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Chapter Twenty-Two
Mari
As soon as Cameron signed, I slipped a copy of the paperwork under the apartment door in case Ash was still there. The others went to Donnaghal and Sons to file. I let Laidan know I wanted the divorce finalized immediately, and she promised she knew exactly who to call to make it happen.
With any luck, Aislynn would be free again soon. Maybe it would be the kick-start she needed to begin again. To heal.
Fuck, I hoped so.
When we finally got back to the new house that night, I lay in bed. Not sleeping, not resting, just existing with my men pressed around me.
Tennessee had texted sometime between my getting the divorce papers signed and our arriving home with an update I didn’t like.
Ash never returned to the Celestine. She didn’t answer any calls or texts. I even resorted to sending emails to her work address. Still nothing. She was a ghost.
The only thing keeping me from tearing the city apart to find her was Rafael. He promised he was watching her, that she was safe but needed to be alone. I didn’t like it, but I had to respect her wishes. She deserved the chance to process however she needed.
I wasn’t sure how I’d react in her place. Finding out my husband had manipulated me into loving him, that he’d made plans for the future, knowing he didn’t give a shit about me—that would destroy me. And that was without the knowledge that he was intentionally trying to impregnate her to steal her birthright too.
Fuck, I didn’t want to see the damage that bomb would cause.
After an infuriating text exchange with my uncle, during which he refused to send even a proof-of-life photo, I video-called Shara. She’d been close to my cousin too and she needed to know, but telling her was brutal. I could have called before we caught him, but Christian and Adrien had been moving her to the safe house, and I wanted her to have time to settle in. Selfishly, I also wanted a break myself, or maybe I just needed the answers he gave before I told her.
Even if I didn’t want it to, time always passed, no matter how much you wanted to hide from it.
Recounting everything Cameron had said to me was heartbreaking, and we were both quiet and numb after. I was just grateful that even though Shara could see how destroyed I was, she didn’t push me to talk yet, letting me stare out the window instead. We sat in silence, two people who’d lost someone they considered family, grieving together. No words of condolence or anger. Just quiet pain shared among women who’d seen too much of it.
Eventually, I sighed and turned back to the call. As expected, she watched me patiently.
“I don’t like this,” I said for the hundredth time, and we both knew I wasn’t talking about him.
“Neither do I, but she needs time to lick her wounds. Considering what you just said, I’d say she deserves it.”
“He’s not dead.” Yet.
I was still unsure what the best punishment for my cousin’s betrayal would be. Did I kill him and end his existence and my suffering, or did I put him somewhere no one would find him, forcing him to live his life knowing he’d lost everything to me again?
What would give me more satisfaction? What would give Aislynn the closure she needed?
“Her husband was a fraud and a traitor to the both of you. She’s just got to come to terms with that, and it could take her a while. All we can do is be there for her and support her.”
Shoving my hands through my hair, I sighed. “I shouldn’t have pushed her into this.”
“You couldn’t have known.”
“I was being selfish. I didn’t want O’Bannon to have Greyson, so I shoved her at Cameron instead. I put her on this path because I didn’t want to lose him.”
“Of course you didn’t. He’s your husband.”
“Now, but he wasn’t before. Before, he was just my second-in-command and the man her father wanted her to marry.”
Shara frowned, obviously not liking my train of thought. “She wouldn’t blame you for keeping Greyson, Mari. Everyone could see that he matters to you. Honestly, I’m just shocked it took this long to wife him up.”
She should blame me. I’d ruined her life.
“This is a blip,” Shara said gently.
But it was more than that.
