Page 78 of Red River

And again, I was presenting it as all his fault, and it just didn’t sit right.

Sam made a sharp inhale. "For fuck’s sake, River—he was half your age back then! That was never okay, in any world, in any version, no matter how much he begged you for it! You were supposed to be the adult. And you had a husband at the time!"

He was almost yelling now. I pulled the phone away from my ear, taking a deep breath.

It was too much. First the stress with Igor, and now this?

"I have to go, Sam. I’ve got things to do. We’ll talk later."

"Oh, I see. So that’s why you’ve been ignoring my calls for the past two weeks. Guilt. And Archer, too. You both went radio silent because you knew this wasn’t something to be proud of!"

"Archer’s an adult now, Sam."

"But he wasn’t then. And you shaped him, whether you meant to or not. You had influence over him. That crush never had a chance to die out because you kept feeding it."

"What? How?! How the hell was I feeding it? Sam, that’s not fair—"

"Not fair? You know what’s really not fair? That you, knowing how riddled with problems your own family is, set your sights on just a kid! You know he’s got big money, a mansion, and good looks—he’s a catch. And the fact that he’s younger? Even better. Easier for you to manipulate!"

My jaw practically hit the floor.

Stunned, I leaned against the wall for support. I couldn’t believe how cruel Sam was—how unfair his words were.

"Manipulate Archer? You clearly don’t know your own brother. No one controls him, Sam!"

"Oh, please. Alphas can be controlled—you know that damn well. Just spread your legs, and suddenly, you’ve got them wrapped around your finger. Especially pretty ones like yourself. Omegas are pros at playing the helpless little lambs, but when we set our sights on an alpha, they don’t stand a chance."

I could barely breathe. My vision blurred. The stress was crushing me again.

"That’s… not true, Sam. Archer’s not controlled by his sexual urges."

"Every alpha is!"

"You’re wrong, he’s not. Your brother is strong and poised. And smart! Wonderful. He grounds me!" I trailed off, feeling a painful squeeze in my throat. "I have to go. I don’t want us to fight, Sam. You’re Archer’s brother. You’re family."

"Family? But you don’t care about splitting families, do you? You did it to your own, mercilessly! For your own selfish whim! You, you, you! It’s always about you! A pretty little prince! Now that your old, useless husband is gone, you’ve got a fresh chance with a young stud—"

I hung up.

Tears streamed down my face. It hurt—hurt so much—I bent over, then slid to the floor. After all these years of friendship… this is what he really thought about me?

His anger, his opinion about me…

It crushed me, and I sobbed quietly for a while. Did I deserve it? Did I?

Maybe I did. Just a little. My dad’s face appeared in my mind’s eye—broken, crying, devastated.

I was a cruel, selfish bastard. I was. Pursuing my own ‘happiness’ while trampling over all the people who cared about me… And for what? To then struggle for two decades.

And now, with Archer?

I couldn’t say I didn’t understand Sam’s fears. Big age gaps always stirred up strong opinions—fear of manipulation, of taking advantage—because, let’s be real, that does happen. That’s why people are wary.

A relationship with a widower who had five kids. That was a lot. Most people wouldn’t be strong enough for it.

Instead of being with someone his own age and growing into a relationship naturally, Archer had been thrown headfirst into a completely different life. No slow exploration. No gradual steps. He had to be the head of someone else’s family from day one.

Sam’s accusations weren’t completely baseless. If it were my kid, would I want them to take on that kind of burden? Probably not.

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