Page 46 of It Shouldn't Be You
“You look just like her.” At Helen’s quietly spoken words, I frown, following her line of vision to my husband.
What the fuck is going on?
“Like who?” Logan’s voice remains level as he looks at Helen, his expression devoid of surprise. Sharing a glance with Cora, it’s clear we’re on the same page—Logan’s been keeping something from us, and while the thought stings, I trust he has a valid reason for it.
“Freya. My baby sister.” Helen’s voice breaks on the name. My eyes snap to Cora’s, wide with shock. It’s clear she’s as stunned as I am. Helen has an entire branch of her family tree filled with liars and backstabbers—and a cousin who just happens to be my husband.
“How...” Cora trails off, clearly struggling to figure out where to even begin.
“It’s complicated and extremely long-winded,” Helen says, her voice fragile and worn. “There’s so much we need to discuss, sweetheart, but can we please leave the heavy stuff for now? I don’t think I can bear to talk about it all right now.”
Her broken tone silences any objections before they can form. Sharing a glance, we let it go—for now.
“How are you feeling?” After the explosive end to an already emotional day, Cora had sequestered herself in her old room at Jonathan’s place with Lily and me. She’s curled up on her side, her head resting in my lap, while Lily sits on the floor painting her toenails.
Lily’s already painted Cora’s a soft baby pink and mine a rich royal blue, and now she’s carefully brushing her own toes with a bold red. I run my fingers through Cora’s hair, the repetitive motion soothing. The room has been steeped in comfortable silence, giving her space to process the whirlwind of emotions, but the need to comfort her pushes me to break the stillness.
“Like just as I got a grasp of things, everything got twisted and corrupted into something I can’t comprehend all over again,” Cora murmurs, her voice fragile in a way I’ve never heard in all our years of friendship. One wrong word and she might shatter.
Sharing a look with Lily, I see my concern reflected in her expression. She screws the lid back onto the nail polish and shifts closer, gently taking Cora’s hand in hers.
“You know you have us in your corner, right? No matter what you need or when you need it. All you have to do is ask, and we’ll drop everything to be here for you. No questions asked,” Lily says, her tone soft but firm. She pauses, squeezing Cora’s hand. “But Cora, take away the obvious pain and suffering your mum must have gone through for a second and focus on this:you have her back. Yes, there will be a lot of healing and tough conversations ahead, but you have your mum back.”
The wonder in Lily’s voice seems to pierce through the haze Cora has been in since Cole’s funeral. With a groan, she squeezes Lily’s hand before letting it go and standing, turning to face us.
“I know,” she says, tilting her chin up and straightening her spine. “You’re right. I need to focus on the positive rather than the negative. So how about we go back out there and face this shit head-on?”
In that moment, she looks every inch the heir to the throne she was born to be, and I couldn’t be prouder. Taking Lily’s hand, I pull her up before linking arms with Cora. Together, we head towards the chaos waiting beyond the door.
There’s strength in numbers, after all.
Chapter 40
Ithought the hardest part of today would be laying Cole to rest and enduring the emotional turmoil that would bring. I figured Abigail would need to lean on me, and I was more than prepared to give her whatever strength she needed.
What I wasn’t prepared for was the domino effect Helen’s reappearance—like a ghost from the past—would trigger. Hurt and betrayal lined the girls’ faces as they disappeared upstairs a while ago, leaving me us in an awkward silence. Jonathan and Helen seemed lost in their own world of pain and unspoken questions, while Owen paced restlessly at the bottom of the stairs, glancing up every few seconds as if willing Cora to come back down.
“You ready for the fallout from this mess?” Alex asks, swirling his whiskey and looking more withdrawn than I’ve seen him in a long time.
“Absolutely. If it means we’re one step closer to shutting down that human trafficking ring and getting some answers, I’ll take all the fallout in the world,” I reply firmly.
“Do you think we’ll ever really be done with this, though?” he presses, his tone heavy with doubt. “Sure, we might shut down this ring. We might even kill a few guys and figure out what happened to your mum. But they’re like vipers. Cut off one head, and two more take its place. And even if we get answers about Freya, there’s still Alice.”
The mention of his sister—rarely spoken of these days—hangs in the air between us. I can see how much this is eating at him, and it only makes me angrier. He should know by now that I won’t let him carry this weight alone.
“I doubt it’ll ever really be over,” I admit. “But with the Clan’s resources combined with Four Points’, we’ll get more done faster. And if you think I’d back away once I find out what happened to my mum and leave your sister’s fate a mystery, then you don’t know me at all. I told you I’m all in, and I meant it.”
Some of the tension leaves his shoulders, but I can tell how much this has been weighing on him. Before he can say more, the sound of a door opening draws our attention. We turn towards the stairs to see the girls standing together, a united front. They look every inch the strong, fierce women they are.
As they descend, Abigail locks eyes with me, raising a single eyebrow as she demands, “Care to explain what the hell is going on?”
“How about we leave Cora and her parents to talk things out, and I’ll explain everything I can while we take Lily back to her dorm?” I suggest. There are things Helen and Cora either aren’t ready to hear or that are best coming from Jonathan and Owen. The girls can vent once they’ve had time to process.
“If you think I’m—” Abigail starts, her tone sharp, but Cora cuts her off.
“It’s okay. Go. I’ll see you later,” she says softly, pulling both girls into a hug before gently pushing them towards the lift.
With a nod to Jonathan, I lead the girls towards the car, Alex falling into step beside me. As we leave, I can’t help but think that I don’t envy any of them for the conversation they’re about to have.
