Page 66 of Karma
But one hit wouldn’t be enough. Not after everything I’ve done. I deserve more than I’ll ever be punished with, and that’s not fair.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Griffin’s Beach
Zane
Walking into the cemetery, Zane pauses and lets out a shaky breath before moving to stand before his mother’s grave. It’s been years since he last visited her, but he hasn’t been able to get her off his mind since Lane died.
“Hey, Mom,” he says and bends down to rest his hand on the cool stone. “It’s been a while since I stopped by. I’m sorry about that. Turns out, I’ve been pretty angry with you for a long time… I just never realized it.”
A branch breaks from behind him, and he turns to see Lex’s mom walking away. The last person he expected to see at his mom’s grave was the woman his father moved on with, and he has conflicting feelings about it.
“Emma?”
“I’m leaving,” Emma James says without turning around.
He runs up to her and stares at the two bouquets of flowers in her hand and with confusion. “What are you doing here?”
“Your mother’s birthday is tomorrow,” she says, backing away to put distance between them. “I put flowers on her grave every year. If I wasn’t in town, I had them delivered. And the other is for Lane.”
Blinking, he stares at the flowers. Yellow roses and daisies were his mother’s favorites. And Lane loved lilies. “You remember their favorite flowers?”
“Whether you want to believe it or not, Zane, Maggie and I were friends. I would’ve given up what I had with your father if she could have just beaten the cancer.”
Tears sting his eyes. “How did you and VP end up together? The time overlaps, and… That’s what’s hard for me to wrap my head around.”
“Your mom pushed it,” she says. “I was attracted to Nash almost immediately, but I would never have betrayed my friendship with your mom. She was a very special woman. She approached us and convinced us. She didn’t want you two to be alone.”
Swallowing, he tries to process this. “She wanted you together before she died?”
“She asked me to take care of you both when she was gone. I tried to keep that promise, but…”
“I didn’t let you,” he says when she trails off and closes his eyes. Opening them, he sighs. “I made it impossible.”
She hands him the flowers for his mother. “I loved her. Watching her die like she did was painful for all of us. I wish it didn’t happen. I can only imagine how devastating it was for you.”
“It’s hard to think that it may not have been the cancer that killed her.”
“What?”
Frowning, Zane studies her face. Emma should know this, shouldn’t she? “Didn’t VP tell you?”
“I haven’t talked to your father since the wed—”
“Wait, you didn’t get married after I left?”
Emma looks at the ground and shakes her head. “I couldn’t do it.”
“Emma, I’m sorry. I was in a bad place and living on alcohol. It made everything so much worse, and I had no right—”
“It was more than that. Your father isn’t the man I thought he was.”
Sniffling, he runs a hand over his face. “What do you mean?”
“It became clear that he has always and will always turn a blind eye to… to the way you treat Lex. I understand why you hate me. It wasn’t going to change how much I loved you, but I always thought he at least saw what you did to your sister. Whether he did anything or not, that was a separate situation.”
“I don’t understand.”
