Page 68 of (Un)Rivaled

“You did?” I asked. “But David said?—”

My mother held up her hand. “He always had an issue with Grayson. For some reason, he never wanted the two of you together. But we won’t worry about that anymore. We’re cleansing him out of this homeandout of our minds.”

Calla furrowed her brow. “Wait, if he had such an issue with Gray dating Devyn, why didn’t he say anything about me?”

My mother leveled a glare at her. “I thought we were going to ignore that elephant in the room.”

“It’s fine,” I said, waving my hand. “I think we’ve all moved past it.”

“Fine,” my mother said. “If you must know, it wasbecause he had no idea the two of you were dating. I never told him, and when he asked, I made excuses for Calla. He’d already driven a wedge between Devyn and Gray, so I didn’t want any more issues like that. Besides…” She grimaced at Calla. “It wasn’t like it was going to be forever, not with the way Grayson looked at Devyn. Sorry, dear.”

Calla rolled her eyes. “Mom, we broke up over a decade ago, and I’m pregnant with another man’s baby. Pretty sure I’ll find a way to get over it.”

THIRTY-SIX

“This is weird.”

The words escaped me as I stared out at David’s former office, the one that originally belonged to my father. But there was no trace of my father in this room. All my childhood, the bookshelves were stuffed to their limits with legal tomes and classic literature. It felt warm, worn, like it was just as vibrant as the man who stood behind the desk. I loved coming in here, hiding behind the desk whenever I’d play hide and seek with my sisters. The aroma of antique papers and aged scotch was comforting, and I wished more than anything I could smell it now.

It was long gone, though, traded out for books on business and other enterprises, ones no one ever read but stayed to give the illusion of intelligence. In fact, everything in this room served that purpose, to make anyone who entered this space cower under the weight of David’s presence. I glanced over my shoulder, looking at the space where my face had once collided. Phantom pains raked over me, as if I was still that scared little girl.

“You don’t have to do this,” Laurel said. “If it’s toomuch, Gray can take you home. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“That would be a first,” I muttered, running my finger along the shelves. “At least you’re giving me an option this time, not just running to Gray behind my back.”

“You’re right,” she said. I paused, turning slowly to face my older sister as she continued to speak. “When I found out you married Gray, I was scared, Devyn. David had already made a lot of comments about you, and I was able to keep him at bay because you were doing so well at the law firm. He liked that, liked that Collin could keep you in line. You’d done a great job playing the role he wanted, so he was willing to back off.” She paused, inhaling and exhaling slowly. “But there was always going to be a moment when the levee broke. When I could no longer keep him from interfering with your life. For some reason, he really hates Gray, so when I found out that you’d married him?—”

“You thought he’d come after me.”

“Or worse: use Calla to get to you,” she sighed. “David knows she’s your weakness, just like Gray. That’s his real power—knowing what matters most and warping it until he has you in the palm of his hand.”

Her eyes turned glassy as she whipped around, facing away from me. Sudden understanding made my stomach drop. “What did he take from you?”

“My sisters.”

My stomach dropped, hating that it was true. At least, it had been for years. But the course that had been carved out for us didn’t have to be the one we continued to travel. I moved closer to Laurel and put my hand on her shoulder. She turned around, her eyes widening in surprise. I smiled softly at her. “You haven’t lost us, Laurel.”

“Yes, I have,” she said quietly. “We don’t have a relationship,and the fault lies on my shoulders. After he figured out I would do anything to keep the two of you out of his world, he twisted it, making sure I was still on his side.”

“I hate that you’ve been stuck with him all this time. I really thought you wanted to work with him.”

Laurel chuckled, “Not even a little, but I’d do it all over again. It’s given me better insight into his world.” Calla laughed from the other room. Laurel sighed. “At least she’s made it out unscathed. I just wish I could have done more to keep you out of it too.”

“I don’t,” I answered. Laurel’s brow furrowed as I continued. “David’s done some unforgivable things to all of us, and he’s going to pay the price. I want to know I played a part in his downfall. I need justice after everything he’s done. I’m never going to be okay sitting on the sidelines. If you ever want us to have a real relationship, you need to accept that.”

Laurel stayed quiet for a few moments, studying me for any hesitance, but it wouldn’t come. I wanted this. I wanted to be there when David realized the girls he’d tried to stomp all over had beaten him, that we never let him break us.

“Fine,” she eventually relented.

“And I have two more things to add to the addendum.” Laurel arched a perfectly manicured brow and motioned for me to continue. “If you ever try to come between Gray and me again, I will cut you out of my life for good. He is my everything, and if you make me choose, it will be him, every single time.”

“Done,” she said. Her eyes dropped down to her hands. “I never should have said anything in the first place. I should have trusted you more.”

“Yes, you should have. Which brings me to point number two—we need to tell Calla.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Laurel…” I groaned, rubbing my hand over my brows. “If we keep her in the dark, we’re just repeating the same mistakes we’ve made with each other.” When she started to protest, I held up my hand. “Calla is a lot stronger than you give her credit for. Not only can she handle this, but we need her if we’re going to figure out what’s going on.” I stepped forward. “And think about how much it’ll piss David off when he sees the three of us standing together, knowing that, in the end, he never broke us.”

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