Page 104 of The Rancher Married the Wrong Sister
“No.”
And so my head jerks up because I just can’t believe he’s stopping me from leaving.
“Why?” I choke out. “I already know the truth—”
“How could you,” he grates out, “when I didn’t even know the truth until this morning?”
I stumble back the moment I realize he’s about to reach for me, but either I’m too slow or he’s too fast—
No.
His hands grip my shoulders, his fingers pressing into my flesh with desperate intensity.
“It’s true...what Jessica said,” he admits in jerky words. “I married you, thinking it would be enough to lure your sister back—”
“Well, now she’s back—”
“But she’s no longer what I want.”
I shake my head. “You’re just guilty—”
“I am guilty,” Gavine acknowledges roughly, “but not about that. I found out something about Jessica early on in our marriage that made me realize she’s never going to come back for you...”
He’s talking about my adoption...
“I realized there was no point keeping you captive. And that’s why I resolved earlier to tell you our marriage was over, and that I was going to let you go.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
“That’s what I asked myself every day...and it was only this morning—”
“When you saw Jessica—”
“No, darling.”
I try pulling away as soon as he cups my face, but he’s not letting go, and it’s making me cry again. “Stop this—”
“If she hadn’t arrived, I would have told you that I finally figured out why I couldn’t let you go—”
“Stop it,” I say brokenly. “Just please stop messing me up—”
Dark eyes lock with mine, and sobs rock my body as he says the words I never thought I’d hear from him.
“And it’s because I’ve fallen in love with you.”
As soon as he says it, something in me...breaks.
And I find myself taking him completely by surprise as I shove past him and run out of the room.
I’m sorry, God, I’m sorry.
I’ve started reading the Bible long enough to know that a broken marriage isn’t what He wants, but I just...I just...
I’m so sorry, Father, for being so weak.
I run as fast as I can, running faster than I’ve ever run, and I can’t even find it in myself to care at the way everyone’s stopped working to stare at me.
The moment I throw the French doors open, nature itself seems to mirror the chaos in my heart. Torrential rain crashes down from the charcoal sky like the very heavens are weeping, transforming the sprawling ranch into a war zone of mud and fury. Wind howls across the open land, bending trees nearly horizontal and turning every raindrop into a stinging missile.
