Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 45194 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45194 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
I protected my brothers, and sometimes Honor, but I never realized I needed to protect Victoria, too.
So now what? Have I screwed everything up? All my anger, all my hate, all my loneliness, and what do I have left to show for it? Failure and enough scars, inside and out, for a lifetime?
"I'm sorry."
Nate's eyes widen, and Lyle snaps his head in my direction. They've probably never even heard me say the words before, and I don't make a habit of doing anything I feel sorry for, but this time I am. I have to be.
Honor nods faintly, but her expression doesn't change. "For what?" she asks. Those beautiful blue eyes never leave me, as if everything hinges on my answer.
There are so many things to be sorry for. How many of them will she accept?
"I'm sorry for not protecting you and Victoria. For not stopping him." I shake my head and look aside. It sounds weak, even to my own ears. "I didn't know."
"Kylian." Her soft voice tastes my name, trying it out like it's a strange new flavor. Her breath hitches. "You were a child. We both were."
"But I protected them," I snap and gesture at Nate and Lyle. "I had a fucking duty, and I did it. But I failed you."
"Ky..." Lyle's tone is heavy with regret. "It was never your duty. We should've stood with you. We were just..." He trails off, not wanting to admit it.
"Scared. I know. We all were." With a sigh, I look back down at the picture. Victoria. For the first time in a long time, I can think of her without getting angry. Without feeling the resentment and loss that swept over me the day I realized she left.
Then I look up at Honor. She carries marks too, even if they're not on the surface. I can see her resemblance to Victoria, not just in the proud jut of her jaw or the rounded shape of her eyes, but also in the lines of pain on her features, in the worry wrinkle on her forehead as she watches me. With a look of concern that I don't deserve.
All this time, I wanted to think she wasn't good enough for us, but now I'm not so sure I'm good enough for her. What kind of man have I been, lashing out with the rage of a child, inflicting physical and emotional pain to bandage my own hurt? I’m ashamed.
"I'm sorry for judging you. For judging Victoria. I always thought... fuck, I thought a lot of things, but I obviously didn't understand." She's undone me. Me, who's always in control. Me who’s always calling the shots. And now I'm the one who has fucked it all up. "And even after I hurt you, you came back to explain, to try to save me. This isn't how this was supposed to go."
"Fate gave us a second chance. All of us." She looks to the others, and a tiny smile curves her full lips. That someone so beautiful and loving could emerge from living at Montgomery House under my father’s thumb is incomprehensible. "I couldn't allow you to waste it. Any of you. Any of us."
Nate wets his lips as he looks between us. "You came back for us. For all of us? Is that really what you want after all this?" Even I can't miss the hope in his voice. "What's that going to look like? Do we live together? Do we keep going to the club? How will we—"
Honor stops him with a finger on his lips. "You're thinking too much. I've come here; I've laid myself bare. You know everything now. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect my buyers to be you three, but now I'm so glad. No matter where we go from here, we do so knowing the whole story. But I've come to love you all—again—and I don't want to leave you if I don't have to. Once was enough."
Everyone turns to look at me. It's natural. She's already got Nate and Lyle wrapped around her pinkie. The question is if there's room for me too and if I want there to be.
"Are you sure this is what you want? I've treated you like shit. Fuck, now that I think about how we treated you at the club. I lashed out with my anger and regret, and you took it all. Do you really want me?" My fists clench. I could have hurt her. What if I actually did?
The last thing I expect is for her to come up to me and wrap her arms around my torso and press her cheek to my chest. It takes a couple of surprised moments before I awkwardly return the embrace.
"You know I loved it," she murmurs, squeezing me harder. "You're sexy when you're putting on your Mr. Scary act. You better not stop that just because you're sorry. Now you can do it to me in your bed, instead of at Club Scarlet."