Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
LIVIANNA/LILY
Eight Months Before Now
Brotherly Secrets & Paralyzing Truths
When the past spills out and the world turns upside down.
Bren’s deep voice cuts through the ambient noise of the coffee shop. “You look like you got hit by a truck.”
He’s sitting in a corner booth, wearing dark sunglasses that hide what I’m sure is evidence of what he did last night and nursing what appears to be his third espresso of the morning.
“Right back at ya.” I slide into the seat across from him and take off my shades.
He does the same, showing off his red-rimmed blue eyes. It’s been almost two months since we’ve seen each other, and we both look like we’ve been through the wringer.
I place my purse next to me. “I see we’re both dealing with our lives like mature adults.”
“Speak for yourself. I’m handling mine like a rockstar.” He pushes a coffee cup toward me, steam rising from the rim like incense. “Extra shot and extra sugar. Everything you need to feel human again.”
“Thanks. You’re my hero.” I wrap my fingers around the ceramic warmth and inhale the bitter comfort. “I have news about my living arrangements.”
“Let me guess. You’re moving to a convent to become a nun.”
“Close.” I take a careful sip, testing my stomach’s willingness to accept caffeine as penance. “No, seriously, I’m moving out of our parents’ house. I got the keys this morning.”
“You already bought a place? That was fast.”
“I didn’t purchase the property. It’s a business arrangement I made.” The words taste careful on my tongue. “It’s temporary but private and secure. It’s in Malibu.”
“Malibu?” He leans back, studying my face. “That's not exactly cheap real estate for a temporary situation.”
“I know, but it’s complicated.”
“Everything is with you lately.”
“Well, I’m overwhelmed and busy with work, so this is a simple solution.”
He fiddles with the ring he wears around his finger. “Wanna talk about it?”
“Yes and no.” My shoulders roll forward. “If I tell you, you’re just going to lecture me.”
“Why? What did you do?”
I shouldn’t tell him, but I can’t help myself. He’s always been able to get me to open up to him.
“Bren, if I tell you something, do you promise not to tell anyone?”
“You mean Cash?”
“Not just him. I mean everybody. Especially our parents and Callum. I don’t want them to know.”
Bren shifts closer to me, resting his arms on the table. “Sounds serious.”
“It might be, so I need you to give me your word that you won’t say anything.”
“It’ll be our secret. You know I’ve had your back ever since we were young, so you know you can trust me.”
My stomach tightens, but I ignore my fear. “The house I’m moving into is owned by a man I’m seeing.”
“Who? And give me all the details because this is the first time I’m hearing about any guy here in California, and you’re telling me you’re moving in with him. I’m not sure I’m gonna support you in this decision. It’s too—”
“Stop it, Bren. I’m not going to be living with him. He owns another house and travels all the time. I barely see him.”
“But he’s letting you live in his place?” Bren’s brows come together. “You’re telling me half-truths again, Livianna, and I don’t like it. Spill it, or I leave and tell Mom and Dad everything.”
“For fuck’s sakes. Can’t I have this one thing without you needing every detail? I don’t ask you about your sex life.”
“True, but I don’t have some chick living with me.”
I clench my jaw tight. “I already said we’re not moving in together. His property is sitting empty, and I was near a mental breakdown. I think he offered it to me to keep me sane.”
Bren rests back and analyzes me for a moment while I sip on my coffee. I knew I should’ve kept my mouth shut.
After a moment, he takes a drink of his espresso and starts shifting around like he’s uncomfortable. His thumb taps the edge of the table in a constant nervous rhythm as he seems to be warring with himself about something.
I can’t take it anymore. “What? You’re acting strange, so just say what you need to say.”
He seems to consider something, then sits straight and swallows hard.
“There’s something I need to tell you about Cash.” Bren hesitates, running his hand through his messy hair. “Something I probably should have told you years ago.”
The mention of the past hits me like ice water in my veins. My fingers tighten around my cup until I’m sure it might crack.
“This sounds ominous.”
“That’s just it.” Bren gets more serious than he has been in ages. “That night… The night you walked in on him and Zara.”
The coffee shop around us fades to background noise. My pulse hammers against my throat as every carefully constructed wall I’ve built around that incident starts to crumble.
“Bren, don’t. I don’t want to rehash everything.”
“He didn’t cheat on you, Livianna.”
The words detonate in the space between us like a bomb made of possibility and regret. I can’t breathe or think. I can’t process what he’s saying because if it’s true, then everything I’ve believed for the past five years is a lie.
