Page 66 of The Opposite Effect

“But I didn’t care about him because of his money or power. I just thought if two people with half a heart joined, they could have one whole heart again.” Her voice is so weak my ears strain to hear what she’s saying. “I just never considered his heart would heal on its own.”

Seizing her wrists, I pull her to sit side-saddle on my lap. I fight the desire to bang my chest like King Kong when she doesn’t cite a single protest.

Now is not the time for cockiness.

Clara’s pained eyes lift to mine when I say, “A broken heart never mends, but it can swell to accommodate more people in it. You don’t have to live your life unloved because your heart was once broken. You just have to be willing to increase its size toinclude the new people in your life. The people who care for you. Guys like me.”

Diesel and Ryan are right. I’m gone for this woman. Completely and utterly fucking done.

The hurt in Clara’s eyes softens as she quietly mumbles, “Do you really think that’s true?”

I nod without pause for consideration. My heart swells when she cups the edge of my jaw and smiles a knockout grin. Her eyes bounce between mine. She looks like she wants to say something but not a word spills from her lips.

After twisting a lock of hair behind her ear, I say, “I saw Sophia today.”

Clara stiffens, and her eyes widen, but she tries to keep the expression on her face neutral. She fails. “How is she? Is she okay?”

“She’s good. Daniel said they have had a couple of recent developments the past month he looks forward to discussing with you at your next visit.”

Clara’s pupils dilate more. “Recent developments?”

I smile before nodding. “She moved her toes last week.”

She sucks in a deep breath as her eyes brim with tears.

“She has also been recorded taking unaided breaths.”

Tears stream down Clara’s cheeks as her hand clamps over her mouth.

“These are good signs, Princess.”

“I know,” she replies, her tone weak. “These are happy tears.”

She takes a few moments to settle her composure before locking her red-rimmed eyes with mine. My heart rate kicks into overdrive, but I remain quiet, praying she will open up to me.

“Sophia is Remy’s little sister. Remy was my first serious boyfriend. His real name was Victor Remy the Second, buteveryone called him Remy. Although I was only a teen, I loved him. Truly I did.”

Her eyes flare as a range of emotions flash through them.

“But my father hated Remy. Remy thought it was because his parents were divorced, but that wasn’t the real reason my dad hated him. It was because he didn’t have any money, and he lived on the wrong side of town. Remy begged me for months to leave my family and go live with him, but I couldn’t. He could barely afford to live as it was, let alone take care of me, and since I was under eighteen, I had no way of supporting myself.”

Her eyes gloss over. “Remy gave me my pendant the night of my eighteenth birthday party. The night was going surprisingly well. Although Remy looked slightly out of place in a pair of ripped jeans when all the other male attendees were wearing dress pants, but I didn’t care. I loved him for who he was, not what he wore.”

She takes a breath before continuing, “I don’t know exactly how it started, but Remy got into a disagreement with my father. After they flung a string of hateful words at each other, Remy dragged me out of the party. I pleaded for him to wait until my guests had left, but nothing I said made a difference. He was furious I didn’t stand up for him. I wanted to… truly, I did… I just couldn’t get my mouth to cooperate. I was still six days away from officially turning eighteen, so I feared the repercussion of going against the wishes of my father. Remy broke up with me because I refused to leave with him. I was devastated.”

She stops talking for a moment and stares out into space. “That devastation was nothing compared to being informed he was involved in a motorbike accident three weeks later. He was killed on impact. Sophia has been on life support ever since.”

Fuck! No wonder she was so scared when I threw her on my bike.

“I’m sorry, Princess. If I had known, I wouldn’t have forced you onto my bike?—”

My words stop when Clara places her index finger on my lips. “It’s okay. I know you’d never hurt me, Brax.”

I strengthen my grip around her waist but remain quiet. Just like there were no words I could say to ease Hank’s pain when Derrick was killed, I have no words to offer Clara to lessen the hurt brewing in her eyes.

After removing a tear tracking down her face, Clara lifts her tear-drenched eyes to me. “Sophia’s parents couldn’t afford Remy’s funeral, let alone Sophia’s extensive medical bills, so I made a deal with the devil to ensure she was taken care of. By becoming the daughter my father wanted… an upstanding member of society who never spoke unless spoken to and did exactly as demanded… Sophia’s medical expenses were paid. As the years went on, I became more and more like my father, a vindictive and callous human being with an ice heart.” A painful whizz of air parts her mouth. “I thought once my father died, his hold over me would vanish. It didn’t. I was too far gone by then. My heart was beyond repair.”

“I don’t believe that,” I reply, speaking for the first time in ten minutes. “If you didn’t have a heart, you wouldn’t have visited Sophia every month for the past eight years. You wouldn’t have used seventy percent of your salary at Inked to put toward her care expenses, and you wouldn’t have tears in your eyes right now. You have a heart, Princess. A very big one. Don’t let a man with wrong values ever let you think any different.”

---