Page 60 of Ruthless Redemption

“What have I lied about?”

She lowers her gaze to her toes popping up from beneath the sand. “Everything. You hide things from me, too. I always find out, though, and it’s ten times harder to hear it from someone else.”

I ignore the icy chill working through my limbs. “Stella, I’m sorry. But sometimes I keep quiet on issues so you don’t worry unnecessarily. We have a lot of things that make people envious—”

“I’m not talking about that. It’s the things I deserve to know that make me mad.”

My pulse increases with apprehension. I don’t want to ask.

“You should’ve told me about Granddad,” she murmurs. “I had to find out from Tobias.”

All the blood rushes from my face. “What did he tell you?”

“That his dad liked to humiliate women.” Her throat works over a heavy swallow. “That he hurt them.Rapedthem. Probably even killed them.”

Oh, God. “Stella…”

I don’t know what to say.

“He was my family,” she continues. “I deserved to know.”

I grab her hand, encasing it in mine. “No, you deserved to be free from those horrible thoughts. I didn’t want you to feel the way I felt after finding out.”

She meets my gaze. “And how did you feel?”

Guilty. Dirty. Vile.

I swallow over the tightness building in my chest. “I was ashamed.”

“Of what?” Her nose scrunches. “What he did wasn’t your fault.”

I wish that were true, but who knows what that monster accomplished due to the secrets I fed him. “He was the man who created me. Whose blood flows through my veins. His soul made mine.”

Her face crumples. “Mom…”

“Please forgive me.” I squeeze her hand. “I never meant to hurt you.”

“Idoforgive you. I always will. I just wish you understood that I can handle the truth.”

No, she can’t. Not the real truth. Not the darkest deceptions.

Even I can’t handle those, and I’m the one who committed them.

“I’ll try to do better in the future.” I nestle close against her side, both of us turning our attention to the setting sun. The day creeps toward night in varying shades of orange, pink, and purple, the waves gently gliding across the sand as the breeze dances in our hair.

“Could it be possible that Matthew lied to you for the same reasons you lie to me?” she asks softly.

I lean in to kiss her temple, closing my eyes with the light brush. “It’s getting close to dinner. We should head back to the house.”

“Mom,” she begs. “I want to talk about this.”

“You’ve made that clear, sweetheart. But can you understand that it hurts?” I push to my feet and hold out a hand to help her do the same. “I don’t want to think about it anymore.”

“But you were in love.” She wipes the sand from her butt. “Surely if I can forgive you for the things you lie about, you should be able to forgive him.”

I start along the beach, wishing I’d put more thought into a plan before I opened my big mouth. “Forgiveness is hard.”

“Believe me, I know.”

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