“I thought marrying Lorenzo would be my escape. His family were so welcoming to me. They seemed so nice, I truly thought I’d find some peace there, but now Daire’s ruined it.” A sob escapes from my throat and I can’t hold it back. "The thing that's killing me," I say, my voice scratchy and raw. "Is that I don't know if it's fixable. Even if Lorenzo investigates what Daire’s told him, even if he finds things that don't match what Daire said, the seed is already in there. He looked at me last night like he was seeing something different." I pull back from his embrace and look up at him, my eyes filled with tears. "I hate that his opinion matters this much. I didn't think it would. I thought I'd done such a good job of not letting it."
Daithí doesn't say anything immediately, he just stares at me with those big green eyes of his, which are now filled with pain and anguish. "I'm going to talk to him," he tells me.
I try not to laugh, but I end up smiling at him. It’s a sad one. "You said that yesterday."
"I know, and I mean it, Quinn, after we finish here, I’m going to speak with Lorenzo."
"I know you mean it." I sigh heavily. "But Daithí, what you have is your word against Daire's version, and her version has my name all over the buried evidence that Mam and she planted. He's going to think we’re trying to trick him."
He scrubs his hand against his face. “With Daire getting pregnant with Rurik, he’ll think that our family is playing them. God, this is a cluster fuck and it’s always got Daire at the fucking center of the mayhem. I’m so sorry, Quinn.”
I frown. “Why are you apologizing to me?”
“I was stupid. I was young and all I wanted was being da’s right hand man. That was what I had been groomed for. I always wanted it and I wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of me achieving that. Not even protecting my sister. I failed you. I knew what Daire was like. She’s always been jealous. She hates sharing attention with anyone and when you were born she became bitter and twisted.”
“So she’s always been a bitch?” I say with a nod. “Got it.”
He chuckles lightly. “I wasn't protecting you, and I should have been."
I look at him and I can’t help but wonder why he’s doing this now?
"I'm sorry," he says, pressing a kiss against my forehead. “I should have done something to stop all of this bullshit a fucking long time ago. You deserve so much better than what we have given you.”
My throat goes tight. "You were twenty-two when everything with Orla happened," I say quietly. “You have your own life and you’re doing what you’ve always wanted to do, you don’t owe me an apology.”
"I was old enough to know better." He tells me, his voice hard. "You spent years in that house getting torn apart, and now I’ve come to find out beaten too. I stepped in whenever it was convenient for me, when I knew that the blowback on me was minimal, and I kept quiet when it wasn’t. That’s on me, Quinn. I fucked up and I failed you. That’s why I owe you an apology.”
"Daithí—"
"Let me say it."
I close my mouth, knowing that he won’t stop until he gets this all out.
"You should have been protected," he says. "I'm your brother and that was my job and I didn't do it properly and I'm sorry." He holds my gaze for a second before he glances away. "I'm doing it now. Late, I know. But I'm doing it."
I breathe in through my nose slowly, I can’t let anymore tears fall. I’ve cried too much already.
"Thank you," I say roughly.
"Don't thank me," he says. "Just let me fix it."
“I wish Conn was as understanding as you. I wish he knew the truth but he doesn’t and he hates me.”
“As I said, I’ll fix it and that includes Conn. He’ll be home soon. When he is, it’s time for me, Caden, and Conn to sit down and set some things straight.”
I nod, knowing that it’s not going to do any good. Conn truly believes that I’m the reason that Orla is dead and to the boy who loved her unconditionally, I’ll always be the person who drove her to suicide.
“Come on,” Daithí says. “It’s time. We’ve got a wedding dress to find.”
The boutique is beautiful. Fancy as hell, but beautiful. The owner, Fiona greets us with a warm smile and shakes Daithí's hand without batting an eye. “You must be Miss Quinn, I’m so very honored that you have chosen O’Shaughnessy’s Bridal Boutique for your special day. I’m so very thankful that I'll be the one to help you choose your dress.”
“The honor is all mine,” I reply honestly. “I’ve seen some of your designs online and they’re simply stunning. Thank you so much for letting me have an appointment.”
Fiona beams with pride as she ushers us further inside her store to a private room that has a raised platform in the middle of it, three floor-to-ceiling mirrors positioned in front of it, and a small seating area for guests to sit and watch. Daithí immediately takes a seat, and gives me a big smile as Fiona takes me to the changing room.
“Have you thought about what style of wedding dress you’d like?”
“I’m not very tall but I’d like to have a mermaid style, I think. Something fitted, something modern but also timeless, if that makes sense?”
