Page 139 of Saint

Declan and I still haven’t broached the subject of us being half-siblings. Instead, we try to avoid each other.At some point, I know that needs to change, but neither of us is ready yet.

I did talk to my mom about it, and she confirmed that Ian Pierce is my dad. She didn’t know his son attended the same school as me. If she had, she says she would have let me know sooner so I wouldn’t have been unknowingly blindsided.

I’m not sure her giving me a heads-up would have been enough to take away the blow of realizing who my father is, but at least she would have tried.

Part of me wishes both Liam and Brax had died with that secret. I didn’t need to know I have a brother. And I didn’t need to know my father.

It was easier when he was an unknown figurehead who donated half his DNA. Instead, I’m forced to face the fact that he’s a senator, a Sigma House legacy, and someone who was willing to use the dirty secrets of college students to win his political race.

When Kole first told me about the trials, I didn’t realize how deep their impact went—even with the marks carved into the members’ skin. But after hearing about how they used Liam’s ex-girlfriend’s secrets to advance their own interests, I see them for what they are.

Sigma House above all—no matter the consequences.

It explains how members of the fraternity include billionaire businessmen and presidents. They’ll use anyone and anything to get what they want.

Trinity was only eighteen.

She was young and manipulated. Broken.

There was no one there to protect her, and she couldn’t live with the weight of her decisions. While her family and friends should have kept her safe, they used her to their advantage. She killed herself because she was a pawn in their game—like they tried to make me.

I didn’t know Trinity personally, but after that night in the basement, I brought flowers to her grave. I sat with her for a while and thought about Liam. About the two sides of the same man who we both knew.

I wondered if he was different for her and if his revenge was because he lost her and his child. Or if it really was all just to do his father’s bidding.

I thought about what kinds of evil I could justify and what I couldn’t.

If I refused to forgive Liam and Brax, even in death, was I a hypocrite for not passing the same judgment on Kole?

The things he did aren’t right. Yet, it wasn’t the same. Liam and Brax wanted to hurt me to get back at my family. Kole protected me.

After sitting at Trinity’s grave long enough, I knew in my gut that Kole wasn’t the same as Liam or Brax, even if they are all Sigma Sin.

Under different circumstances and raised by different people, I genuinely believe Kole might have been someone different. Someone who knew the acceptable ways to look out for a person. Someone who could understand what healthy love is.

And I can’t fault Kole when I know that all he wanted to do was to keep me safe, even from the dark sides of him.

After sunset, Kole drove me back to my dorm room.

I was thankful the girls were out when I got here, even if they’ve been quiet in the two weeks since everything happened. They still haven’t asked me exactly what happened that night, and I’m glad. I’m not yet at a point where I can put words to it.

Someone knocks on the bathroom door again, reminding me I’m frozen, staring in the mirror. But this time, they don’t wait for an answer. Kole opens it and walks in.

He leans against the doorframe and watches me quickly pull my T-shirt over my head. My hair is still wet, and my skin is dewy from the shower, but I’m rushing to get dressed. I worry every time he sees the marks Braxton left on my ribs, he’ll start to resent me for them.

“Don’t do that.” Kole takes a step toward me.

I turn to the mirror, wiping my wet hair back. “Don’t do what?”

Kole reaches out for me, spinning me in his grip, and forcing my chin up so I have to face him. “You don’t need to hide yourself from me, Violet.”

“I can barely look at them.” My gaze drifts off when it feels impossible to look him in the eyes and admit that. “I can’t imagine what you see.”

“You want to know what I see?” Kole spins me back around to the mirror, slowly moving behind me so he’s standing at my back.

He’s looking at my reflection, standing over my shoulder in a black T-shirt, with his hair a tousled mess. The dew from the hot shower fogs the bathroom, giving him a wet shimmer to his skin.

He reaches for the hem of my shirt, and at first, I flinch. But when he pauses, waiting to see if I’ll stop him, the comfort in that small gesture makes me relax.

---