Page 145 of Bride By Coronation

She seethes, "Then don't sit here and act like my husband was a traitor."

I hold my hands in the air. "Whoa. Your husband was not a traitor. He was far from it, and I didn't insinuate anything of the sort."

"Didn't you?" she questions.

Fiona's relationship with her family is at stake,I remind myself.

I resist the urge to lash out, shaking my head, and firmly reiterate, "No, I didn't. If you took it that way, again, I apologize."

Bridget blinks hard, and Dante slides his arm around her, as if to protect her from me. But the truth will always hurt, no matter what I say. Sean was her husband and the father of her children; she loved him. There's always been mystery around what he wasinvolved in that led to his death, and I wish I could clarify it for her, but I can't. My loyalty to The Underworld won't allow me to break my vows.

So I decide what I can tell her, then continue. "Your husband made sure I was okay. I was still young, only eighteen...barely a man."

"Yes, I already know this," she states.

Surprised, I swallow hard, fighting emotions that crawl up whenever I revisit the past and the horror of what my own family did to me. I ask, "He told you about me?"

Something passes in her expression and she nods. "Yes."

Dante asks, "How did Sean even find you?"

"I told you I can't disclose that information. If I do, Fiona will be in harm's way, and neither of us wants that, correct?" I challenge.

He stays silent, intensifying his scowl.

Bridget snaps, "Stop using my daughter as a reason for you not to tell me. I want to know what Sean was involved in that would put him in a position to save a Petrov!"

I sigh.

Fiona grumbles, "Mom. He's not using me as an excuse."

Bridget's eyes narrow. "What do you know about your father that you aren't telling me?"

Fiona shuts her mouth and turns her greens on me.

I squeeze her hand tighter and offer, "There are things you'll never know about, and I'm sorry it has to be that way."

"But yet my children can know?" Bridget accuses.

"I know this is hard?—"

"You have no idea what's hard," she interjects, her voice shaking.

Dante tugs her closer.

My heart pounds harder. Guilt floods me. It's a cruel reality Bridget was dealt all those years ago and now has to relive.

A tense silence fills the air.

What am I trying to say to her anyway?

There's not a lot I can tell her.

She glances at our hands and questions, "Did you steal my husband's drawing?"

"His drawing?" I glance down, and Fiona's diamond ring glints back at me brightly. My stomach flips faster. I meet Bridget's eyes, adding, "Oh, I see."

Her lips quiver.

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