Hot tears are the only warmth in my body, frozen in shock.
Gentle hands pull my hair back.
“I’ve got you. We’ll get through this,” Meg murmurs, her hand moving in firm, steady circles on my back.
“We will,” I agree. “I swear I’m not going back to that space.” My voice hitches. “It feels like it never ends. I know I should have said no. Been willing to fail…”
“Bullshit.”
The voice isn’t Meg’s. It’s Remy’s.
“You are not the problem in this situation. You got caught between ambition and ego. None of that is on you.”
“I know, I know,” I murmur into my arm. “It’s just… it’s too much. And I don’t understand why me. I know that sounds whiny.”
“Fuck that,” Meg cuts in. “It’s not fair. It’s not right. But we know what’s happening now. We can fix it. We can fix them.”
I lift my head and turn to look at her. “It’s not their fault either.”
“Again I say, bullshit,” Remy says flatly.
“Did she marry a shitbag? Yes. Did she eventually figure it out? Yes. Did she bully women who had already been victimized? Also yes. She is not innocent. And unfortunately, it appears her children have absorbed her bitterness.”
Chapter one hundred twenty-two
Remy
She looks so small, curled around the toilet. Meg is anchoring her. Fierce. Loyal. I am grateful Christianna has had her. She stayed, even when she was shunned.
We have come so far.
The steady, rhythmic tapping of a cane draws my attention.
Madame reaches me and places a hand on my arm, firmly guiding me aside.
“My dear, you will put a cool cloth on your eyes and gather yourself. You have worked tirelessly to accept that you are not to blame. Tonight’s news changes nothing. It provides clarity. We will give you five minutes to compose yourself and return.”
I move to go back to Tianna, but she presses a hand to my chest.
“Give her this moment. She does not want you to see her brought low by this. She wants you to see how she has overcome it.”
I study her. Kind, but resolute. Firm. Unwavering.
Slowly, I nod and follow her back.
Erik is already demanding they move forward with the intel.
I sigh and step forward.
Chapter one hundred twenty-three
Christianna
We take Mama’s advice, using the time to compose myself and hear out Meg’s idea on how to handle this.
My hands still tremble slightly as we step back into the room.
Remy is pacing. Erik’s angry piano carries from down the hall. The security team murmurs in low voices near the door.
