Chapter 21 \u2013 Every Word\u00a0<\/p>\n
DARIUS\u00a0<\/p>\n
I found Cathy in our mother\u2019s study, refilling her wine glass from the bottle she\u2019d apparently brought with her. Her hands were shaking slightly, whether from the alcohol or the confrontation at dinner, I couldn\u2019t tell.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCathy.\u201d My voice came out sharper than I intended. \u201cWe need to talk.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She turned around, her chin lifted in defiance. Even drunk, she looked ready for a fight. \u201cWhat about? How I told your precious wife the truth?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou mean how you were cruel and vicious to the mother of my child?\u201d I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me. \u201cIn front of Luna, no less.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLuna needs to see the truth too.\u201d Cathy took a large gulp of wine. \u201cShe needs to see that not all women are weak like her mother.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something hot and dangerous flared in my chest. \u201cWeak? Sera is the strongest person I know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIs she? Because from where I\u2019m sitting, she looks like she\u2019s falling apart.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of what you just did to her!\u201d My voice rose despite my efforts to stay calm. \u201cBecause of the poison you just spewed at my wife in our mother\u2019s house.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cathy laughed, the sound bitter and ugly. \u201cOh, please. Don\u2019t act like I said anything that wasn\u2019t true. She is an orphan. She doesn\u2019t belong in our family. And deep down, you know it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I felt my hands clench into fists at my sides. \u201cYou don\u2019t get to decide who belongs in this family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t I? I\u2019m your sister, Darius. I\u2019ve known you your whole life. I know what\u2019s best for you.\u201d She moved closer, her eyes bright with wine and conviction. \u201cAnd what\u2019s best for you is Vivienne.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not your choice to make.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIsn\u2019t it?\u201d Cathy\u2019s voice got softer, more manipulative. \u201cDo you remember what Vivienne did for me? What she saved me from?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes, the old memory surfacing against my will, Cathy at sixteen, crying hysterically in our living room. The torn dress, the bruises on her arms, the way she\u2019d flinched when anyone got too close.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course I remember.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThose boys would have raped me, Darius. They would have destroyed me.\u201d Her voice cracked with emotion.\u201d And Vivienne didn\u2019t hesitate. She threw herself between us, screaming for help until someone came. She saved my life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe saved my soul,\u201d Cathy continued, tears streaming down her face now. \u201cAnd what did she get for it? Those animals turned on her instead. She got hurt because she protected me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The guilt was like acid in my stomach. It always was when I thought about that night. Vivienne had been seventeen, just a year older than Cathy. She\u2019d ended up in the hospital with a concussion and three broken ribs\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Chapter 21 Every Word\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
because she\u2019d refused to let them hurt my sister.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur family owes her everything,\u201d Cathy said, pressing her advantage. \u201cEverything, Darius. That\u2019s why mom lets her into this house even though she doesn\u2019t trust her. That\u2019s why you agreed to help her with her bucket list. We owe her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, we do. But that doesn\u2019t mean-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means you should divorce that pathetic woman upstairs and give Vivienne what she deserves.\u201d Cathy\u2019s voice turned hard again. \u201cOne year, Darius. She\u2019s asking for one year of your life. One year to know what it\u2019s like to be truly loved before she dies.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at my sister, seeing the fanatical gleam in her eyes. \u201cYou want me to marry Vivienne.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI want you to do what you should have done years ago. If Vivienne hadn\u2019t left, if she hadn\u2019t been so selfless and noble about your grandfather\u2019s wishes, you never would have looked twice at that orphan girl.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStop calling her that!\u201d I snapped angrily.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy? It\u2019s what she is. No family, no background, no class. Just some nobody who got lucky.\u201d Cathy\u2019s voice was getting louder, more vicious. \u201cEven your own daughter can see Vivienne is better. Luna loves her more than her own mother. What does that tell you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rage that had been building in my chest finally exploded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt tells me that my four\u2013year\u2013old daughter is being manipulated by adults who should know better!\u201d I roared, taking a step toward Cathy. \u201cAnd it tells me that my sister has forgotten what loyalty and decency look like!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cathy stumbled backward, her eyes wide with shock. I\u2019d never raised my voice to her like that before. 1\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSera is not some orphan girl who got lucky,\u201d I continued, my voice rough with emotion. \u201cShe\u2019s the woman who held my hand when Luna was born and cried just as hard as I did. She\u2019s the woman who sits up all night when Luna has nightmares, singing lullabies until she falls back asleep.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I ran my hand through my hair, pacing now because I couldn\u2019t stand still.