Page 93 of The Marriage Mistake

There was an argument happening two floors below. Jack’s voice boomed through the house, the words muffled. Darby’s was shrill and angry.

Sleep made my thoughts hazy as I struggled to claw myself to wakefulness. For a moment, I froze. My body remembered my father’s rage. The cruel things he’d shout at me when I’d disappointed him by simply being myself. The way he’d made me feel small. Like I would forever be a burden to him—to everyone.

Then I woke fully, and I told myself that he was dead. He couldn’t hurt me anymore. I forced myself to swing my legs off the bed. My whole body ached from yesterday’s action, but I still crept to my bedroom door and cracked it open.

“I said no, Darby.”

“Dad! It’s not fair!”

“Life isn’t fair,” he snarled. “Deal with it. I need to go to work.”

The door slammed, and I heard a sob.

Oh my god.

We were back at the house. We’d picked Darby up from Gideon’s apartment last night and come here. Jack had asked me if I minded hanging out with Darby this morning since he had to do some work for the whole Blanchard/Spider/Reaper mess, and of course I’d said I was happy to. We still didn’t know who had paid Spider to target Jack and his company, and this wouldn’t be over until we found out. Looking after Darby was an easy way for me to help. I loved spending time with her…but I hadn’t thought it would start like this.

Wrapping a robe around myself, I hurried downstairs. I peeked in the living room, glancing at the plywood covering the window opening, and didn’t see her. Finally, I found Darby curled in a dining chair, her face in her hands. Her body shook with sobs.

For a second, I was disgusted with Jack. Then I went to Darby.

“Hey,” I said, dragging another chair next to hers. “Hey, what’s going on?”

“He won’t let me go to Vikki’s party,” she wailed. “He wants me to play that stupid recital.”

“Oh,” I said, wrapping my arms around her trembling body. “Oh, Darby.”

“I hate playing piano! I hate it.” She threw herself at me and sobbed on my shoulder, her arms clinging to me like I was the only thing keeping her from falling apart completely. My heart shattered for her.

It was terrible timing. Jack was under so much pressure, and I could understand him dismissing Darby’s concerns. Yes, it was just her friend’s birthday party, and in the grand scheme of things, missing it wasn’t the worst thing that could or would happen in her life. But she was a thirteen-year-old girl, and this was her world. Missing the party was a huge deal, especially when the reason she was missing it was a recital for an instrument she hated playing.

I remembered being made to feel small and powerless. I remembered feeling like my life was meaningless and my desires weren’t worth considering.

Jack didn’t berate and insult his daughter the way my father had done to me—he didn’t torment her and shatter her spirit the way I’d endured—but with this, he’d hurt her deeply. I wondered if he realized. I wondered if, once the dust settled, he’d try to repair this rupture, or if he’d just push her aside once again.

Darby straightened and wiped her cheeks. She looked miserable. Like her little heart was crushed to a pulp.

The only thing that helped me when I felt like that was either working or eating something delicious. I didn’t think Darby would find it funny if I suggested she do her algebra homework, so I said, “You want to go get a hot chocolate at Knead More Bread?”

She blinked at me with big, glassy eyes. “We’re not allowed to go in there because Caroline hates my uncle Knox.”

I smiled. “We’re allowed now.”

Her brows arched. “Really? Why?”

I squeezed her shoulders. “Because I’m really, really good at trivia.”

Knead More Bread smelled like sugar, fresh bread, and coffee. It was heaven in an aroma. My shoulders softened, and some of the stress from yesterday finally began to leak out of me. Darby looked around with big eyes, like we were entering a dreamland. Caroline stood behind the espresso machine, and she glanced up from the jug of milk in her hands to smile at us.

“Morning,” she said. Her eyes slid to Darby. “Hey, girl.”

Darby stood straighter and glared at her, all teenage bravado. “Ember says we’re allowed in here because she’s really good at trivia.”

Caroline laughed, and it transformed her from intimidating to magnetic. I couldn’t help but smile in response, arching my brows at my new friend. Caroline rolled her eyes, but she was clearly still amused. “Fine, fine,” she grumbled. “You do one good deed for a woman who likes matcha and now the whole place is overrun with Marses.”

I wasn’t exactly sure what the matcha comment was about, but I thought it might have to do with Gideon and Sadie. They were the only Marses who were exempt from Caroline’s ban. Well, they used to be the only ones. Now there was me and Darby.

“They grow on you,” I said, thinking of the way my feelings for Jack and Darby had ballooned over the past month.