“I didn’t lie to your mother,” I say, needing him to know.
“I know.”
“I would never lie about a child.” It would be despicable to lie about such things.
“You don’t have to worry about Jerrod finding out. He never stays long.”
I study Jasce for several breaths before speaking. “Why would your mother lie?”
“Dinah tries to protect me by lying. She has always done that.”
“I suppose that is kind…in a way.”
He shrugs. “She tries…”
“Are you close to her?”
“I care about her, but I’m not close to her. She tries too hard to fill the role of a woman who has been gone for a long time.”
“Who?”
“My mother. Dinah is Jerrod’s second wife.”
Second? I thought she was the first.
Exactly, how many wives does he have?
Jasce stacks his hands together and studies me. “Tell me about Ana.”
My throat turns dry as I try to shift away from him, but he grips my arm, pulling me back.
“If I’m going to share my bed with you, I want to knowyou,” he says.
My chest squeezes as I try to conjure words that will appease him, but even if I spoke, I would tell him more lies. And frankly, I hate lies and deceit.
So, I decide to offer him a real piece of myself.
“One summer ago, my brother returned from battle with a wound.” Tears prick at my eyes as I remember those awful days. “He didn’t get better. He died four days later, on the morning of my eighteenth birthday.”
Jasce’s expression softens. “I’m sorry.”
“He was so brave, so strong, so everything I always wanted to be,” I whisper.
“Five summers ago, I lost a brother in battle. So, I know what that pain feels like,” he says, his voice thick with emotion.
I touch his arm, feeling compassion for his loss.
A muscle jerks in his jaw as he shifts the subject. “How old are you?”
“I’m nineteen.”
“Who is Asha?”
My chest heaves as I draw in a quick breath and try to think of something to say.
“You call out for her in your sleep sometimes.” When I don’t respond, he continues. “When I first returned, you said she was your sister. I only know one Asha.”
Don’t say it.
