Page 160 of Secrets (The Sins Trilogy 2)
Wow. This is a new tactic. “Is that the going rate for bullshit these days? Guess if you’re poor, you can’t afford to lie, huh? But luckily, you have that diamond spoon.”
Her cheeks flush, even darker than before under her makeup. “Stop it! Just ten minutes! You owe me that much after what you put me through by dying!”
Oh no. She’s not putting that on me. I’m not the liar here, and I never wanted to “die.” “I didn’t tell you I died.”
“I don’t give a damn who told me.” Her voice cracks, slightly shrill now. “I thought you died, and I grieved for you. Why do you think my dad’s letting me stay here with no one but Mr. Kim to watch over me? I was a wreck!”
Amazing how convincing she is. And I’m so pathetic that I want to believe her. “If you care about me that much, why did you lie?”
Yuna deflates. “That was my fault. You can hate me if you want. If you never want to see me again, then…okay. I deserve that. But not Tony.”
Oh, for God’s sake.She’s here to defend him? I glare at her, anger mounting. Is she really my soul sister? She sounds more like his. “Why not him? He made you lie, didn’t he?”
“Nobody makes me do anything. It was my decision. He told me about the danger you were facing, and I decided to play along to help keep you safe. I couldn’t lose you again.”
I look away. I don’t want to bend. She betrayed me. Made me feel like a fool…
But she also made you feel loved. She was kind and supportive of you when you were floundering after Sam told you all that crap about how you killed the girl. She did that out of friendship, without knowing what was really going on with you. She made sure you were fed, listened when you needed to talk and was thrilled when you got engaged. She cried with joy after playing “Tarantella” together and promised to help you reclaim your music. Who else cares about you like that?
“Patch things up with Tony,” Yuna says. “He’ll make it up to you. I know he will. He can make you happy if you’ll just give him a chance.”
I hug myself, suddenly vulnerable and unsure. It’s uncanny that she’s saying what the shriveled part of my heart suggested last night in a moment of weakness. “How can you be so sure?”
“Because I saw how it was between the two of you all those years ago. You were so in love with him, I could tell you were glowing even over the phone. I’d never seen you like that, ever. And I told you to get the tattoo to show him how much you love him.”
The one Tony told me about. The one I no longer have. I glance down at my left wrist.
“How long did it take you to fall in love with him this time, not even remembering him? A week? Two?”
I think back. I can’t remember exactly when or how. It just happened so quickly and decisively. Maybe I fell for him again the second I ran into him at the entrance of Hammers and Strings. My reaction to him has always been extreme.
“I don’t know if you remember, but I believe in reincarnation. Always did. When you die, your soul goes to the underworld, and before you’re reborn, you have to drink a tonic that makes you forget everything about your past life. So then you’d think the person is totally starting over when she’s reborn, right? She’s going to find a new man to fall in love with, start a fresh new family and everything. But that isn’t true.” Yuna’s eyes are infinitely sad. “Even if you remember nothing of your soul mate, when you’re reborn, you seek out and love the same soul through a thousand lives and beyond. That’s you and Tony. I’ve never seen a man love a woman more or suffer more for her. He hates himself for hurting you. You’ll never find another guy like him, and you’ll never feel alive and whole without him. He’s the missing half of your soul.”
What she’s saying stirs an aching emotion in my heart. It’s small, but it pulses with such raw intensity that my vision blurs with tears. “Do you think all this is going to make me forgive you?” I say, hating her for having the power to pierce through the armor of indifference I’ve tried so hard to erect between us.
“No. But I want you to be happy and safe.” She gives me a long look, then steps back. “Okay. I’m done. It’s up to you to decide.”
