Chapter 158: Not A Scary Forever

"Just let it all out," Aria said, gently patting her shoulder.

Brittney did.

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had the luxury of crying on someone’s shoulder like this. There had been a time when Hype was the person she ran to whenever things with her father became unbearable.

She would complain to him about everything, and he would listen, comfort, and hold her until she felt like she could face life again. Yet the one person she’d trusted with all the ugly parts of her life had ended up giving her the worst betrayal of them all.

For a while after Hype left, Brittney had considered ending it all. She had simply lain there one night and wondered what the point of continuing was when nobody seemed to want her.

Her mother had always chosen her career. Her father had chosen another woman and eventually his reputation. Even Hype, the one person she’d believed had chosen her above everything else, had taken what he wanted and abandoned her too. It wasn’t difficult to begin wondering whether the problem had always been her.

Perhaps there was simply something wrong with her. Some defect she couldn’t see that everyone else eventually discovered. Something that made Brittney Thorne entertaining enough to have around for a while but impossible to love.

Her arms tightened around Aria. Right now, another human was holding her as if she mattered, and Brittney selfishly wanted to enjoy it for as long as she could. Even if some bitter part of her wondered how long it would take before she ruined this too.

Aria didn’t complain when Brittney practically crushed herself against her until there was barely any space between them. She only adjusted her hold and began running her fingers gently through her friend’s hair.

Whenever Davina cried as a child, Aria would hold her like this and sing her a lullaby. So she began to sing to Brittney too.

It was ridiculous considering Brittney was a grown woman, but it was the only comfort Aria knew how to give without filling the room with meaningless words. Brittney didn’t laugh at her or make one of her usual inappropriate comments. She simply buried her face deeper against Aria and listened.

They remained that way for what felt like forever. Eventually, Brittney’s sobs quieted, and she simply held on to Aria while the last of her tears dried against her shoulder.

Brittney finally whispered, "I think something’s wrong with me. That must be the problem."

Anger licked through Aria’s veins at that comment. "Nothing is wrong with you."

When Brittney said nothing, Aria pulled back enough to look at her. Brittney’s eyes were swollen, her cheeks wet, and her nose had turned red from crying.

"I mean it, Britt. There’s nothing wrong with you. Your parents were supposed to love you before you ever had to do anything to earn it. Your mother choosing her career over being there for you was her decision. Your father cheating on her, marrying her best friend, and then treating you like some inconvenience in his new life was his decision. Those things say something about them. They don’t say anything about what you’re worth."

Brittney bit down on her lip, still unsure.

Aria continued, determined to change her mind. "Sure, you made mistakes. Big ones. Goddess knows helping someone rob your family isn’t exactly something I’d recommend."

A wet, unexpected laugh escaped Brittney, but Aria wasn’t trying to be funny.

"But you were still a teen, angry, hurt, and desperate to hurt the people who had spent years hurting you. That doesn’t make what you did right, but it doesn’t make you some horrible person who deserves everything that happened afterward either. You’re allowed to regret what you did without deciding you’re worthless because of it."

Brittney wiped her cheek with the back of her hand. "You don’t understand."

"Then make me understand."

"Hype was right."

Aria’s expression hardened.

"I destroyed his life." Brittney’s voice shook a little. "If he’d never gotten involved with me, my father wouldn’t have gone after him. He would have found another job, probably built a career, maybe had a normal life. Instead, he lost everything because he dated me. I was so busy being angry that he left me that I didn’t want to admit that part." She stared down at her hands. "Maybe I deserved what I got."

"No!" Aria practically shouted. It was hard to see Brittney, who wouldn’t let anyone treat her like shit, allowing some guy from her past to reduce her to a ghost of herself.

"No," Aria repeated firmly, hoping it got into her head. "We’re not doing that. Hype was your bodyguard, Brittney. His entire job was to know you. He knew exactly whose daughter you were. He knew what your father was capable of, and I’m guessing he knew your father wouldn’t exactly throw him a celebration if he discovered the two of you together."

