Page 46 of Vows in Name Only
He didn’t contradict her, which proved her wrong. Shecouldhurt worse.
“I’ve been down this road before, Cain. I’ll put it in terms you might understand better. I’ve invested all of myself into a man I loved who couldn’t give me the same in return. I’d rather be alone, giving one hundred percent to myself, than receiving fifty from someone else. I’m worth one hundred. I deserve it.”
She stared at him for a moment longer, soaked in every feature of his beautiful, hard face because it might be the last time. Then she turned and left.
Without looking back.
Seventeen
Ahard rap reverberated on the study door, but before he could growl for Ben to go away, the door swung open. Kenan and Achilles strode in.
Dammit.
Cain ground his teeth together and he leaned back in his office chair, not uttering a word as the two men approached the desk. It’d been three days since he’d been to the office—three days since his confrontation with Gregory Cole and Devon.
Devon.
Jesus, just the echo of her name in his head had him wanting to reach for the bottle of Scotch. Drinking himself into oblivion had temporarily helped him forget the dagger-sharp agony Devon’s words had sliced into him. But he could only down so much liquor. And after he’d crawled into the shower and dressed the next morning, he’d locked himself in the study, replacing Scotch with work. He could’ve gone in to the office—it would’ve made sense to escape the scene of the crime, so to speak. Call it punishment, but he remained in here, where the echoes of her remained to torment him, castigate him for the wrongs he’d committed.
I’ve been down this road before, Cain... I’ve invested all of myself into a man I loved who couldn’t give me the same in return.
He briefly squeezed his eyes shut, but the action couldn’t purge the impassioned statement from his head. He’d been analyzing it over and over like there was a puzzle buried in those words. She’d obviously been hurt before but could she possibly love...?
He shook his head. No, she didn’t. And there was no point in even considering it.
“So this is where you’ve been hiding yourself,” Kenan said, dropping into one of the visitors chairs in front of his desk. Achilles took up his post across from them, propping a shoulder against the wall. “We were trying to be patient and give you time to get over your Heathcliff impersonation, but apparently, you need a kick in the ass.”
Cain snorted. “Heathcliff?”
“What?” Kenan shrugged. “I read.”
“You look like shit,” Achilles rumbled, and the blunt assessment had Cain’s spine snapping straight.
“I didn’t ask either of you for your opinion or to come over here. What do you want? Shouldn’t you be at work?” he growled.
Kenan arched an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you? I thought you’d be too worried to leave the bastard Farrells at the office without your careful supervision.” He tsked. “Falling down on the job, Cain.”
“Are you trying to piss me off? Because it’s working,” Cain said, not bothering to keep the menace out of his voice.
“Good,” Achilles grunted. “Then maybe you can get that stick out of your ass about every-fucking-thing and stop treating us like the enemy. We want to be here as much as you want us here.”
“I doubt that,” Cain snapped. “You two think you’re doing me a favor by staying here, because you have to give up a year of your life? Try thirty-two. Thirty-two years of hell living, working with and suffering at the hands of a cold, manipulative, vicious bastard. Yes, I want you here. Would’ve begged you to stay here because everything I endured with that man had to mean something.”
The words exploded from him in an ugly, bitter torrent that he couldn’t stop. Kenan stared at him, and Achilles slowly pushed away from the wall, straightening.
“What does that mean, Cain?” Achilles growled.
Unlike the previous times, the truth burned a trail up his throat, and he didn’t hold it back. Couldn’t. Didn’t want to. Not anymore.
He told them everything—about his childhood with their father, the abuse, even about Gregory Cole’s blackmail and his relationship with Devon. Through it all, Kenan and Achilles remained silent, not asking questions, just allowing Cain to purge his soul in a way he hadn’t even done with Devon. When he finished, his breath grated against his throat, and the labored sound echoed in the quiet room.
Achilles moved toward him in his oddly graceful gait, and in moments, he’d pulled Cain into his arms, holding him tight. It should’ve been weird, being embraced by this giant, but no. It was...family. Tears burned his eyes as the burden of anger and bitterness that he’d borne since the reading of that damn will crumbled and fell. And for the first time since they all met in this house, he could call this man brother.
“I’m sorry, Cain,” Achilles muttered in his ear. “I’m sorry you had to suffer that shit. None of us should.”
The curious choice of words struck Cain, and he suspected that maybe his younger brother could more than sympathize with him about being on the end of an abusive person.
Achilles neither confirmed nor denied anything, but released Cain with a squeeze of his shoulder.