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s the woman who makes Luna\u2019s Halloween costumes by hand because she wants them to be perfect. Who reads the same bedtime story fifty times because it\u2019s Luna\u2019s favorite. Who knows exactly how to cut the crusts off sandwiches and that Luna only likes the red Goldfish crackers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDarius-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not finished.\u201d My voice was deadly quiet now, which seemed to scare Cathy more than the shouting had. \u201d She\u2019s the woman who brought me soup when I had the flu last winter and didn\u2019t complain when I was horrible to be around. Who listens to me talk about work problems even when she\u2019s exhausted from her own day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stopped pacing and looked directly at my sister. \u201cShe\u2019s the woman who cared about me enough to marry me even though she knew she\u2019d never measure up to some impossible standard you and Vivienne set in your heads.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Vivienne-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cVivienne is a dying woman who\u2019s scared and desperate and clinging to a fantasy from when we were teenagers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Chapter 21 Every Word\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe words came out harsher than I intended, but I was past caring. \u201cAnd you\u2019re helping her destroy my family because you feel guilty about something that happened fifteen years ago.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cathy\u2019s face went pale. \u201cShe saved my life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, she did. And I\u2019ll always be grateful for that. But gratitude doesn\u2019t mean I owe her my marriage.\u201d I stepped closer to my sister, making sure she could see the resolve in my eyes. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean I owe her my wife\u2019s happiness or my daughter\u2019s stability.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s dying, Darius. She\u2019s dying and all she wants is one year-\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s dying and that\u2019s tragic. But Sera is living. Sera is my wife, the mother of my child, and she deserves better than being treated like she\u2019s disposable.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I moved toward the door, then stopped and turned back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you know what else, Cathy? Even if Sera was just some orphan girl who got lucky\u2013which she\u2019s not- she\u2019d still deserve basic human decency. She\u2019d still deserve not to be attacked in her mother\u2013in\u2013law\u2019s dining room by someone who\u2019s supposed to be family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cathy was crying now, mascara running down her cheeks. \u201cI just want what\u2019s best for you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you don\u2019t. You want what makes you feel less guilty about the past.\u201d My voice softened slightly, because despite everything, she was still my sister. \u201cBut destroying my marriage won\u2019t change what happened to you, Cathy. It won\u2019t erase that night or make Vivienne\u2019s sacrifice any less meaningful.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I opened the door, then paused one more time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSera is my wife. She\u2019s Luna\u2019s mother. She\u2019s your sister\u2013in\u2013law, whether you like it or not.\u201d I looked at her directly, making sure every word landed. \u201cAnd if you ever speak to her the way you did tonight again, you won\u2019t be welcome in my house or around my daughter. Are we clear?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cathy nodded, still crying.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGood. Now you need to apologize to her. Tonight, before we leave.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDarius-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight, Cathy. Or we\u2019re done.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I walked out of the study, my heart pounding with leftover adrenaline. In the hallway, I nearly ran into Vivienne, who was standing just outside the door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh,\u201d she said softly, her eyes wide. \u201cI was just looking for the bathroom.\u201d She laughed nervously, \u201cI seem to have forgotten my way around the house, it\u2019s been so long,\u201d She quickly added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something in her expression made me wonder how long she\u2019d been standing there. How much she\u2019d heard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s upstairs, second door on the right,\u201d I said carefully.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you.\u201d She started to move past me, then stopped. \u201cDarius? What you said in there about Sera\u2026 you really meant all of that, didn\u2019t you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked at this woman who\u2019d once meant everything to me, who\u2019d sacrificed herself for my family, who was\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Chapter 21 Every Word\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
now dying far too young. And I felt an ache I knew would never go away, yet I knew it was a necessary pain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery word,\u201d I said quietly. \u201cShe\u2019s my wife, Vivienne. She\u2019s the mother of my child. What we had when we were younger\u2026 it\u2019s not worth destroying what I have now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something flickered across her face\u2013disappointment, maybe, or hurt. But she just nodded and continued toward the stairs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood in the hallway for a moment, thinking about what I\u2019d just said. About the choice I\u2019d just made.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then I went to find my wife.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Souls Remember What Matters \u2014 Corey Gibson 21 Chapter 21 \u2013 Every Word\u00a0 DARIUS\u00a0 I found Cathy in our mother\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-day-i-signed-the-papers-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23467\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}