Page 22 of Unforgiving Queen
“But the scars are there.”
“Grandma offered me her plastic surgeon, but I said no.” My hand clutched my necklace, tugging on it gently.
“It’s not the scars I’m talking about.” Our eyes locked, and the lump in my throat doubled in size. Why did everyone insist I talk about it? It only made me feel like shit. “The Leone brothers,” she started, her hands hesitant. “They are no good. And they’re bound to fuck up everything they touch.”
I blinked in confusion. It wasn’t a statement I expected to come from her. It almost sounded as if she’d experienced it firsthand.
“People break up every day.” Her answer to my half-assed defense was a deadpan stare.
“It’s not that,” she retorted, bitterness crossing her features. She let out a heavy sigh before continuing, “I don’t want to talk about all of it. Just know that Dante Leone seduced me, and now he pretends to not even know me.”
My mouth formed an “O” shape and just about dropped to the floor, or at least the mattress.
“When?”
“It was two years ago.”
“Why? How?” I couldn’t come up with a coherent question. “Why didn’t you say anything? How did I not know about it?”
Pain flickered in her eyes. “I was ashamed. I still am. For being so damn stupid.” She pushed her dark brown hair out of her face, her fingers trembling. “I thought he was so sweet. Making an effort to talk to me. Even learning ASL for me. Then boom. He disappeared, and I didn’t see him until we ran into him again in Paris.”
There were two broken hearts in this room, I realized. Each at the hand of the Leone brothers. However, my sister had nurtured hers a lot longer, and in my selfishness, I’d been too blind to see it.
I pulled her into my arms and hugged her tightly. My eyes burned, tears threatening to break free, but I refused to let them fall. I blinked, chasing them away. We stayed like that for a while, hoping that with time, our hearts might mend.
She pulled away and our gazes met. Hers sparkled with unshed tears, just like mine. “I should have told you before you got involved with Amon, but you’re such a romantic at heart and I wanted it to be a fairy tale for you.Not this clusterfuck.”
Maybe the Leone brothers had used us. Maybe not. It could be that they were just broken beyond repair and we’d stepped in their paths. All I knew for sure was that Amon would forever hold my heart—whether I liked it or not. Our love story was made for the big screen. So was our tragedy.
I sensed that Phoenix felt the same way because I recognized the look in her eyes. Two years had gone by and she still hurt.
Had she loved him? Did shestilllove him?
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you,” I rasped, my hands heavy, just like my heart. “I should have been.”
She shrugged. “You are always there for me, Reina. You’re the younger sister yet you’ve always protected me. It’s my turn to protect you.” I shook my head, my chest squeezing painfully. Mamma hadn’t been happy. Would the two of us find happiness? “You and I are not so different. You have been keeping it all in. Almost getting killed forced it out into the light for you. It’s better than leaving it festering inside.”
“You need to let go too,” I whispered softly. “Are you talking to anyone about your pain? Was I the only blind one?”
She gave me a soft smile. “Our difference in age in high school felt bigger. Now, not so much. I know I can always come and talk to you.” I nodded, feeling closer to her than ever. “But promise to let go of him. For your sake.”
My instincts told me she was right. I should let go of Amon Leone. Forget about him and pretend he never existed in my world. Not the boy who’d saved me from his father, and certainly not the man who I fell madly in love with.
My body would heal, but my soul refused to.
She leaned over and pressed a kiss on my cheek. “Go to sleep. You look like hell.”
I smiled weakly. “Talk about an ego booster.”
She padded barefoot out of the room. The door clicked softly behind her, followed only by her ghosts, leaving me alone with my own.
Reaching for my new phone, I scrolled through the contacts. But his wasn’t there.
I had lost every piece of him. Forever.
9
AMON
