Page 54 of (Un)Rivaled

“I love her,” I said, staring at the band on my finger, the one that had filled me with so much hope. Now, it felt like an anchor. But considering I’d already placed myself in the depths, it was instead dragging Devyn down with me.

“I know you do,” Laurel said. “And for what it’s worth, I love my sister too, more than she even realizes. That’s why I refuse to risk her safety. We’ve both seen too much. We know what David is capable of. The only reason Devyn is in the clear right now is because she followed the family plan. If she shows up married to you, how do you think that will go for her?” Laurel leaned back in her chair. “I wish there was another way, Gray, but this can’t happen, not now. There’s too much at stake.”

“I won’t give her up,” I said, still staring at my ring. “I can’t.”

“We’ve both had to make sacrifices for this, Gray.” Her face faltered, and for a moment, I could see the woman hidden behind her mask. She was right. She had made more sacrifices than me, more than anyone. First, working for David’s company as soon as she graduated with her MBA to letting him set her up in a relationship he approved of—one that would benefit him, not her. She’d kept her sistersat a distance, cut everyone out of her life so they wouldn’t be a target. Her life revolved around her revenge against David for reasons she wouldn’t reveal to anyone, not even me.

Laurel leaned forward, her voice softening to a careful whisper. “I know you love Devyn, Gray. It’s been obvious since you stormed into David’s office, ready to give him hell for hurting her. I admire that love, more than you can ever know, but love has no place in this mess.” She shifted, her eyes darting around the bar. “The best thing you could do for Devyn is to let her go. She can’t get involved. I won’t let her. So please, Gray,” Laurel said as she started gathering her belongings. “Help me keep her safe.”

I stared down at my hands, my knees shaking violently under the table. “She’ll never forgive me.”

Laurel sighed, pausing for a moment to place her hand on my shoulder. “Maybe, but we both know she’s better off angry than dead.”

TWENTY-EIGHT

As Gray finished his story, I stared at him, unblinking. This had to be a joke, right? It was hard enough revisiting one of the worst moments of my life, but to hear my older sister caused it? My emotions felt like a kaleidoscope, all fractured and shifting so quickly, I couldn’t pinpoint just one.

Gray’s eyes tracked my every movement, like he was expecting me to melt down at his admission. But I’d spent so long being angry at Gray, so long questioning everything that happened between us, finally knowing the reason why felt like a weight lifting off my shoulders.

I’d convinced myself he’d left because of my flaws, that I wasn’t enough for Gray. And even though I tried to brush it off, those thoughts stuck with me, making my defenses even more guarded. After all, if I couldn’t trust my best friend to accept every piece of me, how could anyone else?

But that wasn’t the reason. Gray wanted our marriage just as much as I did, and that was enough to repair most of the cracks in my damaged heart.

However, my anger toward Gray redirected itself, aiming right at Laurel.How fucking dare she?I hated herfor pushing Gray to leave, that she decided for the both of us without even consulting me. Laurel and I hadn’t been close since we were children. How the fuck did she know what I could handle? She should have trusted me. Theybothshould have.

But as angry as I felt, I was also in awe of my older sister. I couldn’t believe she’d worked against David for so long. It almost felt too insane to be true. For years, I’d harbored resentment toward Laurel. After our mother married David, she seemed to gravitate to his side, taking any opportunity to spend more time with him. When she finished school, she immediately went to work for him, climbing up the corporate ladder to become one of David’s right-hand people. Between her loyalty to David, and her marriage to one of his lackeys, I’d always kept her at arm’s length. Even after our mother filed divorce papers, she stayed on at David’s company, making all of us feel like she was picking his side over ours.

But now? Knowing she was actively working to destroy him framed everything in a new light. My stomach soured, thinking of all the times I’d complained about her, icing out my older sister because I thought she couldn’t be trusted. Yet, she was the only one strong enough to throw herself into the lion’s den, hoping to keep the rest of us out of danger.

“Devy…” Gray said, squeezing my fingers. “Talk to me. What are you thinking?”

There were no words that could describe my ricocheting feelings. I didn’t even know anymore. The past couple of hours had fucked with my head, and now, I felt like I was in a tailspin, with nothing to ground me.

At least, not until Gray reached out and took my hands. His simple touch brought me back down to reality. I sighed,intertwining our fingers. “I don’t know how I feel. I’m just…” I sighed. “I’m trying to wrap my mind around everything.”

“I know I fucked up, Devyn,” he whispered. “And I’m not trying to make excuses, but we felt like we were on the brink of taking David down. One wrong move would destroy the entire plan.”

“And did it?” I forced myself to ask.

“No,” Gray quietly admitted. “Despite everything Laurel gathered, we weren’t able to find anything to connect him to a crime.” He squeezed my hands. “We haven’t given up. Laurel is still digging, and I’ve got an entire team on him. We are going to find something to pin on him, I promise.”

I released his hand, standing. “You should have told me.”

Gray shook his head. “I wanted to keep you safe.”

God, those words made me want to rage. I hated that he kept so much information from me, all under the guise of keeping me safe.Weren’t you doing the same thing?The thought made me freeze as I snapped my eyes back to the couch, my files still gathering dust. Other than a couple of brief conversations with Tomas, I’d barely thought about them since Gray came over. But if we were spilling our secrets, it felt like the time to bring mine into the light.

“I get that, Gray. I really do.” I exhaled slowly and stepped over to the other side of the couch. “But we have to stop making decisions for each other. You can’t hide things because you think I can’t handle it.” I lowered to my knees, reaching underneath the couch to grab the file still hiding there. I pulled it out and dropped it on the coffee table. Gray’s eyes darted to the portfolio then back up tome, a question lingering in his eyes. “Especially when we could have helped each other.”

Gray’s gaze darted from the file back up to me. “What is this?”

I shrugged. “I might have also been investigating David.”

“What?” Gray snapped, reaching out to grab my evidence. He took out each page, scrubbing his hand with his face as he read them. “Holy shit,” he whispered. “How did you get this?”

“You’re not the only one with resources,” I said, feeling a little smug at his shocked expression.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

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