Page 93 of Sweetest Revenge

“So yes, I used the money so people wouldn’t know how poor we were,” she said. “They saw just how he ruined everyone else’s lives, but I still… I still wanted to come out on top, even if it was a lie. Because sometimes… Sometimes I thought they were right. If I hadn’t been with him, if my parents hadn’t tried all they could to clean up our image by marrying me off to him when they were still alive… maybe it wouldn’t have gotten so bad, you know?”

She blamed herself for it.

All this time, while I had been simmering in my misplaced anger, Mother had been killing herself from the inside out with all the guilt she’d been stockpiling.

This time when I reached forward, she let me take her hand.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I whispered.

“Because you loved him,” she said, letting the tears fall. “And I couldn’t ruin that for you. Not after we ruined everything else. I know we were shitty parents, Addi. I’m sorry I couldn’t be a good mom to you. I just never knew how. The least I could give you was this.”

Her confession was like a knife to the chest.

It all comes back to me. And I never even noticed her struggle.

I squeezed her hand.

“I have it covered. You don’t have to worry about a thing, okay, Mom?”

Her tears flowed more heavily.

“I’m sorry, baby,” she said and shakily brought her hand to my hair. “I’ve put you in a tough spot.”

The knot in my throat grew.

“No more of this. None of this was your fault. We can’t keep thinking that way. Just focus on getting better,” I said. “And when you get out, we’ll start a new life together. Get you the help you need, okay?”

She nodded but said nothing else.

That was fine by me.

I had all I needed.

33

WARREN

“I don’t really think that’s how this works, but… that girl has been through so much. I’ll see what I can do,” the doctor said. He was kind and obviously worried about Addison by how he was constantly outside the door, waiting for her to come out.

“What did you say your name was?”

“Warren King,” I replied, taking out my wallet to hand him my card. His eyes widened when he caught sight of the Black Silk Auction logo.

His gaze shot back up to mine, insinuating. It wasn’t hard to make the connection between Addi and me.

“Are you… Did she…?”

“Even if she did, we pride ourselves on confidentiality, so I wouldn’t tell you.”

There was nothing wrong or shameful in what she did—what we did—but I knew she wouldn’t want everyone knowing.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed.

“Okay…”

Meaning he didn’t want to say anything that would cause some sort of conflict.

He was a good man. I was glad that Addi had him as a doctor.

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