It was needed.
While everyone thought he didn’t know what was going on, Michael was smart. He was a watcher, and he knew when the vibe around him was off.
Oh, and it wasWAYoff.
He was Saint Michael of the martyrdom, apparently, and he did one thing in his downtime.
He watched the news when no one knew, and he saw the bruhaha that was going on back in DC.
On top of that, he had access to the security cameras, and knew when Riley showed up at the gate, or when he had flowers delivered.
He just pretended not to know since that made his life so much easier.
Better.
Ignorance, in this case, was bliss.
No one had ever given him flowers before, and while he appreciated the sentiment, once burned, twice shy.
Michael wouldn’t trust again.
He couldn’t.
Riley was dead to him, and that would never change. There was no road to redemption back to him.
None.
At.
All.
His betrayal threatened his family connections, and to Michael, that was unacceptable.
He could spend the rest of his life alone, but he couldn’t lose his family.
That would be a fate worse than death.
Now, all he wanted to do was heal, rebuild the strength in his arm, and hide until his heart was better. It was going to be baby steps from here on out.
Without.
A.
Doubt.
When would that healing be complete?
Well, that was anyone’s guess. To be honest, Michael had no clue if he would survive this.
Graham had betrayed him by not trusting in him, but Riley…he’d tried to cause irreparable harm to the people he loved, and his family.
His ability to trust was shot to shit. It would take a miracle and a whole hell of a lot of proof for him to fall down the relationship rabbit hole again.
Bet on it.
His life posed one question.
Why the hell couldn’t he find a decent guy who wouldn’t break his heart?
