Page 154 of Broken Blades

Wyatt paused. He was leaning against the dresser, arms folded, watching me carefully. "That's not a small thing, sweetheart."

"I know." My voice was steady.

He studied my face. "That's your father."

"And that was his mistress."

Silence stretched between us.

Wyatt exhaled slowly. "You still love him."

I nodded. "But I won't protect what he did."

Something shifted in his expression. Recognition, maybe. Or respect. He pushed off the dresser and crossed to me, kneeling so we were eye level.

"You understand what this means?" His hands settled on my knees. "The merger falls apart. Your mother gets humiliated. Your father's reputation burns."

"I know."

"Your job⁠—"

"I don't care about the job." The words came out firmer than I expected. "I care about the truth."

His thumb traced small circles on my skin. "The truth destroys things."

"Good." I met his eyes. "Some things deserve to be destroyed."

He searched my face for a long moment. "This isn't about revenge for you, is it?"

I shook my head slowly.

"Then what is it?"

I thought about my mother's broken laugh. The way she'd stood in that ballroom pretending everything was fine while the woman who'd slept with her husband smiled across the room.

I thought about Wyatt's scarred hands and the way he'd carried shame that was never his to carry.

I thought about all the lies that had built this pretty, polished world I'd grown up in.

"It's about not being complicit anymore."

Wyatt's jaw worked. "Your father will fight back."

"Let him."

"Barbara will make it ugly."

"I'm ready."

He cupped my face, tilting it up. "You're sure?"

I leaned into his touch. "The only thing I'm sure of is you."

His eyes darkened. "Then we do this together."

"Together," I repeated.

He kissed me—not with heat this time, but with something deeper. A promise sealed with lips and breath and the understanding that we were about to walk into fire.