I guess he wants the same for me. Fighting for Loch, he says, “Give him a chance. Hear him out. Nadine too. There’s a lot to tell you, but start with him. Let him tell you his side of the story.”
Our story?
I thought it was a fairy tale. Now, it’s a nightmare.
“The wedding’s off,” I announce, sick and resolved. “I’ll hear him out. And Nadine. But there’s no way I’m getting married this Saturday. Not like this.”
Dad makes a stupid joke about the reception he’s paid for. He’ll say anything to try to make me feel better, but it’s not happening.
I just remember Loch, holding me in bed, wondering how he could lie to me for so long.
I gaze at the floor. “What did you mean about Michael… I mean,Axel… fighting with Loch over me?”
I know it wasn’t over love. Axel loves Ruby; oddly, that gives me peace because I don’t love Axel.
But Loch?
Love doesn’t lie.
“As much as I fight with Axel, I’ve always been the closest to him,” Dad explains. “And so, Axel always took a shine to you.”
“A shine?”
No, Dad. That’s not what happened. He took pity.
“He always cared,” Dad rambles. “He’s usually a dick toeveryone but never to you. So, I asked him to be your godfather, and he takes it seriously. He almost beat the shit out of Loch when we found out about you two. Part of me knows he did it so I wouldn’t. And he did it because he couldn’t help himself. He loves you too.”
No, Dad. Axel fulfilled his oath.
I realize now that the moment I told Axel in the deli, I was in love, he knew it was with Loch. So he fought his baby brother, not over me, but to protect Loch from my father’s wrath.
Axel doesn’t love me; he loves his brothers. And he’s in the mafiawithmy father, in a band of brothers. Same as Loch, who did this as a pact with them, not his passion for me.
I’m a liability, not loved. An asset to protect, not a woman you adore.
I’m still that girl at my middle school dance, the one who sat alone, not chosen. My tears won’t stop falling, pain shattering so many memories.
Because Loch will feel so betrayed by Axel. And I know I shouldn’t care; Loch lied to me. Everything’s been a lie, but I can’t hurt Loch. Not like he’s hurt me.
All it took was one person to tell me the truth.
Of course, it was my best friend. Not the men who said they loved me.
And now who will tell Loch about Axel? Who will tell my dad about him?
It should be me, but I feel like I don’t owe anyone anything because I have nothing. My life exploded. My thoughts scattered in the shrapnel. My heart is fighting to survive.
I can’t stop seeing Loch, lying beside me in bed. “I need to talk to him.”
“He’s waiting right outside for you.” Dad begs, “Give him a chance. And please forgive me.”
I raise a silent brow, not knowing what forgiveness looks like. I guess I’ll find it someday, but not now.
“Okay.” Dad cups his hands over mine. “In time. I hope. Just please know, Alena, how much I love you. From the moment I held you in my arms, I knew why men wage wars. I willalwaysfight for you. You’re my greatest gift and the reason I live. So please, try to forgive me one day.”
After we lost Mom, Dad always left a note on a napkin in my lunchbox.We love you, Alena.He kept my mom’s love alive for me because he loves me so much.
I know.
