Chapter 62

Chapter 62

“Adelaide

I sipped on my wine as I stared at my sister on the couch. We had decided that tonight would be the

perfect night for at sister’s date. Damon had flown out to Dubai to meet a client and it was just us in the

house.

I was growing increasingly worried for her after spending more time with her. She wasn’t speaking

much about her flying out here early. I knew that it had to do with him but she just wouldn’t tell me and

that was what was irking me even more.

I wanted to know the exact details so I knew how far to take my revenge. I was currently on the scale

from popping tires to registering him as a sex offender in all 50 states and Canada. Was that slightly

overboard? Possibly. But he had hurt my sister and I knew no limit when it came to the people that I

loved.

“I can feel your eyes boring a hole into my skull, Adelaide.” She kept her gaze on the TV that was

currently playing The Witcher. “Whatever you want to say you can say it.”

I reached for the remote and paused the TV. She turned to look at me, her gaze steady.

This was the first time I hadn’t seen her eyes puffy and red. She didn’t think I noticed but I did. I noticed

more than she realized.

She was eating less and less and I could hear her crying at times when I came downstairs to get stuff.

She would cry on the back porch or she would just sit in the darkness in the living room in the dead of

night when she thought we were all asleep.

She was hurting and it pained me to see her this way.

“It depends if you’re ready to talk yet,” I stated, setting my glass of wine down. “I don’t want to push

you. But I want to know

more.”

“I want to talk, it’s just that.” She licked her lips looking a little sheepish. “I tried Adie. I really tried to

love that man. I was capable of change so I thought that maybe he was capable of it too but he’s just

so…so…”

“Ashton.” That was enough of an explanation. The man was a sociopath and felt no remorse for what

he did to others. He only cared about one thing and one thing only, himself. He had shown that by

falling in love with the surrogate they hired to have their baby. He was disgusting.

“It’s not your fault his soul is irredeemable. It’s not your job to save people from their own darkness.”

“But I’m his wife.” She sniffed wiping at her nose. “I should be the one that is capable of saving him and

making him better.”

“But

you

aren’t God. You can’t make people do anything. People only change when they want to, nobody can

make them.”

Her lip quivered as she tried to hold back tears.

“Oh, Rina.” I scooted toward her and pulled her into my arms. Her body wracked as I held her against

me, willing the pain she was feeling to go away. She didn’t deserve this. She didn’t deserve to be so

heartbroken after she had worked so hard to rid her heart of hate.

She pulled out of my arms wiping away the stray tears that had fallen from her eyes. She looked up at

me, her amber eyes shining with unshed tears.

“I’m sorry. I know you’re probably tired of listening to me.”

“Don’t you dare try to apologize to me for letting your emotions out.” I grabbed her hand in mine. “I’m

your sister, it’s what

I’m here for.”

“I know, it’s just…” She sniffed. “I’ve been crying for days over a man who doesn’t even love me and

I’m not even entirely sure that I love him. I don’t even know why I’m so sad about it.”

“You’re grieving the loss of what you thought you would have with him and that’s entirely okay. You

don’t have to explain

yourself or make sense of it. All you need to do right now is just feel it all and then let it go. Don’t hold

onto any of the emotions too tightly. Allow them to ebb and flow through you.”

She blinked at me before she let out a low laugh that was a cross between a sob and a chuckle. “When

did you get so – Buddha.”

I rolled my eyes at her lame joke. “I’m creative. An artist. Being wise and sappy is a part of the job

description. How else would I get people to cry at my movies?”

She laughed at that but when she sobered the smile slipped from her face. “I’m divorcing him, Adie.”

The amount of clation I felt at her words could not be described. I had been waiting for her to say that

from the moment I saw her face when she landed. He was a waste of space, a garbage human who

didn’t deserve my sister.

“What do you think?” She looked nervous when she asked me and she had no need to. “Am I doing the

wrong thing by wanting to leave him?”

“No.” My answer was instant. “That man never deserved you from day one and I’m sorry that he ever

made you feel like crap but that isn’t your fault in any way. All you did was fall in love with a monster.”

“Maybe I deserve it for everything I did?”

I hated that she still felt like she had to atone for some sins that she had committed long before she

saw the error of her ways. She wasn’t that person anymore and she didn’t deserve to tie herself to that

past version of herself. She was freed from those shackles.

“You deserve the world, Corina. I don’t want you thinking otherwise because that man put it into your

head that you don’t.” I pulled her hand toward me, holding onto it for dear life. “Do you hear me?”

She nodded meekly.

“Now, dry those tears. He doesn’t deserve any more of them. From this moment on you are choosing

you. You are doing what’s best for you. And that starts by walking away from the things that no longer

serve you.”

“You’re right,” she lifted her head a little higher. “I will no longer be held back by that man.”

“Besides, you’re in LA and your sister just so happens to be invited to a certain Oscar winner’s party in

the coming few weeks. You will be my plus one.”

“Are you serious?” I could see the excitement whirling behind her eyes. “But what about Damon? Won’t

he be mad I’m taking his place?”

“He’s invited too and we weren’t going to use our plus ones anyway. But now, I can.”

I smiled at her but I could only imagine the groan that was going to come out of my husband when I

told him that Corina was coming along with us. To be honest, their relationship was somewhat

developing well. They weren’t screaming at each other and I had even caught them sharing a joke the

other day. It was shocking but also encouraging.

They would be friends one day. I was sure of it.

It was strange how just two years ago she was with Damon and I had been with Ashton secretly. Now

here I was, married to her ex and hoping that they became good friends.

How life worked in such mysterious and strange ways.

So now we had to take on the monster that was Ashton Steyn. But no matter the storm that followed I

would hold her hand. through it all.