Chapter 25
ELLA
I’ve been in hiding for two days.
Two full days of avoiding my brothers, the kitchen, stables, and anything that reminds me of Cole, which unfortunately is everywhere. My entire life has somehow become a map of the places where he used to touch me, look at me, smile at me.
Two days of replaying that awful moment in his cabin when he looked at me like loving me was a mistake he desperately needed to undo. Two days of feeling pathetic for crying over something that wasn’t technically a breakup because we never officially named what we were.
But it felt like one, and it hurts like one.
I’m curled on the far corner of the living room couch, knees pulled up, pretending to be intensely focused on work emails while ignoring three grown men hovering around me like oversized, confused barn animals.
I had to leave my bedroom to make space for the maids to clean, and this is the only place I could come to. Too bad it brought me in front of the same people I’m trying to avoid.
Zane clears his throat for the tenth time. “Ella…”
I don’t look up.
Beck edges closer like I’m a spooked colt. “Can we talk? Please?”
I continue scrolling, even though I haven’t read a single sentence on my screen.
Jace sighs loudly. He does that when he’s trying not to yell. “Shiloh, come on. This silent treatment is childish.”
That does it. I shut my laptop so hard the sound echoes through the room. All three freeze, finally, like they realize the ground under them is about to crack open.
“You think this is childish?” I snap, sitting up straight, voice steady in that terrifying way I get when I’ve hit my breaking point. “Really, Jace?”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I just want you to talk to us,” he apologizes.
“You’re not ready for the truth,” I scoff.
“Yes, we are. Talk to us. Please,” Beck pleads.
The three Morgan brothers—six-foot-something walls of muscle and ego—actually take a step back. Good. Because the truth clawing inside me wants out, and it’s been waiting years.
I look at all three of them, wondering if they are ready for this, and realize I’ve held it in long enough.
“Fine, you wanted me to talk? Congratulations. You pushed hard enough. Let’s talk,” I say, getting to my feet. My heart is pounding so hard I feel it in my wrists. “No one is leaving until you listen.”
Zane opens his mouth, but I cut him off with a raised hand. “Not you. Not yet. I’m starting with Beck.”
Beck blinks. “Me?”
“Yes,” I snap. “You.”
His shoulders tense, guilt flickering in his eyes, but he doesn’t know why. Not yet.
“You want to know why I’m mad at you?” I ask. “Really mad?”
Beck swallows. “Ella…”
“You crashed a truck into my training arena,” I start, voice shaking but not weak—shaking with finally, finally telling the truth. “You were high out of your mind. And I don’t care that you didn’t mean to. I don’t care that it wasn’t on purpose. What matters is that I lost everything that day.”
His face goes pale.
“I lost my career. My future. My dream. My confidence. Everything I worked for since I was old enough to sit on a saddle. And you know what I did?” I choke out. “I forgave you. Instantly. I forgave you so fast I didn’t even allow myself to be angry.”
Beck’s eyes shine, jaw trembling. “Ellie—“
“No,” I say, tears burning behind my eyes. “You don’t get to call me that right now.”
He flinches.
“Do you know why I forgave you so easily?” I continue, voice cracking. “Because you were already drowning. Because you were high, broken, and I loved you too much to add to your pain. So I pushed mine down and buried it. And I never brought it up again.”
A tear slips down Beck’s cheek.
Zane shifts, but I whirl on him next. “And you.”
Zane stiffens like he knows what’s coming, and he’s right.
“You got to walk away from your accident and somehow build a whole new life. A wife. A daughter. A future. You got to heal.”
“That’s not fair—“ he starts.
“No,” I bite out, “what’s not fair is that you think I did, too.”
That shuts him up.
“I was the one who begged you to take me to Ava’s concert that night. You didn’t want to go. You said no. I begged until you changed your mind, and because of that, you went, and you got hurt. Because of me, you lost your career.”
Zane’s face twists, tormented. “Ella, that’s not on you.”
“But it feels like it is!” I scream, voice breaking. “I’ve carried that guilt for years, but you never asked about it. Never checked. You assumed I was fine. That the smile on my face meant nothing was wrong.”
He opens his mouth, but I’m already turning to Jace.
“And you,” I whisper.
Jace straightens like someone slapped him.
“When those thugs broke into the house, they weren’t looking for me. They were looking for Tessa.”
Jace’s face goes white.
“They grabbed me, held a gun to my face, and tied me up. They threatened to take me God-knows-where, and all I could think was that I was going to die because of someone else’s choices.”
Jace’s chest rises and falls too quickly, breath sharp. “Ella… I’m so sorry. But I made them pay.”
