Page 83 of Severed Rivalry
“Mom wants peace above all. She wants one big happy family and that got irreparably destroyed when everything went down. Maybe before if I really think about it. Either way she can’t rectify our choosing not to be a part of it, and that’s taking a toll.”
“I can understand that. If Renée refused to be in the same room as Rosie, my heart would be shattered.”
“Unless Rosie sacrificed Renée for her own gain,” I growl. It’s what my father did.
“Then there would be nothing worth being in the same room for.”
“Exactly.”
“That sucks. I’m sorry, love. I know that isn’t what you wanted for your family.”
I’m quiet. There are two answers to that question. My brother and sister would never put me in that position, and I would never do that to them. We’re a unit—that’s family.
But secondly, I would never allow such a thing for my wife and children. I would never make them choose between me and them. I would choose their happiness every time. Even when it hurt me, I would choose them.
“The example I got from my dad was loud. And it was exactly what not to do.” It’s as much as I’ll give right now. “I don’t have to be taught it twice.”
“Same with my biological dad. Same with Renée’s.”
“Are you going to tell me about him, Angel?”
She sighs and pauses long enough I want to crawl out of my skin. “I love my girl. She made me a mom and gave me a family. That’s a big deal to me.”
Why do I feel the need to brace with that preface?
“I’ll say this quickly and please don’t interrupt, okay?”
Is this a test? “Mmmhmm.”
“When I got caught and dragged back to South Dakota, I was punished. It wasn’t what I thought was coming.” She pauses.
I’m tempted to prompt her, but I bite my tongue. Literally. I taste blood honoring her request not to interrupt.
“He took what wasn’t given. And I mean he brutally took what I did not give willingly.”
No, the fuck he didn’t! I’ll kill him.
My love.
My angel.
Just days after we…
“And I got pregnant. It took a while to be well enough to escape. But I did. Back to Milwaukee. Renée was born safe from all the stuff I knew.” Her voice drops to a lethal whisper, and I hear a version of her I’ve never known. “And I vow on my life she will stay that way.”
The blood in my mouth is turning sour but I know better than to get sick. I never thought I’d see the day when I’d wish I could vomit safely, but my stomach roils, the acid churning looking for an escape.
“Let’s just say I worry every day about him finding out about her.”
He doesn’t know? “He will have to get through me first.”
And that will never fucking happen.
I’ll peel his skin off his body and pour lemon juice on his exposed flesh before he ever touches my girls. “Wait.” I grind my jaws together knowing that despite the numbness, I’m damaging myself. “You said it wasn’t what you thought was coming. You expected something. Something worth running away from me for. And it wasn’t—” I fight over wording, not wanting to downgrade or highlight what she went through. “Assault. So, then what? Why would you worry about Renée with her father?” The word comes with its own venom.
He doesn’t deserve to be a father. He doesn’t deserve to have a piece of Sariah’s life or history. He doesn’t deserve Renée, and I will kill him if he even tries to get near her. Biology be damned.
She sucks in a breath. “I… uh?—”
