Page 44 of Claiming Pretty

“Ava, move,” I growled, my voice like gravel, raw and rough.

Her hands pressed against my chest, trying to hold me back. “Please,” she said. “It was… just toughlove. It didn’tmeananything.”

Didn’t mean anything?My head spun. My chest heaved as I tried to rein in the rage clawing at my insides.

“Step aside, Ava,” I repeated, my tone harder, colder this time.

“Promise me you won’t hurt him.”

“Can’t. Promise. That.” My words were ground out between clenched teeth.

Her expression shifted in an instant, her anger flaring to match mine.

“Ty has suffered enough,” she shot back, her voice rising. “He has paid enough.”

“He hasn’t paid forthis.”

“Do you know what your brother went through in prison?” she said, her voice breaking. “He was just a boy, Ciaran. A boy in a cage with men. With monsters. Do you know what theydidto him?”

Her words landed like a punch to my gut, knocking the wind out of me. My blood ran cold, the fury draining from my body, leaving behind a hollow, twisting ache.

I didn’t know. I hadn’t let myself imagine it.

Until now.

Ty had suffered for me. He’d gone to prison for a crime I committed. And while he was locked up, enduring God knows what, I’d been free. Free to live, to breathe, to seduce Ava. The girl he’d always loved.

My shoulders sagged under the weight of her words. My legs gave out, and I sank onto the bed. The rage that had burned so brightly just moments ago was replaced with something far worse—guilt.

I buried my face in my hands, disgusted with myself.

“I’m a shit brother,” I muttered, the truth tasting bitter on my tongue.

Ava kneeled in front of me, her hands on my knees.

“Ciaran,” she said softly. “You have to forgive him. Please… for me?”

Maybe I could forgive Ty for his…sexualtherapy, if it helped Ava.

I lifted my head to meet her gaze, her plea slicing through me.

“Did it help you?” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes,” she said without hesitation. “He only did what he did because he was trying to save me. And he did. Hesavedme, Ciaran. I remember what your father did to me, and I’m still standing. I remember the pain, and I’m still smiling. I remember the darkness, and my heart is still filled with love.”

Her words should have been a balm, but they only cut deeper. She was alive, whole, because ofTy.

The way she said his name. The light in her eyes when she spoke of him. It was like a blade twisting in my chest.

Ty had burrowed his way under her skin. He owned a piece of her now, a piece I wasn’t sure I’d ever get back.

My fear was a living thing, coiling in my gut.

Ty wouldn’t stop. I knew my brother. He wouldn’t stop until he reclaimed her completely.

AVA

If it had been for anything less important, I would have asked Ciaran to stay. Begged him to stay.

---