilities. But if you didn’t do that, who was Grandma going to rely on? We’d have to share the burdens. I know that.”

The backs of my eyes burn as I listen to Liam’s raspy words, sentiments I’ve ached to hear for the better part of this decade. Understanding. Compassion. Forgiveness.

But then, I haven’t been honest with him either.

My voice is thick as I reply, “I should’ve talked to you more, Liam. Maybe if I shared my problems with you, we would’ve understood each other better. There’s not a day that goes by when I don’t regret not dropping everything to find Firefly. It’s a miracle she’s awake right now. We all know the statistics. The odds aren’t in our favor. I can’t help but wonder, if you and I just talked to each other more, if I didn’t think I had to shield everything from you guys, if that would’ve made a difference.”

Closing my eyes, I continue, “Maybe we would’ve made the same choices that day. Maybe Firefly would’ve ended up in that damn car accident no matter what we did. But at least we could’ve grieved together instead of…” A ball is stuck in my throat.

“Turning on each other,” Liam finishes.

He reaches over and grabs my wrist, giving it a squeeze. “Taylor was right when she yelled at us in the hospital last time. The way I saw you that day, your walls down, I knew I was hurting you and your pain didn’t make me feel better. It made me feel worse.”

Liam heaves out a deep breath. “Forgive me, brother?”

A bittersweet ache sits on my chest—the pain of the past colliding with the warmth in the present. Opening my eyes, I stare at my brother—his tousled hair, his tattoos, the grittiness in his eyes—he’s a different man than the one from almost eight years ago, but I recognize the teasing guy who chased Firefly around the grounds of our vacation home ten years ago.

He’ll always be my little brother. We’ve both fucked up and we’re given a second chance.

“Only if you’ll forgive me.” I stretch out my hand, palm up. Liam’s lips tilt up in a half smirk as he puts his hand on top of mine and pulls me in for a hug, followed by a hard slap on my back.

A few minutes later, we are staring at the painting again, this time, a small smile on my lips. I think back to that day ten years ago, right before I ascended the throne as Bank of Columbia’s CEO. The joyful laughter and shrieking from Firefly and Liam, the lightness in my soul. The way she was running after him, holding clothing scraps in her hands.

“What did you do to her that day? Why was she chasing you?”

Liam chuckles. Apparently, he knows exactly what I’m referring to. “I messed with her Sugar Plum Fairy costume. Stapled a bunch of dried plums to it. She was so fucking mad. She kept screaming how there were no plums in the Sugar Plum Fairy costume.” He leans back and sighs. “It was because she carved her name on my guitar the week before.”

I snort and shake my head. “You two.”

We stare at the painting some more. Someday, we’ll go back there. Maybe, this time, I’ll get to run on the grounds with them. Liam and I spend the next half hour catching up on the milestones we’ve missed in each other’s lives. There is anguish. There is laughter.

My phone buzzes, and I take it out.

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