“He didn’t fight for you,” Billy says, spitting the words in my face. “He let me have you.” He leaves, slamming the door behind him.
I lean against the wall and wipe my hands over my face. I’m shaking.
Jimmy stands in front of me, one trembling hand on my shoulder. “Flynn?”
I look up into his fearful eyes. “Is it true?”
Jimmy’s chin trembles. “Kind of.” He gestures to the sitting room. “We’d be more comfortable in there.” His eyes are filling with tears.
I shake my head.
Jimmy blows out a breath and backsteps until his back hits the wall. He sinks to the floor, his arms looped around his raised knees. “Yes, I fancied you. Yes, Billy knew. And he turned it into a competition, and I—I couldn’t do that to you, Flynn. You didn’t deserve to be some prize. So I backed off. I thought Billy would lose interest in you the moment he realised I wasn’t willing to play his game, but he didn’t. And then you got together, and you seemed happy. You loved him. You married him.”
“And that’s why you left?” I whisper.
Jimmy nods. “Yes. It wasn’t your fault; it was Billy’s. I hated him for using you as a playing piece in a game. And mine. I was jealous. Do you hate me?”
“Hate you?”
He nods.
I crawl across to him and hug him. “I’m feeling a lot of things, but I don’t hate you.” I press my face against his knees. “My entire relationship with Billy was a lie.”
Jimmy rubs my back. “I’m sorry.”
I look up. “I loved him.”
“I know.”
“But he only wanted me because you did. Why?” I’m sobbing uncontrollably now.
Jimmy lowers his legs and pulls me into his arms and onto his lap. He cradles me and kisses my hair, crying himself. “I should have told you.”
“I was a kid. I’m not sure I’d have listened. I’d have thought you were trying to come between us. That’s how Billy would have spun it. Why? Why did he say all that stuff? What could he have to gain from hurting us like that?”
“My guess? He wanted to tear us apart.”
“Why? He doesn’t want me anymore. He was never satisfied with me. I was never enough for him. He broke up with me.”
Jimmy puts his fingers under my chin and tilts my face up so he can kiss me on the lips. “You are enough, Flynn. I love you.”
I stroke his face. “I love you, too. Your brother is an arsehole.”
He chokes out a laugh. “Yeah, he is.”
“Why did it take me so long to realise that?”
Because I was young and Billy trapped me in his narcissistic web. I didn’t see how one-sided andunhealthy our relationship was until Angus opened my eyes.
“I just don’t get it,” I whisper. “He must have realised his revelation made him look worse than you?”
Jimmy shrugs. “He wants to be the hero of his own story. I think he believes what he said will make you hateme, not him.Ididn’t fight foryou, remember?”
I nod. “Thank you for not playing his games.”
Jimmy sighs. “Did I do the right thing? If I’d have known?—”
I put my fingers over his lips. “You didn’t know what kind of boyfriend or husband he'd be. You had no way of knowing we’d stay together so long. He manipulated us both, Jimmy. In different ways, and at different times. It’s who he is.”
