Page 4 of Cherished Union

Her lip trembles. “I never wanted that to happen.”

I don’t buy the woe is me act she’s putting on. She’s known for years that her bullshit reflects on Hayes, and because she’s a drama queen, everyone watched the shit play out. Making Hayes look like a fucking idiot who couldn’t control his wife.

“But you never stopped your shit. Constantly berating our ma, always flipping the fuck out whenever Granny Margret questioned about the kids.”

The tears fall from her eyes. “Fuck you,” she hisses, and I smile. Yeah, this is the Annemarie I know. “You think you’ve got it all figured out? Hmm? You have no fucking idea what I’ve been through, what your brother has gone through. Your grandmother is an old coot and would ask me about when I’m having more children when she knew I had just miscarried. Three times the bitch did it. Three times she made comments about how I should count my lucky stars because I’m unfit to be a mother and that it’s God’s way of telling me I’m not good enough to have children.”

I stare at her in shock. What in the actual fuck?

“Your grandmother and mother have been on my case since Jill was born, wanting more grandchildren. I’m fucking trying, Hayden, but seven miscarriages in the space of eight years fucking hurts. So fuck the lot of you for being assholes.” She spins on her heels and goes to walk away.

My hand clamps around her wrist and I pull her to a stop. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

She laughs. “I’m already useless in the eyes of this family. Why would I give you any more ammunition? The only person who ever gave a fuck was Jade. She didn’t like me, but she never treated me like I was beneath her.”

This time when she walks away, I let her.

We fucked up with her. Had we known what she was going through, we’d never have pushed her aside. We should have fucking helped them. Climbing into my car, I call my brother, asking him to meet me. We've got shit to discuss, and I want to know why he never told me.

“You made my wife cry,” Hayes growls as he climbs into the car. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

My brother is nine years older than me. We’re close, just as I am with Jade, who’s six years younger than me. He’s just as vicious as I am; a little less psychotic, but much smarter. He has the brains to do whatever the fuck he wants.

“I didn’t mean to. Christ, Hayes, why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”

He glares at me as I put the vehicle into drive. “Tell you what? That I was utterly helpless as my wife lost our babies, that nothing I said would comfort her. What would you have done? You fucking hate her.”

“Hate is a little far—"

He shakes his head. “She came home and was sobbing, telling me that she needs to apologize to you, because she upset you.”

Christ, what the hell? How badly have I gotten that woman wrong?

“I told her that you’re an ass and to not worry about it, but she’s fretting that you’ll start hating her again.”

“I don’t fucking hate her,” I grunt, my hands tightening on the steering wheel.

He laughs. “I know that. Look, we’ve all made mistakes, and Annemarie is done paying for hers.” His tone brooks no arguments. “Especially now that she’s pregnant again,” he tells me without emotion. I turn to look at him and see the fear flickering in his eyes. They’re not getting excited about this, not with everything that’s happened with the previous pregnancies. “Don’t tell Ma, yeah? I can’t deal with that shit again.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t say a word. But I’m happy for you, brother,” I tell him genuinely. He’s an amazing father.

“Thanks. Now, want to tell me why we’re heading to The Cage?”

I don’t answer him. The Cage is an underground fight club that both Jade and I are undefeated in. Although, it’s been five years since Jade’s had a fight. I, on the other hand, fight whenever the hell I need to release the anger, and since she went to prison, that’s been a hell of a lot.

“I blamed you,” he tells me. “I hated that she took the blame for you, fucking despised that you let her take the fall and she had to endure that. But something I’ve realized since she’s been released is just how much you hate yourself for it. Nothing that anyone will ever say will make you feel any different than what you do. But what happened to her wasn’t on you. It’s on those cunts who put their hands on her.”

“She would never have been inside if I hadn’t let her take the fucking blame.”

“You going to prison was never an option,” he grinds out. “If you got arrested, you’d have been charged with murder. They’d have thrown the fucking book at you, Hayden. They would have set an example with you. Not to mention how many fuckers inside that would have been vying for your blood.”

I slice him a look. “You think I give a fuck about any of that?”

He shakes his head. “No, I know you don’t, just as I wouldn’t. But Jade, she’d feel the guilt of not doing something.”

“You try living with the guilt that you’re the reason your sister was raped,” I hiss at him. “Knowing that because of you, she’s been defiled.”

His silence spreads between us. Yeah, there’s nothing he can say. I fucked up, and my sister—my best friend—got assaulted.

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