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“Please,” Samantha encouraged. “I asked you to come here with the hope that we can all get some closure. I need to hear it. Whatever it is.”
“Sorry,” Bryce mumbled. “She’s right. Go on.”
Lizzy folded her arms around her middle and took several slow breaths. When she looked up her eyes shined with unshed tears and her lip quivered. This wasn’t the over-confidant woman Bryce complained about. She wasn’t even the same woman who was there the night before. This version of her was broken and it hurt Samantha’s soul to see another woman hurting the way she used to constantly hurt.
“It’s okay,” she encouraged once again. “We were both shocked to hear you say yes, but we want to hear whatever it is you have to say.”
Lizzy took one more slow breath before she finally looked at Bryce and spoke. “When you and I went out that handful of times, I was technically married.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Bryce swore, earning an elbow to the ribs. “Sorry.”
“We were separated, but married is married, right? Our marriage was shit. We weren’t good for each other, and he could be a real asshole. I met you and I knew you were different. It was nice going out with someone who treated me with respect. Anyway, I thought since we’re being honest with each other you should know,” she explained.
“Thanks for telling me. But we were never serious, and Samantha wanted to talk about you and Brandon.”
Lizzy took an unsteady breath as she nodded slowly. It was obvious she was growing more and more uncomfortable with every minute that passed. “I know. And that kind of goes with what else I have to say. I did know about you, Samantha, but I didn’t know the entire story. Apparently, I’m attracted to piece-of-shit men. When I first started talking to Brandon, he told me the two of you were separated. And considering how things were between my husband and me, I believed him.”
“Did you sleep with him?” Samantha covered her mouth as soon as the question left. She didn’t know why she asked. None of that mattered. She was torturing herself.
“Yes.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m sorry I asked,” Samantha rushed to say.
“It does matter. I am so sorry. After all that happened, I saw the two of you at a benefit, so I called him out on it. He said it wasn’t important, which pissed me off. I stopped talking to him and not long after, I got back with my husband for a while. He knew about Brandon, so that’s why I changed firehouses even though our fling was over. My husband never trusted me. Which I guess he shouldn’t have.”
Samantha took in everything Lizzy said. She still had no trouble believing her. The woman sitting in front of her was broken and defeated. Another woman broken by her late husband. Her skin prickled as the old feelings of anger crept back in. So much of her life had been wasted on a man who never gave a shit about anyone but himself.
“You didn’t make a conscious decision to be the other woman. It’s not your fault. You didn’t cheat on me, Brandon did.”
“Yes, but I should have known better. I should have made sure he wasn’t lying or—”
“Or what?” Samantha interrupted. “Or hired a private investigator? This isn’t your fault. Was he really taking you to the benefit that night he died?”
Tears ran down Lizzy’s cheeks. She blinked rapidly and took several deep breaths, but the tears weren’t showing any signs of slowing. “Yes. He was on his way to pick me up,” she choked out.
Samantha stood and went to Lizzy. No way could she sit by and watch this woman fall apart over something Brandon did. She wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close.
“It’s okay. Don’t cry. This. Wasn’t. Your. Fault.”
“He told me you two were separated for real this time. He told me that’s why he had an extra ticket. And like an idiot I believed him. I thought—I thought he wanted to be with me. It’s my fault he’s dead,” Lizzy sobbed. “If he wasn’t coming to pick me up, he wouldn’t have been on that road at all. I am so sorry.”
“Shh. It’s okay. He was an adult who made his own choices. Nothing is your fault.”
Samantha continued to hold Lizzy, her heart breaking for the woman. She knew all too well Brandon’s ability to manipulate. His ability to destroy anyone in his path without giving a single fuck. This woman wasn’t a predator. She was a victim.
When she met Bryce’s gaze, all she saw was anger. It was obvious he was doing his best to restrain his temper. She’d never seen him truly angry other than when he found out how shitty she’d been treated by Brandon, and she was confident this anger was for the same reason.
Samantha couldn’t be certain how much time had passed, but eventually, Lizzy’s sobs slowed, and she regained her composure. Samantha loosened her hold and rubbed her back as she gathered herself.
“I’m sorry,” she said between sniffles.
“Lizzy. You don’t need to apologize.” This time it was Bryce who spoke up. “This conversation needed to happen. I have to say, I’m not thrilled to find out Samantha isn’t the first one of my brother’s girls I’ve dated.”
Both women snapped their gazes up to look at Bryce, who had a smirk on his face, clearly amused by his joke.
“Seriously, Bryce?” Samantha said in exasperation.
“Yeah, seriously. What are the chances?”
