Vanessa could tell Cindy’s response shocked Karl. His eyes narrowed and his hands were on his hips, hiking his shoulders up around his red ears.
“Cindy, please!”
“My sister told you to leave. You’ve got three seconds to get off my property or I’m going to arrest you for trespassing.”
Karl turned toward Vanessa, his tight features seething with anger. “You did this. You’ve ruined my life again. Are you happy?”
Vanessa shrugged, finally seeing him as the tiny, insecure person he’d always been. She realized Karl was simply a bully who picked on people he thought were easy marks.
“Am I happy about hurting Cindy? Not in the least.” She smiled, cocking her head to the side. “Am I happy about stopping a self-serving abuser from destroying another unsuspecting woman whose only crime is loving you?” She folded her arms and smiled. “You’re goddamn right.”
She could see his jaw tightening. He wanted to say something, probably wanted to do a lot more than toss insults at her. He was beaten, though. Everyone standing in that room knew he’d lost his advantage, him more than anyone else. In light of his defeat, he stepped away from Michael and walked backward until he was at the back door, opening it and quickly stepping through.
When he left, all three people in the room let out a collective sigh. Regrettably, as soon as Vanessa saw Cindy’s face, she knew there wasn’t any cause for celebration.
Her eyes were red and her face was contorting into a pained expression, and as Vanessa watched, another piece of her was torn away.
“You’ve ruined my life, Michael.”
Michael’s gaze collided with his sister’s. Of all the things he’d expected her to say—“Thank you for saving me,” for instance—being accused of ruining her life, that came from left field.
“Excuse me? Cindy, what are you talking about?”
“You couldn’t just let me do one thing on my own. You had to take it away from me. When am I going to get a say in my own life?”
Michael was torn between compassion for her pain and anger at her ignorance and ingratitude.
“Cindy, I understand you’re upset. I just need you to realize I did it to help you. That man would’ve destroyed you. Did you really expect me to just stand by and let that happen?”
“I expected you to let me make my own decisions. I didn’t need you to go to the extreme of bringing his ex-wife here. Why can’t you just trust me to know what’s best for me?”
“When you’re acting like an immature child, how do you expect me to trust you to know what’s best for yourself?”
Cindy threw up her hands and let out a frustrated scream. “Oh, God, it’s my life. Good or bad, let me make my own decisions. Stop managing my life, Michael. Leave me alone!”
Before he could respond, she blew past him, out the kitchen door, and when he attempted to follow her into the living room, Vanessa stood in his way.
“Let her go.”
“Has everyone lost their goddamn minds tonight? What do you mean, let her go?”
“Michael.” She called his name with a calm, even tone, as she placed a hand on his chest and moved in closer to him. “She’s hurting. She’s angry, and lashing out. You cannot take anything she says right now personally. Give her a minute to cool off. Let her process this on her own.”
“But she’s—”
“Your baby sister and you just want to fix everything for her, right?”
Her words deflated his anger, and his shoulders dropped in defeat. She had him dead to rights and even though he didn’t want to admit it, out of the two of them, she was the only one thinking clearly in this room.
“You absolutely did the right thing by bringing the truth to her, but you can’t ask her to be grateful for your interference right now. She’s hurt, she’s upset, and the only person she can lash out at is you. Let her process this however she needs to. When she’s ready, she’ll come around.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing herself closer to him. When she was this near, he couldn’t help his response. He encircled her in his arms and rested his head on her shoulder. His sister had the broken heart, yet he was the one who felt like someone had run him over with a truck. He needed this reprieve.
“I’m an asshole.”
“You’re a protective brother who loves his sister. I wish I’d had someone like you looking out for me back then. Maybe I wouldn’t have ended up with a man like Karl if I had.” She ran her fingers through his hair, her touch both soothing and exciting.
“On the other hand,” she continued. “If I hadn’t gone through what I had with Karl, I never would’ve met the two best friends a woman could have, and I certainly wouldn’t have met you. And honestly, I think maybe both those things are worth going through that experience.”
