“Finish that fucking sentence, Cecilia, I fucking dare you.” I seethed, voice low as that earlier rage bubbled to the surface. “One more word out of your mouth regarding my boyfriend, and I swear to God, I will sue your miserable ass for slander. You can kiss the country club memberships, fancy cars, and lavish lifestyle you’ve come to know goodbye, because by the time I’m done, you won’t have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of.”
“You wouldn’t dare.” She scoffed, but the slight wobble to her words told me she knew otherwise.
“Watch me,” I growled.
Cecilia let out an astonished huff, “You’d do that? Sue your own mother over a fag?—”
The word hadn’t completely formed on her lips before I ended the call, the onslaught of rage and disgust causing me to toss my phone aside. It clattered noisily onto the table as I released Colton’s hand to rub at my face. “I can’t fucking believe her. How dare she?”
“What did she say?” He asked.
“I don’t even want to repeat it.” I spat, my gut rolling at the idea of Colton being called that word. My mind swam as I tried to process the last thirty seconds.
“I’m sorry, Derek.” His voice was small, and I looked up, shaking my head.
“What do you have to be sorry for? I knew this wasn’t going to end well. I had no expectation of maintaining any relationship with her after this call.”
Colton’s face was soft, sympathy written clearly on his features. “Baby…”
I clenched my jaw, gnashing my teeth against the warring emotions his name for me opened the door to. Those pieces of myself lay at my feet, raw and bleeding, and now that the conversation was over, I struggled to remember how to put them back together again. Looking down at the table, I whispered, “Why wasn’t I ever enough for her?”
The scrape of Colton’s chair against the floor had me lifting my gaze to watch him round the table. His strong arms wrapped around me, enveloping me in that intoxicating scent that was uniquely him. “You are not less than, you hear me?” His voice rumbled through his chest, and I buried my face against it, only then realizing how wet my cheeks were.
“I want you to hear me, really hear me, when I tell you this, okay?” When I nodded, he continued, “You are the easiest human to love. I was already halfway there from the moment we met, and I was completely gone in an embarrassingly short amount of time. Being able to wake up next to you every morning and have you as the last thing I see before sleep is a privilege I’m lucky to have. There is so much compassion and love in your soul, Derek. The way you care for your clients? How incredible a big brother you are to Lucy? Those things speak volumes about the kind of man you are. And, it’s not just me who loves you. My family adores you. My father loves you so much he concocted a plan to make you a permanent member of our family.”
I huffed out an amused breath, feeling myself slowly being mended back in place again as he carted his fingertips through my hair. The light drag of his nails over my scalp had little waves of sensation running down my spine that washed everything else away.
“And we can’t forget about your real family—Toni, your dad, and Lucy. They love and accept you exactly the way you are, without any expectations or manipulation. They recognize that you being in their lives is worth more than every star in the sky. I don’t have to know them to know that. So, whileI’m sorry Cecilia couldn’t see how incredible of a person you are and love you the way sheshouldhave, I’m not sorry she won’t be in your life anymore. Her only redeeming quality was that she helped create you.”
Like the devil she was, summoned by the mention of her name, my phone lit up with an incoming call. The device buzzed noisily against the wooden surface as both Colton and I stared it down. When it finally stopped, I leaned over and unlocked it.
Colton watched on in silence as I slowly navigated to Cecilia’s contact. My finger hovered over the block button, my eyes trained on the red words. Without this man by my side, I would still be trapped in an endless cycle of misery and doubt. In so many ways, Colton was the catalyst to everything good in my life, even if this moment was bittersweet. Raising my head, I made eye contact with my future.
“Thank you for loving me.” The words felt raw as they came out, my throat clogging with a different kind of emotion.
“It isn’t a hardship.” He whispered, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead.
Sucking in a shaky breath, my thumb came down on the button. Colton’s arms pulled me against him tighter, and I took a second to breathe him in again. He would always be my refuge, and being surrounded by him let me finally release the years of heartbreak I’d been holding onto. Colton held me through it, continuing to gently run his fingers through my hair until the last of my tears had fallen and my chest felt lighter.
“I just have one question,” Colton said after letting me clean myself up and getting me a water bottle from the fridge.
“What’s that?” I asked, taking a grateful sip of the cool liquid.
“Are you really going to sue her?”
I let out a short chuckle, shaking my head as he settled into a chair beside me. “No.”
Retrieving my phone from where it rested in my lap, I pulled up the group chat with my parents. “I don’t have any grounds to stand on. It’s a he-said-she-said situation that won’t hold up in court. ” I explained as I typed out a message letting them know what happened and recommending they both block Cecilia’s number as well.
Once done, my eyes came back to Colton’s. He was doing his best to mask his disappointment, but it was still clear in his features, causing me to let out another small laugh. “What? You want to spend the time and money to do it?”
Colton bobbed his head side-to-side, clearly indicating he was considering it. “I mean, I can’t say I don’t like the idea of fucking with her after all the shit she’s put you through.” He admitted.
A slow smile spread over my face, that small piece of me that had felt dislodged for so long, slowly inching its way back to the correct spot. While I loved that he wanted retribution for me, the cathartic release I’d had came with some much-needed clarity.
Sucking in a slow breath before letting it out, I shook my head. “She’s not worth it.”
Epilogue