Brittney frowned. "That doesn’t mean—"

"It means he made a choice too. You didn’t drag him into a relationship at gunpoint. He chose to date and sneak around with you. He took that risk knowing there could be consequences. Your father destroying his career afterward was cruel, but that’s on your father. Not you."

Brittney opened her mouth, but Aria wasn’t finished.

"And even if Hype blamed you for what happened to him, he had options. He could have broken up with you or told you he resented you. He could have taken the money you were willing to give him and said he wanted to start over alone. Hell, he could have told you to fuck off and never spoken to you again."

Aria’s anger grew the more she spoke. "Instead, he let you believe you were leaving together. The asshole sat there talking about your future while secretly planning to drug you, steal the money, take your passport so you couldn’t follow him, and disappear."

Brittney’s eyes lowered in shame as it dawned on her how far she had lost herself trying to please a man.

"That isn’t compensation," Aria said. "That’s fucking revenge."

The words settled heavily between them.

"Hype knew you loved him enough to betray your own family for him, and instead of being honest with you, he used that love to make sure his plan worked. Then he left you a letter blaming you for what he chose to do. That’s not you getting what you deserved, Britt. That’s him making you responsible for his choices because it was easier than admitting he betrayed someone who trusted him."

Brittney’s eyes filled again.

"So as far as I’m concerned, Hype is a cowardly, selfish, manipulative, gaslighting piece of shit."

A startled laugh burst through Brittney’s tears. For once, Aria was properly cussing.

Aria breathed in relief. "There. I said it."

"You forgot ’bastard.’"

"Sure. He’s a cowardly, selfish, manipulative, gaslighting bastard piece of shit."

Brittney laughed again, this time hard enough that she had to wipe fresh tears from beneath her eyes.

Aria let her laugh before reaching over and squeezing her hand.

"And maybe one day you’ll realize him leaving was the best thing he ever did for you," she said. "Because now you know exactly who he becomes when things get difficult. Imagine actually leaving everything behind, building an entire life with him, and discovering that years later when you had nowhere else to go."

"The money can be replaced, and your reputation can recover. However, your relationship with your family..." Aria grimaced. "Well, judging from everything you’ve told me, I’m not sure there was much worth saving there to begin with."

"You’re right," Brittney murmured as the realization dawned on her. "I don’t have a family."

Except what followed Brittney’s sentence was a slap to the back of her head.

"Ow!" Brittney cried out, rubbing the spot. "What was that for?"

"Really?" Aria scoffed. "You have no family? Then what are we?"

"Oh..." She finally understood. "About that—"

"We are sisters, Brittney. And sisters always stand up for one another. In fact, one of them wants to apologize sincerely." Aria said, getting off the bed. She headed to the door and opened it.

As expected, Trisha and Alek were standing outside. Except Trisha remained at the entrance with guilt written all over her face.

"I’m so sorry," Trisha apologized. "I didn’t mean any of those words. I was just angry and—"

Trisha didn’t even get to finish because Brittney rushed over and pulled her into an embrace.

"I’m sorry too," Brittney apologized. "I promise I’ll watch my mouth from now on."

The two cousins hugged, holding each other tightly with tears in their eyes.

Alek came to stand beside Aria. "Good work you did there."

Aria couldn’t help but smile. She felt so proud of herself.

Yet as she watched Brittney and Trisha hold on to each other, her thoughts drifted back to everything Brittney had told her. Human relationships ended all the time. People married, promised each other forever, and still walked away when they no longer wanted it.

Perhaps having someone who was truly meant to stay forever wasn’t such a terrible thing after all.

The thought surprised her. Until now, Aria had looked at the mate bond as something that threatened her freedom. Something permanent she had never chosen and couldn’t escape.

She had been so focused on the possibility of being trapped that she hadn’t considered the other side of permanence. Maverick couldn’t simply wake up one morning and decide he didn’t want her anymore — she hoped so.

For the first time since discovering she was his mate, Aria found herself looking at the bond in a different light.

Forever didn’t sound quite as terrifying anymore.