Page 147 of Secrets (The Sins Trilogy 2)
I did this to Ivy with my lies.Because I was—still am—too ashamed to tell her everything. That I was a pathetic jerk, who wasn’t brave or mature enough to accept her love back then. And that that’s the real reason why the car went over the bridge and she lost everything—her memory, her future, her friends…everything.
I look down at my shaking hands. They feel sticky and dirty, like there’s another layer of blood on them—Ivy’s.
“What I can’t forgive is you made me fall in love with an illusion. We’re done.”
The finality of her tone jolts me. I jerk my head up.
She’s pulling off the ring, her movement jerky and rough. She looks awful, like she’s dying, but she isn’t dead. Surely I can fix this. Surely the third time will be the charm. I just need one more chance. That’s all. “No, don’t. We aren’t done. If you want me to tell you about your past—I’ll tell you everything,” I say, walking toward her to block her from leaving.
But the ring’s already off her finger. She places it on the vanity. The rubies around the pearl glitter like fresh blood.
Ivy takes a step back, as though my presence alone is enough to soil her. “Do you think I’ll believe anything you say now, Anthony?”
I stop. Why is she calling me that? Not even Mother at her most furious called me Anthony. “Ivy…I’m always your Tony.”
Her eyes are infinitely sad. And so, so dark. It’s as though all the light has been snuffed out.
My fault. I’m destroying my sun, moon and stars…
“No, you aren’t,” she says, her voice thin and pained. “Tony is the name your family and friends call you. I’m neither. I can’t stay here anymore, not without going insane. Do you understand?”
“I love you,” I tell her, because that’s the only truth that will never, ever change.
She flinches as though I slapped her. Her reaction is like a bomb going off in my belly. “Then you should’ve told me the truth from the beginning,” she says. “Since you never loved me enough to do that, you don’t get to keep me.”
She pulls the suitcase off the bed. I should stop her, but I can’t move. She’s so fragile that I’m afraid she’s going to shatter if I touch her, and I’ll never, ever be able to put the pieces back together.
Just like I couldn’t piece together my shattered family.
