Page 232 of Vexatious Queen

“I know you’re angry, and you have every right to be, but…don’t throw this chance away to be happy. And just so you know, Paul wasn’t the only one who knew that Yuli was alive.”

I held my breath and blinked once, knowing the answer before he said it.

“Ella knew. She’d been secretly helping Yuli and Ren since they ran from Christov. She told me the truth of what she’d done before she died so that I could continue what she started if either of them needed something.” He lifted a shoulder and let it drop.

“Damn…your wife dies telling you that his wife is alive? I don’t know if that is the most depressing or most fucked up thing I’ve ever heard,” Marcus said.

Ethan smiled and then chuckled. Soon, we were all laughing as hands slapped the table and shots were poured.

The night unraveled from there.

Stories spilled out. Bad ones. Worse ones. Teen years soaked in poor decisions and blood oaths. Laughter that hurt. Silence that spoke louder. All the ghosts that never really left.

At some point, I realized I wasn’t angry anymore.

Just tired.

Heartbreak and therapy didn’t always roar or make sense. Sometimes it sat at the table with you, playing cards until dawn when you could no longer see straight.

MARCH 9 – MONDAY 3:03 AM

Edmundo

Marcus and I made it into the house, but it was a shaky go on the final steps to the front door.

He pointed toward the dining room.

“I’m gonna go sleep this off,” he said, and wandered away before I could tell him that wasn’t the way to his room.

I laughed, wondering what the staff would think in the morning if they found him passed out on the table.

It was a slow climb up the stairs, and I regretted having such a tall house by the time I reached the top. I faced my room but didn’t move.

“Don’t do it, it’s a bad decision,” I mumbled to the empty hall.

No.

Ana and I needed to talk. Drunk me was not listening to the sensible side of myself.

Determination, mixed with emotions and alcohol, kept my feet moving. I stopped in front of Ana’s door and knocked. It was more like my fist was pounding on the wood and didn’t stop until she opened it.

“What is…” Ana started, then stopped.

We just stood there staring at one another. I’d never seen Ana look more beautiful. Her blonde hair was down, looking like spun gold, while her blue eyes shone brightly. Her silky, silver robe was not quite done up, showing off a narrow gap of her skin like a tantalizing morsel.

It was Ethan’s words and the alcohol’s fault that my inhibitions and walls had crashed down around me, leaving me nothing but raw nerves.

“Eddie…what’s going on?”

I took a step, and she moved back deeper into her room. I shut the door behind me and turned the lock, the sound of it sealing my fate.

“How could you do this to me,” I asked, facing her and peeling off my long coat. I tossed it to the side. “How could you hurt me like this? I’ve done nothing but love you. I get that you were angry and felt like you needed to be…the hero in your own story, but this is me. Me.”

“I know.” Ana shook her head. “I didn’t want to hurt you. I never wanted to do that.”

I moved closer, but this time she didn’t back away.

“My heart stopped when I got the call. I was a shell that kept one foot stepping in front of the other because of a promise I made to you. I just…the ache in my chest…it hurts me even now. Even when you’re standing right before my eyes.”