Chapter 21 Holt #2
“I’m so sorry,” she says weakly, stepping closer. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
“What the fuck, Jules?” I shout, anger quickly replacing my shock. “What do you mean, you didn’t mean for this to happen?”
“I don’t know,” she sobs. “I was angry with Rome for what he did, and I thought it would be an easy way to get back at him. There’s no way he could tell it was me.”
“What did you think would happen?” I can’t contain my anger. It bubbles over like a fucking volcano erupting. My skin is white hot and searing.
“I didn’t mean for you to get hurt. I thought he’d be annoyed as usual and just move on. I didn’t think he’d take this out on you.”
My jaw drops, and it takes several seconds for me to draw in another breath as I come to terms with my sister’s confession.
“This is fucking Rome Montgomery we’re talking about. The same Rome Montogomery who made our lives miserable growing up. The same one who picked on you relentlessly as kids. The one who embarrassed you any chance he got!”
“Exactly.” she fires back, her eyes full of hatred and pain. “But I’m not the one who has spent the past year trying to play at being his best friend.”
“Fuck!” I scream, fisting my hair. I spin in a circle, forcing myself to catch my breath. “Do you understand what this has done? What you’ve done to me and the magazine?”
“I’m not the one suing you.” She shakes her head “Rome is.”
“Yeah, but he’s suing me because of you!
” I scold. “He wouldn’t have any reason otherwise.
” I take a moment to catch my breath. My brain is fucking exploding.
The entire empire I’ve built is crumbling because of my own sister.
“Why are you just now telling me this? It’s been weeks, and this has threatened to destroy everything, Julianna. ”
“I tried to tell you. That day in your office, after the auction, but I couldn’t.
You were angry with me for what I said about Selene, then you dismissed me.
After that day, I tried to fix it on my own.
I’ve called Rome, I’ve left messages at his office, but he won’t return my calls.
I don’t think he knows it was me who wrote the article, but he must be ignoring me because of this lawsuit against you. ”
“I can’t fucking believe this.” I grind my teeth so fucking hard, I think they might crack. “How could you do this to me?”
“You don’t understand,” she cries, wrapping her arm around her stomach. Her face is slack, and her skin pale. “I didn’t do this to hurt you. I promise, I didn’t. I did it to hurt him. I wanted to hurt him.” She bends over as if it’s the only thing she can do to keep it together.
But then she collapses to the cold, hard ground, her arms wrapped around herself and her shoulders wracking with her sobs.
I flick my gaze to my mother’s headstone, and my heart breaks. Breaks for my mother. Breaks for Julianna. Breaks for everything we’ve lost.
When I look back to my sister, I’m almost certain it breaks completely.
I close the distance between us and drop to my knees in front of her.
“Hey,” I softly say, wrapping my hands around her face, pulling her up to look at me. “Hey, Jules.”
“Holt,” she whimpers, her eyes softening, full of sadness and regret. “I’m truly sorry. I didn’t do this to hurt you. Rome has the ability to break me, and I couldn’t let him do that. I couldn’t let him win.”
I have no fucking clue what she’s talking about. I’ve watched the two of them over the past year, in the times we’ve run into each other. I’ve seen the way they look at each other.
There’s more there than meets the eye.
I cradle her face in my hands, wiping her tears away. She’s my little sister and I will do anything to protect her. Seeing her this broken and distraught only confirms that our relationship isn’t completely lost. We’ve just wandered a little too far from one another for now.
I couldn’t protect my mother the day she died, but I will spend the rest of my life protecting those I love the best I can.
“I know, Jules,” I whisper. “Please stop crying.”
“But I hurt you. I hurt you and the magazine.” She hiccups. “I promise, I’ll make this right and then I’ll cut Rome off completely. If he tries anything else, I’ll ignore him. We need to move on from who we were—who we are.”
I’m no longer angry, only heartbroken over my sister’s pain.
I pull her toward me in the grass and hold her. I let her cry. I allow her to release it all, whatever it is that she has bottled up inside her.
Her cries grow quiet, and soon all I hear is her breathing.
“I’ll tell him.” She slowly lifts her head from my chest and wipes her drying tears from her cheeks. She almost looks the same as she usually does, strong as titanium, and beautiful like our mother. But the light she usually carries with her has dimmed.
“What do you mean, you’ll tell him?”
“I’ll find him.” She sniffs. “I’ll barge into his office and demand he hear me out. I’ll tell him it was me who wrote that article.”
I shake my head. “Jules, you can’t do that.”
“Yes, I can. If I tell him, then maybe he’ll drop the lawsuit. Before, I was only wanting to convince him to drop it, but maybe if I actually confess and tell him it was me, it’ll get him to listen.”
“If you tell him, he’ll smear your name and the Capuleti name. The headlines will be worse than they already are. You know he won’t hesitate in dragging us through the dirt. He’ll ruin our family, Julianna.”
“I have to confess. This is my doing, and it’s on me to fix it. Don’t you understand?”
“I do understand.” I breathe in and stare into my sister’s eyes. “But don’t you understand that I am your brother and I will always have your back? I won’t let you replace my name with yours in the headlines.”
“But what about the lawsuit?” she asks, her perfectly-manicured eyebrows pulling together. “What about Rome?”
“The lawsuit will play out.” I crack a tiny smile. “Let me handle Rome Montgomery.”
Julianna sighs, her shoulders dropping. We’re still sitting in the grass. Our clothes covered in wet dirt. But we don’t care.
We turn to look at our mother’s headstone together, and from the corner of my eye, I see a single tear slip down Julianna’s cheek.
“I know I haven’t always trusted you, Holt.
” Her teary eyes find mine again. “I don’t agree with your pursuit to finding Mom’s killer.
It’s dangerous, and I often wonder if it’s worth the risk.
But I do believe you love Selene. For what it’s worth, I think Mom would have liked her.
In fact, I know she would have loved her. ”
That one statement from Julianna heals parts of me I didn’t realize were as fractured as they are.
I’ve proven my love for my sister. Now, I just need to prove to Selene that love does exist, and it’s mine she already has right in front of her.