Page 40 of Freed By Wrath

Fuck.

“I helped him erase me.” She adds, and the last word splinters apart before it fully leaves her lips.

“Valerie…” I murmur, but her name barely survives the distance between us.

I want to tell her none of this belongs on her shoulders. That loving someone isn’t a mistake. Trusting them isn’t weakness. And mostly, that people like Daniel don’t steal you all at once. They do it slowly, patiently, until you no longer remember where you ended and they began.

I want to tell her she’s not alone anymore. That she doesn’t have to carry any of this all on her own. That somehow, after years and so much distance, she found her way back to three idiots who would gladly carry every broken piece of her heart with her.

But every sentence dies on my lips before it’s born because, for this moment, for the woman in front of me, words feel painfully inadequate.

So I do the only thing that feels honest.

I reach for her hand, and although my fingers hesitate only a fraction before brushing against hers, giving her every chance to pull away, she doesn’t.

Instead, she turns her hand over and threads her fingers through mine.

Silence keeps stretching between us both, no longer empty, but shared.

Finally, she draws in a slow, trembling breath, and continues.

“Then tonight happened.” A small, disbelieving smile ghosts across her lips. “And wrath… freed me.”

Her free hand settles lightly against her chest.

“Because I finally let myself feel it. I let myself hate what he did…” She swallows. “…and what I did to myself.”

Her brown eyes meet mine again and they’re more… soft, hopeful.

“And somewhere in the middle of all that…” Her smile grows just enough to make something inside me crack. “You three found me.”

I open my mouth, and a sad chuckle leaves me.

“Kidnapped you, more like.”

Despite everything, she huffs out the smallest laugh.

“I know none of this is normal, and I should probably be furious with you all for the way things were… done.”

“You have every right,” I add quickly.

“I do, but I’m not.” She steps even closer, close enough that I can see the freckles dusting the bridge of her nose. Close enough that if I reached out—

“I don’t blame any of you.”

“That means…”

“It means I’m not pressing charges or leaving you… in a bad situation. I do not blame any of you, Isaac. Mostly, I’m grateful.” She smiles to herself. “Because three years ago, you showed me a taste of belonging, of what being myself truly felt like, even if just for a few hours. And for the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel like I had to earn my place beside someone.”

I stop breathing.

“You all listened to me, argued with me, laughed with me without asking me to be quieter, prettier, or easier.” Another tear falls down her cheek, and this time I act on it, reaching for her and wiping it away with my own thumb.

My throat tightens, but I ignore it. I have to say it.

“We all thought about that night for years,” I confess, and her eyes widen.

“So did I.” The confession slips out of her lips, and all I can hear is the sound of our breathing mingling and our hearts syncing.