“I know,” I whisper. “I know you did. And I’m grateful. But the fear didn’t disappear just because you saved me. I still felt it, lived through it, and had to pretend I was okay afterward because I didn’t want you to feel guilty.”
Silence swallows the room, thick and suffocating. All three stare at me like they’re seeing me—the real me—for the first time.
“And you have the nerve to act like Cole is the one ruining my life?”
Zane drags a hand over his face. “We were protecting you.”
“No, you were controlling me. Policing me. Acting like I’m too young or too naive to know what I’m doing.”
Jace looks down. Beck presses his palms to his eyes. Zane’s jaw ticks hard.
“You think Cole seduced me into giving him the contract?” I demand. “That he manipulated me? That he tricked me?”
No one answers, which says everything.
“I fought for him,” I snap. “When Toby and Calista tried to sabotage his company. When none of you wanted to hire him, I was the one who believed in him. Not because I was manipulated, but because he deserved it.”
Beck mutters, “…Ella—“
“No, I’m not done. You want to act like he’s the reason Calista slapped me? Then by that logic, every horrible thing that’s happened to me because of your choices should be blamed on you, right? Should I blame Beck for my accident? Zane for what happened? Jace for the break-in?”
Their breath stutters.
“Exactly,” I whisper. “You’re being hypocrites.”
Zane rubs his temples. “We just didn’t want you to get hurt.”
“Well, guess what?” I whisper fiercely. “You hurt me. All three of you. More than Cole ever has.”
Their faces fall all at once, and I know they finally understand. Or at least hear it.
I shake my head, brushing tears away. “I loved him. I still love him. And instead of being happy for me, you made me feel stupid for it.”
Zane steps forward like he wants to hug me, but I back away.
“No,” I whisper. “Don’t. Not right now.”
I turn and walk toward the hallway.
“Ella—“ Beck calls, voice cracking.
I don’t stop. “I need space.”
I run upstairs before the tears fully spill. When I reach my room, I shut the door and press my back against it, sinking to the floor as the sob I’ve been holding back for days finally breaks free.
A soft knock comes a minute later, followed by Ava’s voice. “Shiloh? It’s me. Please let me in.”
I hesitate, but I know her well enough to know she won’t stop until I let her in. I force myself up and open the door.
“What do you want?” I sniff, wrapping my arms around myself.
“I heard everything. I think the whole ranch did. Are you okay?” she asks.
“Do I look okay?” I retort.
“Of course not. Stupid of me to ask.”
She steps in, holding her arms out. “C’mere.”
Without thinking, I crumble into her embrace, and we drop onto the floor. She holds me until I can breathe again, rubbing slow circles over my back.
“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” she soothes.
“I’m so tired,” I whisper. “I’m tired of pretending I don’t hurt.”
“I know,” she murmurs. “You’ve been carrying it alone for too long.”
I pull back, wiping tears with the heel of my hand. “They think Cole is the problem. But he’s not. Only he thinks that now and is pulling away from me. I don’t want to lose him, Ava,” I cry.
She tilts her head gently. “Maybe you should ask why he pulled away.”
I stiffen. “What do you mean? He pulled away because he’s a coward.”
“No, take a moment to look at things from his perspective. He just got betrayed by a woman he’d vowed till death with,” she reminds me.
“The wound is fresh. He’s been a single dad for years, even though he was married.
He’s never been loved right, and now that he is?
He doesn’t know what to do with it. Of course, he panicked. ”
I blink hard.
“He’s not pushing you away because he doesn’t want you,” Ava continues softly. “He’s pushing you away because he doesn’t think he deserves you. He’s scared, and men don’t know how to handle scared.”
A weak laugh escapes me. “Clearly.”
“And you,” she adds, tapping my knee, “need a therapist.”
I groan. “Ava…”
“I’m serious. You almost died, lost your career in that accident, almost got kidnapped, watched men get killed in your own home, lost trust in people you love, and swallowed everything to protect everyone else.”
My throat tightens again.
“My love,” she whispers, “you’ve been hurt. A lot. And you’ve never let yourself heal.”
She’s right. She’s painfully right.
I whisper, “I… think I want help. I think I need it.”
Ava smiles softly, like she’s relieved. “Good. Because you deserve to feel whole. And you deserve to love without feeling like you’re borrowing time.”
I exhale, shaky. “And Cole?” I ask.
Ava squeezes my hands. “If you still want him, fight for him. But only when you’re ready. And only if he’s willing to meet you halfway.”
I nod slowly, and for the first time in days, the ache in my chest doesn’t feel like drowning. It feels like a beginning.