“That’s why things shifted so soon after the wedding. He’d officially trapped you.”
She nods.
“Stop looking like you’re to blame, Ally. I made you believe I was happy. I knew what I was doing.”
I groan, looking to the ceiling. “Why you? Why not all those women who threw themselves at him?”
Her head falls forward and shakes back and forth. “It wasn’t me Richard wanted. It had everything to do with who my stepfather was. He wanted access to Gary and his contacts.”
My heart shatters into a million pieces for my best friend. To know that all these years she’s worked to help others, while she needed saving just as badly.
No matter what she says, I let her down.
We all did.
“He threatened to expose my secrets.” She huffs a humorless laugh. “I didn’t realize it at that time, but he didn’t know anything. It was all a ruse. Smoke and mirrors.”
Richard Dunbar is a predator. One I hope Nick can put away for a very long time.
I bite my bottom lip, wading through all the information she’s shared.
“Why didn’t you ensure he actually knew something?” I ask, knowing Nina is smarter than that.
“Because it didn’t matter. He had the resources to make good on the threat. I feared what lengths he’d go to.” She clears her throat, swiping away a tear. “I didn’t know he was capable of murder, but I did know he’d do unspeakable things to get what he wanted.”
“You agreed to marry him to protect your son and to keep Ian’s identity a secret.” It’s not a question. I know Nina, and it’s the sort of thing that she’d do.
She’ll sacrifice herself for those she loves every time.
“I told him I’d play the doting wife as long as he promised to stop digging around.”
My fingers flex as I try to tamp down the rising anger, but it’s no use. “I hate him.”
Nina sighs. “I know. Me too.”
Her eyes close, and I watch as her chin trembles and hands shake.
I take a deep breath and sink to my knees, making my way toward Nina. Grabbing her hands in mine, I squeeze.
“What I’m about to say, I say with all the love in my heart…”
She opens her eyes and pulls her mouth to one side of her face.
“You need to seek a very good therapist.”
To my horror, she bursts out laughing. Her chest shakes with the force of the manic outburst, and I’m not sure what to do.
Right now, she appears on the verge of a major crisis, and I’m ill-equipped to help her. I do the only thing I can think to do, pulling her into my chest and holding her close. Her cachinnation turns to sobs, and I clutch her tighter, allowing her whatever time she needs to grieve.
Minutes go by as she weeps in my arms. When she stops shaking and pulls away, I grab a tissue from the table next to me and hand it over. She blows her nose in the most unladylike fashion, entirely unlike Nina, but that’s good. Based on everything she’s said, who is the real Nina? Maybe her façade is slipping, and we’ll get to see a glimpse of the girl that’s remained hidden all these years.
It appears her family and then Richard dictated what the world got to see of her. Yet one more truth that’s utterly tragic.
When she’s composed, I broach the subject again. “I know you might not want to hear this, but after everything you’ve been through, talking to a professional is necessary. You know this, considering your profession.”
She nods. “Even therapists need the reminder,” she says, offering a small smile. “There’s just so much trauma to dig through.”
“And that’s exactly why you’re going to find the best of the best. This runs so much deeper than Richard, Nins. Surely, when you think on it, you see the parallels between the life you’ve lived and the life that was modeled to you by your mother.”
