I shake my head. "It's not a joke. I'm in love with your sister."
Ruby clears her throat. "Willow? Is this true?"
Willow looks at me in question.
"It's okay. Tell them," I push.
She swallows hard, then looks at Ruby. She nods, confirming, "Yes. It started when I was fifteen. But it's in the past."
"It's not," I insist.
She looks at me, and her lip quivers.
A thick silence blankets the room. No one moves. The Christmas tree twinkles behind us, completely out of place in the emotional wreckage of Willow's and my life.
Jacob finally speaks up. "You hid this from us for years? Went behind our backs and lied to our faces?"
I lift my chin and tug Willow close to me. "It's my fault, sir. I should have come clean back then. Don't blame Willow."
"Damn right, I'm not blaming her," he snarls, his gaze burning with anger and betrayal.
My stomach drops, but I don't flinch. "I know it was wrong to hide it from you."
Willow blurts out, "It wasn't just Wyatt's fault. I lied too."
"He was older than you," Jacob states, standing slowly and towering over the room while pinning me with a look so sharp, I have to force myself not to stagger.
"Dad, it's not all his fault," Willow repeats.
"You loved her?" he questions.
"I still do," I answer.
"And you left her." He says it as a statement, not a question.
"I did." I don't try to excuse it. The facts are the facts with Jacob.
Jacob turns to Willow. "And you took him back?"
Her throat bobs. "I didn't."
Hurt stabs me in the chest. I look at her. "Don't lie anymore, Willow."
Jacob walks toward us. "Do you love him?"
Willow's eyes glass over. Her shoulders stiffen, and for a second, I don't think she's going to answer.
When she does, it's barely above a whisper. "Yes."
That one word is both a balm and a bomb. Because before anyone else reacts, I hear boots pounding across the wood.
Jagger barrels toward me. "You son of a bitch!" His fist cracks against my jaw.
Someone screams.
My head snaps to the side, and stars burst behind my eyelids. I stumble backward, slamming into the wall.
He lands another punch before I can recover. Blood spurts everywhere, and pain radiates down my neck and jaw. But I don't try to defend myself. I deserve every blow he wants to give me.