“That’s not possible.” I shake my head. “I saw them in bed together. She was naked and so was he. He didn’t even care—”
“You saw what Leon and Zara wanted you to see.” Bren reaches across the table, his fingers brushing mine. “Cash was manipulated by Leon. Zara wanted retribution from you for getting her fired, and Leon helped her get it. The whole thing was staged.”
The world tilts sideways. Every memory I have of that night reshapes itself into something darker, more sinister than I ever imagined. The look in Callum’s eyes when the lights turned on. It wasn’t guilt, but horror and helplessness.
Why would he do that to me?
My hands tremble and my vision blurs. “You’re lying.”
“No, I’m not.” Bren weighs every word like it matters. “Cash told me Leon made him do it or else he would… I know what Leon was capable of. And I know Cash loves you more than his own life.”
I press my palms against my eyes, trying to stop the room from spinning. Five years of anger and building my life around the certainty that Callum betrayed me. And now Bren’s telling me it was all orchestrated cruelty.
“Why are you telling me this now?”
“Because watching you move on over something that didn’t happen is killing me. And because Cash has spent years hating himself for something he never did. Maybe... Maybe it’s time you two figured this shit out.”
I let the silence stretch between us while my mind races through every interaction, every second of pain I’ve carried like a badge of honor. If Bren is telling the truth, then I’ve wasted five years hating the wrong person.
“Bren, it doesn’t matter. If it weren’t that, it would’ve been something else. If we were meant to be together, we would’ve found a way.”
“You don’t believe that.”
“Yes, I do.” I stand abruptly. “Because the alternative is that I’ve been living a lie for years. And knowing you had this information and withheld it from me… All my agony that you could’ve ended… I can’t handle this right now.”
“I’m sorry, Livianna.” Bren rises to his feet. “I vowed not to tell you. There was too much on the line.”
“Such as?”
“Our careers. I know that makes me a dick, but that’s the truth.”
I want to stomp out and tell him to fuck off, but I can’t because if he had told me, I never would’ve found Jax. Just as Jax always says, fate had other plans. All my hurt and anger fall away.
I fumble for my purse. “Believe it or not, I understand where you’re coming from.”
“Where are you going?”
“To my new place. Want to come? I could use the distraction.”
“Yeah, I haven’t seen enough of you, and I wanna make sure we’re cool.”
“Bren, we’re more than cool. Part of me thinks if it were written in the stars, Callum and I would’ve worked out. We can’t go back in time, so let me digest this and… I don’t know. Maybe it’s time I forgive Callum and live in peace for once.”
“Agreed. Besides, who’s saying fate isn’t still working behind the scenes?”
I think of Jax and can’t help but smile even though he was with that witch, Cindy, last night. I know my mom and dad set him up, but it still aggravates me.
“Come on, Bren. We’ve got a home to go see.”
The drive to Malibu passes in tense silence, both of us lost in thoughts too heavy for conversation. When I pull up to the gates of the beach house, Bren lets out a low whistle.
“This is your temporary pad?” He stares at the pristine mansion that’s far from a typical beach dwelling. “What kind of business is your guy in, exactly?”
“The kind that pays well.” I turn off the engine, but don’t move to get out. “I expected it to be amazing, but nothing like this. It’s beautiful.”
“It’s fucking gorgeous. And probably worth more than anything I’ll ever own.” Bren peers over at me. “You gonna pull into the driveway and show me inside?”
“I left the keys at home.” The lie slides out smoothly. “But we can check out the private beach.”
We make our way down to the sand, shoes in hand, and let the ocean breeze carry away some of the morning’s heavy revelations. The area is empty except for a few people taking strolls.
“So how’s he doing?” I glance at my brother. “Callum… Is he clean?”
Bren kicks at a piece of driftwood. “He’s sober and working out with me every day because apparently channeling rage into deadlifts is healthier than drowning in Jack Daniels. He’s better than he has been in a long time.”
“That’s good.” I mean it, even though my mind still spins as I try to come to terms with the truth. “What about…you know…dating?”
Bren gives me a sideways smirk. “You really wanna know?”
“I asked, didn’t I?”
“He’s not sleeping around. Hasn’t been with anyone I know of for over a year, maybe longer.” Bren stops walking and turns to face me directly. “Your breakup broke something in him, Livianna. Something I’m not sure can be fixed.”
My chest hollows out. The words hit hard. I sink onto a log, suddenly exhausted by the weight of everything I didn’t know I was carrying.
“Bren, I need to forget about this conversation.”