Ethic couldn’t tear himself away from her, if he wanted to. He should have, months ago, before it ever went this far, but he hadn’t and now the truth had revealed his deception. He had wanted to tell her so many times. He had tried to tell her, but he knew as soon as he spoke the words that what they shared would die. Selfishly, he had wanted to hold onto her a little bit longer. He knew she would be hurt, but the fear that he saw in her eyes broke him.

“Let me explain,” Ethic said.

Alani was like a pot of boiling water. As the revelation settled into her soul, violent bubbles of anger ballooned inside of her.

“Explain? You want to explain yourself? You want to tell me how you took my daughter’s life? How you shot my brother? Or do you want to tell me why you came into my life, watched me self-destruct right in front of you…” she couldn’t even finish her sentence. The pain in her stomach was crippling. The sickness in the back of her throat was building. “I was torn apart! My heart was in fucking pieces and I stitched my shit up for you! I salvaged whatever I could and handed it to you on a platter. For you, Ethic! You made me love the person who murdered my daughter!” she wailed. “My brother! Taking them wasn’t enough for you? You had to take my dignity too?” She had to grip something to keep from falling. It was instinct for Ethic to go to her, to touch her. It was what she always needed when she was weak. His touch. To feel. Him. Now, it burned.

Before Alani knew it, she was swinging. She had boiled over and her attack was relentless. “I fucking hate you!” she shouted, like a madwoman, as she beat his chest. “I hate you!” He stood there, with misted eyes, telling her he was sorry. He was staring at her, as if she was about to disappear before his eyes… as if she were a good dream that he was about to wake up from. The kind of dream that made you feel good but that you couldn’t remember once you opened your eyes. He didn’t want to wake up, but as she hit him, slowly reality became clear. “Don’t look at me! Don’t you dare look at me!” She was so enraged that she spit in his face, then slapped him with so much force that his head turned on impact.

Bella ran down the stairs. “Daddy!”

“Go upstairs, Bella, everything’s fine,” Ethic said, sternly.

“But, Daddy?”

“Go!” He didn’t look at Bella. He was too busy looking at Alani, but he heard his daughter’s footsteps as they traveled up the stairs.