Page 41 of Renegade Rift
Beloved Son, Husband, and Teammate.
Bile rises at the back of my throat. Leave it to Tyler, even in death, to pretend to be everything he’s not.
Softly, so as not to startle her, I ask, “Why are we here, Juliet?”
“To cut the strings.” Again, as if it’s so simple.
“And how do we do that?”
She gives me a wistful look that promises an explanation, but then turns back tothe headstone. “I wanted to leave him.”
I blink, unable to believe what I’m hearing. “What?”
Juliet nods, but it’s not for me. “About six months before you died, I went and talked to a divorce lawyer. She told me it would be messy if you didn’t agree, but it could be done.”
Her voice shakes as she admits to her dead husband the things she never got to tell him in life.
“You took everything from me,” she whispers past a sob. “You made me believe I was the center of your world and that the love you had for me was enough. I trusted you, but you gave me scraps while everyone else got the best pieces of you. I held on for so long. To the person you were. The person I fell in love with.”
She told me she needs this. So, I’ll be her witness. Her silent strength. But her sob nearly breaks me, though not as much as the truth she’s entrusting to me. I knew none of this. I always thought—they were supposed to be happy together. They had each other. That was supposed to be enough.
Juliet falls to her knees, and it takes everything for me not to fall beside her and wrap her in my arms. Her sobs quiet, and I watch as she finds the courage to keep going. “I prayed that the man I fell in love with would come back to me. All those nights you left me alone in that penthouse. All those times you manipulated me, hurt me—over and over—I prayed. I pictured growing old with you. Spending our last days hand in hand and saying goodbye to this world together. But you never came. And I’ll never know if it’s because you didn’t want the same thing, or if maybe you just weren’t capable of loving me the way I needed you to. You never saw that I was falling apart—dying inside. Eventually I realized it didn’t matter how many meals I made, or strip teases I did. The more I loved you, the more you realized you could take advantage of my heart.
“Then you went and died.” The venom in her voice catches me off guard. “You left me with a mess I thought I’d never recover from. Well, I’m here to tell you I did. And I’m sure you justhatethat. I’m sure you are rolling over in your grave knowing it was Ford, who helped me.” She shakes her head and a laugh bubbles through the tears. “You were wrong about him, by the way.”
She looks up at me, the morning sun highlighting the lighter strands of brown in her hair, giving an almost halo effect. I want to ask her what she means by hehurt her.I want to let her know she’s not alone anymore. Mostly, I want to raise my stepbrother from the dead so I can kill him all over again.
How had I missed so much? Were there signs?
Shit, I never should have left.
But my mom.
God, there was no winning.
Juliet’s throat bobs and her voice shakes, but her eyes shine with pure beauty. “Ford isn’t a monster. Arrogant and pushy, yes, and maybe sometimes a bit of an ass, but where you were once the love of my life, Ford is something worth more. He’s my family.”
Fuck.
I blink away the stinging in my eyes. Once. Twice. Every time I open them, I think she’ll be gone. But she’s not. She’s real. And she just claimed me.
Family.
My heart dares to hope she means it.
Juliet breaks our connection first, looking back at the headstone. “I’m done being your puppet, Tyler. I refuse to hide anymore and keep your secrets. I just needed you to be the first to know.”
I should ask permission and make sure she’s okay with it, but there isn’t a world in which I could keep myself from comforting her. Wrapping my arms around her, I tug Juliet against my chest. She meets my hug in kind, and without thinking, I press a kiss to her hair. “I know we only just met again. But for what it’s worth, I’m proud of you.”
“I’m proud of me too.” She beams against my chest. “Now it’s your turn.”
I pull back and search her face, finding nothing but a stern smile.
Oh shit, she’s serious.
“Um, you’re a hard act to follow.”
Two lines form between Juliet’s brow, paired with a pointed glare. “No more strings.”
