Chapter 41 Slay Your Demons
SLAY YOUR DEMONS
LILY
Sebastian is still pulling his pants on when I burst out of my bedroom, wearing only the oversized jumper I wore last night. Daniel is sitting at the breakfast bar, drinking a cup of coffee.
“Oh, there you are, brother,” he says, smirking at Sebastian over my shoulder.
“Why didn’t you tell me it was Joseph who punched you in the eye?” I demand, not bothering to look behind me.
Daniel freezes as he lifts his cup back to his lips, his gaze sliding from Sebastian to my scowling face.
“I-”
“How could you keep this from me?!” I don’t wait for him to feed me some bullshit about protecting me, which I’m sure he was just about to do.
Daniel puts his cup back down before raising both hands in surrender. “Okay. I’m going to approach you now, and I’d really like it if my balls remain intact.”
I glare at him as he gets up and comes to stand in front of me, placing both hands on my shoulders. It’s only once he touches me that I realise I’m shaking.
“Firstly, we had every intention of telling you once we had things sorted out.”
“You both should have told me yesterday,” I reply, turning my glare on Sebastian as he comes to stand beside us.
“What good would it have done?” Daniel asks, and I gape at him.
“Are you seriously trying to tell me that you kept this from me for my own good?”
“Yes! That’s exactly what I’m saying. Look at how much better you’ve been doing since you got here. Do you think either of us wanted to bring all this up, knowing it will likely send you spiralling again?”
Sebastian clears his throat and we both turn to look at him.
“It was my choice not to tell you yesterday, Lily. And you’re right, we shouldn’t have made that choice for you. But all we’ve ever wanted was to take care of you.”
I grit my teeth as I rake a hand through my hair.
“I am a grown woman. Something I think you both forget far too often. While I am incredibly grateful to you guys for giving me somewhere to go, I can’t be kept out of things like this.
Not when he will likely try to destroy your business just to get back at you for helping me.
” My voice cracks, and Sebastian takes a step closer, forcing Daniel to move back.
“I can’t let that happen. I won’t let that happen,” I continue, my eyes starting to sting as I fight back tears.
Sebastian pulls me into his arms, and I crumble, beginning to sob as he cradles the back of my head while my tears fall onto his bare chest.
“He can’t do anything to us, Lily. I promise you, it will be okay,” he murmurs into my hair.
“You don’t know what he’s capable of, Sebastian. He will do anything to get what he wants.”
His arms tighten around me. “I do know what he’s capable of. And I’m not afraid of him. He took Daniel by surprise, that’s all. But we’ve known this was a very real possibility and have had our lawyers on standby. He’s not the only one with connections in high places, remember?”
I manage to pull myself together and look up to meet his troubled gaze. “What do you mean, you’ve had your lawyers on standby?”
“The second you are ready to press charges against him, they have everything ready to go. Daniel has the photos of how he found you, and the bruises. We also have a private investigator who has been gathering evidence of all his illegal activity. We have been preparing for this since the day I brought you to Brisbane. But it was always only on your terms.”
I let out a shaky breath, trying to process everything.
“How did he even know I was with you?” I ask, turning to look at Daniel.
He grimaces. “The night before I rang Sebastian, when we went out to dinner? He saw us.”
I sway on my feet, and Sebastian holds me upright.
“You kept that from me all this time?” I look from one brother to the other.
“And I’d do it again. You were a ghost, Lil!
Knowing that he knew where you were would have destroyed you.
I wasn’t going to be responsible for that,” Daniel says, his eyes blazing as he holds my gaze.
“But that was why I called Sebastian. I knew we needed to get you out of Sydney so that you could finally start to breathe and get your spark back, so that when you were ready, you could take the bastard down.”
I huff a bitter laugh. “You can’t take a bastard like him down.”
“We can actually. He might be powerful, but Daniel and I have friends in high places, too. And ones who have far more sway than he does. There was a reason he used me all those years ago, Lil. It was to try and get in with those people. And when it didn’t go how he’d hoped…
” Sebastian leaves the words hanging in the air, and I swallow.
“Then he went after me.”
He nods, his expression clouding over.
I let out another breath, feeling the fight drain from me. “This is all just so fucked up.”
