Page 95 of Souls and Sorrows
A chill crawls up my spine, though not because the information is unnerving.
Because I know exactly what he means.
“But do you know what else changes people?” he asks. “Abuse. Constant, unending abuse, especially at the hands of the people who are supposed to love you. So, no, I don’t think you need to be concerned. Ariana has an agenda, and it will likely end there. However, you should maybe consider the long-term effects that vengeance can have on a person and whether or not you’re sticking around to be her main source of support.”
He says it like he knows the truth behind our marriage, and I swallow, considering his words carefully, not really sure what to do with them.
My support of her was never in question.
“She doesn’t know what it’s like to face your demons and come out the other side, completely alone. I don’t think she realizes how close she was to them in the first place.” Kal exhales, running a hand through his hair. “I know I didn’t.”
* * *
When I get backfrom the island, I find Ronnie pacing quickly outside of the apartment building, hands clasped tight behind him. Sweat pours down his face in waves, and I keep a wide berth as I approach him, a grocery bag in hand.
“Everything all right?” I ask him.
His head whips to the side, his arms forming an immediate defensive stance, as if he thinks I might attack him.
I exhale, pinching the bridge of my nose beneath my glasses. “Ronnie, it was a fucking graze—”
“Mrs. Primrose is upstairs with Mrs. Primrose, sir,” he rushes out in a single breath.
“What?”
“Your mother and wife—”
Not letting him finish the sentence, I drop the bag and break into a run, getting to the elevator in seconds and mashing the Up button until it glows white. The trip to the penthouse feels like it takes a hundred years, and by the time the car finally stops at the top, I’ve run through roughly every possible scenario in my mind, ready to push the greedy bitch I crawled out of three decades ago off the nearest balcony.
Ariana and my mother sit in the living room, the latter sipping from a floral teacup I’ve never seen before. Anger bubbles up in my chest, burning holes in the lining, and I step in quietly, clearing my throat to gather the room’s attention.
“Oh, there he is!” My mother plasters a wide, drunken smile on her powdered face, gesturing toward me with her cup. “The pride and joy of the Primrose family, back from one of his mysterious escapades.”
I ignore her, keeping my gaze on the brunette to her left. “Little Nightmare.”
Standing up, Ariana crosses the room quickly to me, tucking her hair behind her ears and revealing the emerald stud earrings I gifted her on my way in from the office last night. Pride blooms behind my ribs at her new willingness to accept the things I buy her, but I shake off the feeling, refocusing on the issue at hand.
“What the hell is my mother doing here?”
Ariana shrugs. “Ronnie let her up, so I figured it must have been okay with you.”
“It is most certainly not.”
She purses her lips, turning her head to consider the bitch in the other room. “Want me to kick her out?”
My brows lift. “Aren’t you going to ask what my problem with her is?”
“Nope. I’ve been up here long enough with her to gather the gist.”
A smile tugs at my lips, flipping them up at the corners, and I wrap an arm around her waist, pulling her in close. “God, I lo—”
We both freeze, our eyes meeting. I can see mine, wide and motionless, in her pupils. My throat constricts, anxiety slashing through my entire body until it feels like I might faint.
Her head cocks to the side. “Care to finish that sentence?”
I press a finger to her jaw, tilting her head back so I can fuse our mouths together.
But I don’t answer because what the hell?
