Page 44 of Imperfect Saint
“Baby, that’s not true at all. Your brother and your father care about you very much.”
Millie nodded and forced herself to continue, “The last time he hurt me, before today, before I left him, it was because he thought I was cheating on him. He was always ridiculously jealous of every man in my life. He thought… well, he thought I was sleeping with Thad.”
“What?” Hunter barked out a laugh and she felt a flicker of warmth in her chest at the sound.
“He thought Thad and I were sneaking around when we were on tour with Lemon.”
“Thad is the most happily married man I’ve ever met in my life.” Hunter snorted, “Except maybe for Lemon’s husband because that guy has got it bad.”
“I know. It’s crazy. I knew it was crazy. But I couldn’t convince Joshua of that.”
Hunter’s smile withered, “What did he do?”
“We were supposed to go to a release party for Lemon’s album and I put on this beautiful black and gold sequin dress that I’d bought specifically for the occasion.” Her throat tightened at the memory and she closed her eyes, “Joshua lost it. He grabbed me by the throat and slammed me into the wall. He said I looked like a whore, which was fitting since that’s what I was. He… He said a lot of cruel things and then… then he ripped the dress off me, just shredded it to pieces and when I tried to pick them up, to cover myself, he….”
“Millie, you don’t have to tell me.” Hunter crooned softly when her throat went tight but she shook her head and forced out the words that she’d never told anyone.
“He pushed me down the stairs at our townhouse and he left me there, curled up on the floor, crying, a bruise wrapped around my neck, and blood staining the floor beneath me.”
“Blood?” Hunter’s voice was a harsh whisper, “Jesus, Millie…”
“He… He didn’t know. I’d only realized it a few days before and I hadn’t told him yet. I’d convinced myself that I was keeping it a secret until I found the perfect time to tell him but after… once it was over, I knew the truth. I’d beenscaredto tell him. Scared of what he’d do. Scared of what it would mean for me… and for the baby inside of me.”
Hunter went still beneath her, barely even breathing, “Oh, Mills. You were…?”
“Pregnant.” She hiccupped the word, fighting off another round of tears, “He killed our baby before it could even be called a baby and that was when I knew, I had to find a way out.”
“And you did.”
“It took me a long time though. I didn’t just pick myself up and leave him, Hunter. I couldn’t. I wasn’t strong enough. I stayed and I hated myself for it. I hated him with everything I had. But still I stayed, trying to find a way out that wouldn’t end in even more violence.”
Hunter’s voice was low again and she could practically hear his jaw grinding. “It doesn’t matter how long it took you, Mills. You got out. You got away from him. I’m just so sorry you went through that and worse, that you’ve carried it around all this time alone, feeling like you couldn’t tell anyone.”
“I should have told Colin.” She chewed on the inside of her cheek, “Maybe if I had…”
When she trailed off, Hunter sighed, “Your brother came by while you were sleeping. He was so worried about you and so upset that you hadn’t told him. He feels guilty for not seeing it and for trying to push you back towards your ex. He’s mad that Reed knew and didn’t tell him too but he knows it was your story to tell and he’d like to hear it I think.”
“So Reed really did know.” Millie frowned, “How?”
“Colin said Reed told him that he saw you two once, at a dinner, and it was the way Joshua grabbed you. He put two and two together.”
“Because of his dad.” Millie groaned, “Jesus, how did I forget about that? Of course Reed noticed it. He’d seen it before. His dad left when he was little but he was…”
“Colin told me.” Hunter kissed the top of her head. “Seems like you and Reed have more in common than you realized and so do Colin and I.”
“You and Colin?” She pulled back to look up at Hunter finally, unable to figure out what he meant.
A small, sad smile flickered across his handsome face, “Isn’t it obvious? We’re both crazy protective of the people we love.”
“Hunter…” Her heart leapt and tears instantly blurred her vision again when he said that word.
Love. Was it possible? Could he love her? Despite all her flaws? Despite her secrets and lies and emotional baggage?
“Shh.” He dropped his forehead to hers, “We’ve got time to talk about that. I told you, I’m not going anywhere, and nothing you can say is going to convince me that you’re anything less than perfect, Millie.”
She pulled back a little and shook her head, “I told you I’m not perfect though, that I’m broken and now you’ve seen why for yourself.”
“You’re not broken.”
