Page 101 of The Affair
“I’ll always worry about you, Elle.”
“Is that why you came to my store all those weeks ago? Because you were worried about me? Or were you just taking care of unfinished business?”
“Will you just let me explain?”
“You had plenty of time to explain,” I argued, but I let him in nonetheless.
He didn’t say anything to deny it. He simply just followed me toward the living room, taking his spot in the chair across from me.
“Reed hates me. He always has,” he finally said. “He’ll do anything to mess this up because he hates seeing me happy.”
“Why?” I pressed. “Why would he do that? How could he hate you so much that he’d risk breaking my heart all over again just to get back at his brother?”
“Because I’m not his brother,” he blurted out.
“What?”
I’d wanted answers, but I’d never expected this.
“Well, I am but only half—a fact he reminds me of whenever he gets the chance.”
“You’re half-brothers?”How had I never known this?
He nodded, leaning forward in his seat. His elbows rested on his knees, and he looked down at the floor, as if the very words pained him. “My mother cheated on my dad—Reed’s dad,” he corrected himself.
“And Reed knows this?”
“Since we were kids. My dad never made it a point of keeping it from us. The man my mom had slept with wanted nothing to do with me, so I was just this constant reminder to my dad of her infidelity. A burden. They tried to keep up pretenses—they even had Reed. But my dad never forgave her.”
“Is that why they treat you so poorly?”
He shrugged, but there was an edge to it. I knew he was trying to downplay something that hurt him deeply. “I guess it was just easier that way. To pretend I didn’t exist.”
“But your mom? Surely, she stuck up for you?”
Shaking his head, he answered, “She knew her place—right beside my dad.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you still want me, Elle. Tell me you don’t regret this. Us. Everything.”
I took a deep breath, trying to imagine my life without him. I could walk away, leave this entire mess behind me.
No more Gallaghers. No more drama.
But I couldn’t.
He was ingrained in me. Part of me.
We were two halves of a whole.
But how could I trust him? How could I trust anyone?
“I can’t stop thinking about that night at the bar.”
His eyes met mine. “I know, and I’m sorry. But believe me, I didn’t have some devious plot to end your marriage so I could swoop in. I was just trying to be the brother he’d never allowed me to be. He was hurting. I offered a helping hand. I should have known better.”
“I know.”
