Page 58 of Gathered Sparkle

“That’s sweet. Naïve, but sweet.” Her laugh is low, humorless. “Be careful, honey. I’d hate for you to get caught up in their mess.”

I stand frozen while the sound of the door to her office clicking shut feels like the final nail to my coffin.

Am I really going to do this?

Can I even pretend to be the son she’s always wanted to protect the people who wronged me?

Fuck.

The thought keeps repeating, looping like a bad track in my head as I head down the hall to my room. My body is screaming for rest even as my mind races ahead, dragging me through a thousand worst-case scenarios.

Inside, I kick off my shoes, ignoring the ache in my feet and legs. I strip off my shirt, wincing as the movement pulls at my sore muscles, the fabric dropping to the floor with a soft thud as I move to the dresser and grab a towel before heading into the en-suite bathroom.

The sound of the shower turning on echoes in the small space. Steam rises almost immediately, filling the room, but itdoesn’t feel comforting. It’s suffocating, the same as everything else.

I step under the spray and let the hot water cascade over me, scalding my skin, but I don’t adjust it. Maybe I deserve it.

Veronica’s words play over and over in my head.

“He was acting out… becoming a threat.”

My hands press against the tiled wall, and I bow my head, water streaming over my face.

Did she kill him?

Did she kill Oscar?

I squeeze my eyes shut, but the questions don’t stop. Did she order it? Or allow it to happen? And if she did, how far would she go to get what she wants now?

Novalee? Koen?

I suck in a breath, but the steam makes it hard to breathe. Pushing off the wall, I run a hand through my wet hair. She doesn’t know. She can’t. If she knew Novalee tried to get evidence from her or that the twins were involved…

I need to protect them.

A bitter laugh bubbles up. Protect the guy who didn’t give a fuck about me since he kicked me out of his life thirteen years ago.

Protect her.

The girl who played me.

The girl who lied to me.

But also the girl who made me feel like… myself. Someone who made me believe, even for a second, that I could be more.

The events from earlier play in my head when she told us about Alaric and her sister. Her pain had been so thick I could feel it. And yet, she hadn’t broken. She’d let me hold her and let it out, piece by jagged piece, until we were all bleeding with her.

I shouldn’t feel this way about her. Not when I know the truth. Not when I watched her wrap herself around Koen andSylus as if they were lifelines. Not when I saw her breakdown because of Alaric. Not when I’m supposed to hate her for what she did.

But I don’t.

God, I don’t.

Instead, I can’t stop thinking about her, the way her voice wavered but didn’t break. I saw myself in her for a moment, a version of me I’ve tried to bury for years. The scared, angry kid who wanted someone to tell him it wasn’t his fault.The way Oscar did.

Veronica killed Oscar. And if she could do that to someone she once loved, what the hell would she do to Novalee or the twins if she found out the truth?

I can’t let it happen. But how the hell do I protect them when I can barely keep myself together? I slam my fist against the wall, and the sharp pain grounds me. My head tips back, the water streaming down my face as I take a ragged breath. Novalee’s face flashes in my mind again, her tear-streaked cheeks, the way she whispered, “Please,” as though it was the only word she had left.

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