Page 52 of Shattering

Cadi's stomach clenched, a sharp, sick feeling lodging itself deep in her ribs.

The silence was as thick as molasses, the fire crackling softly, oblivious to the destruction unravelling in Gray's mind.

Gray blinked slowly, his hands shaking at his sides.

His entire life had been built on a lie. There had been times when he had hated his mam. He could never forget some of the curses hurled at him by his grandparents. His uncle. His father.. he had never trusted her.

He had always known he wasn't David's son. He had also known Finn and his mother had an affair which had ruined everybody's life. He had ruined his mother's life.

But he had never known this.

Callum's voice was quiet, but it held centuries of guilt, of regret, of loss.

"We left Derry. There was no choice. Life was unbearable. And I blamed you. I hated you, Gray."

Gray's eyes snapped to him.

Callum exhaled, his guilt raw, bare.

"For taking my da away."

The words hit like a physical blow, the weight of them pressing against every breath in Gray's chest.

Callum's face twisted with guilt, his voice thick. "I was a kid. I didn't understand. He was good to me. I thought he was a great man."

His hands clenched.

"I was wrong."

He exhaled shakily.

"Seven years ago, he was dying of lung cancer. He asked to see us."

His fingers dug into his knees.

"There was hardly anything left of him. He spoke to my mother privately. She was—she was devastated afterward."

Callum swallowed, his voice almost a whisper now.

"She told me what he had done. That she had spent all these years hating Aisling, believing she had betrayed her, when in reality..."

His voice faltered, cracking slightly as he met Gray's storm-grey gaze.

"She was just trying to survive."

Gray's breathing was slow, deliberate, as if forcing air into his lungs.

"She was the victim."

Gray closed his eyes, his fingers pressing against his temples.

There wereno words.

The fire had burned lower now, the embers glowing a dull red, casting shadows that flickered across the stone walls.

The weight of Callum's last words still hung thick in the air, pressing against the silence between them.

Gray had not spoken.

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