Page 74 of Healed

“Pardon?”

I vaguely remembered Rachel telling me about the contract last night, but I didn’t know enough of the details.

“You didn’t hear about that? Another time,” she laughed, waving her hand. “Suffice to say, after the six months, Dante and Rachel continued seeing her—with Vienna tagging along after the whole ki—you know what,” she flinched. “I’ve said too much. Never mind.”

Kiss? Had she been about to say kiss?

“Long story short, we all see her. Doctor Ashleigh was the one who helped me get my PTSD diagnosis.”

“Can we just circle back to the whole kissing thing?”

She flinched again. “You caught that, huh?”

“Yep. And I’m guessing with your reluctance to talk about it, that means Vienna and Rachel kissed?”

Why did that hurt so much?

Vienna and I weren’t even together. I knew he fucked a lot of women these past ten years. I’d heard more than one woman gossiping about it. I hardly expected him to be living like a monk whilst also pining for me.

But still…

I didn’t know if it hurt because it happened, or because no one had bothered telling me about it.

“It was a long time ago,” Jenna said. “And trust me… neither of them wanted it to happen. There was a whole series of events that led up to it. I think since Vienna is still breathing and Dante isn’t wearing his skin as a suit to remind everyone what happens when you betray him is all the evidence you need that this isn’t how it sounds.”

“I suppose,” I shrugged, because I didn’t know what else to say. I had no business being mad about it. Especially as Vienna had spent years believing I was happily another man’s old lady.

“Can we just forget I said anything?”

“Already forgotten,” I murmured, all whilst knowing I was filing that away for future anxiety ammo during my next panic attack.

Thank you, brain.

“Was that your little boy I saw in here?” I asked Jenna as a way to steer the conversation to safer topics.

“Sure was,” she beamed, and I watched in amazement as her entire face changed. She became more animated, sitting up straighter. Her eyes still shined with hurt and loss, but the mere mention of her son had life back in her. Even her skin tone seemed to perk up, colour rising in her cheeks.

“How old is he?”

“A little over one. And he’s a handful.”

“I can imagine,” I laughed. “Did I hear Rachel call him Trex?”

“Dante’s doing,” she smiled. “He bit him once whilst he was teething and hence, he was christened Trex. As in T-Rex?”

“I get it,” I smiled.

“Shark would have been the best dad,” she sighed.

And then, before I could stop myself, I muttered the words I never thought I would say to anyone else. “So would Vienna. And I hate myself for taking that away from him.”

Jenna’s hand closed over mine, and she offered me a smile full of sadness and pity.

And then we fell into a silence full of shared pain.

Just two women who had everything, and yet nothing all at the same time.

Chapter 21