“It is. But I promise, he won’t touch us. Any of us,” he says, cupping my cheek.
I nod slowly. “Okay. But promise not to keep anything from me from now on? Please?”
They both nod and I sit down on the couch, no longer confident I can remain upright with all the adrenaline running through my veins. Daniel sits next to me and pulls my body closer so that I’m tucked into his side.
“I’m going to file a police report once I get back today.”
I sigh, pulling the sleeves of my jumper down to cover my hands. “That will probably just make it worse.”
“Well, we need to do something about him. We’ve ignored him for long enough, and after I went to speak to him, he decided to go after Daniel in retaliation. He’s getting desperate.” Sebastian takes a seat in the armchair across from us, resting his elbows on his knees as he studies me.
I stare at him for a few beats, my blood going cold. “When did you see him?”
He winces and sits back, rubbing the back of his neck. “Last week,” he replies quietly.
“What the actual fuck, Sebastian? Why would you do that?” I ask, gaping at him.
“I had to do something!”
I shake my head, unsure of what else to say, and he studies me for a few beats.
“What do you want to do?”
I snort. “Pretend I never met him?”
The look he gives me is full of sympathy, even as he shakes his head. “Besides that.”
I’m quiet for a while, trying to work out what the best way is to handle my volatile husband.
“I guess… I guess I’ll need to talk to him.” The idea makes me feel sick, but there really is no other choice.
As long as Joseph thinks I’m his, he’s going to keep showing up, and I want him out of all of our lives.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Daniel replies, while Sebastian’s intense gaze remains on my face.
“He never did anything to me whenever anyone else was around. So if we do this where there are witnesses…”
“Do what?” Sebastian asks.
“Tell him it’s over and I want a divorce.”
His expression softens slightly. “We can set it up. You don’t even need to be in the same room. The joys of modern day technology - it can all be done remotely.”
I shake my head. “No. It needs to be face to face.” I lift my chin and square my shoulders. “I want to look him right in the eye so he can see that I’ll never let him hurt me again.”
The look he gives me is a mix of pride and concern. But I know he will leave the choice up to me.
Daniel lets out a breath, squeezing me in a side hug. “We’ll support you in any way you need.”
“Good. Because I’m tired of living in fear. So let’s get those lawyers ready.”
Sebastian nods, rising to his feet to reach for his phone on the table beside the couch.
Daniel and I listen as he talks to their lawyer about what needs to be done to organise a meeting.
It’s obvious that they really did have them sitting on the information until I was ready, because the conversation is over pretty quickly, and Sebastian sits back down, looking exhausted.
“So… I guess I’ll have travel buddies,” Daniel says with a grin. “And we have all this together time for you two to tell me all about all the fucking that you did last night and this morning.”
My face heats up and I bury my face in my hands.
Sebastian sighs. “Really, Daniel?”
“What? Yesterday you were telling me that this couldn’t be a thing, and then last night I’m woken up by the pair of you moaning through the incredibly thin wall. And then again this morning. Of course I’m going to ask questions.”
“You truly are a giant pain in the arse sometimes,” Sebastian says, but I keep my face in my hands.
“Not my fault your contractors didn’t bother with soundproofing.” I can hear the joy he’s taking from stirring his brother up, and I finally look up to glare at him.
“You are such a shit-stirrer.”
“Guilty as charged.” He looks between Sebastian and I for a moment, before shrugging.
“Look, whatever this is, I think it’s a good thing for you both.
You both were dancing around each other for years and it was really fucking annoying.
So as long as you’re both on the same page, I’m happy for you. ”
Sebastian rolls his eyes and gets back to his feet. “I’m going to have a shower.” He heads into his bedroom, and I stay where I am for a moment, before getting up and following him, ignoring Daniel’s chuckle.
“Hey… Are we okay?” I ask, coming up behind him as he digs around in his drawers for a change of clothes.
He turns towards me, before moving to close the door behind me. He sits on the end of his bed and tugs me over to stand between his legs.
“We are perfectly okay.” He slides his hands up and down the back of my thighs as I run my hand through his hair.
“Okay. Good.” I bend to kiss him gently, and he pulls me down so that I’m straddling his lap.
“I’m proud of you,” he says, pushing my hair back behind one ear.
“I haven’t done anything yet.”
He smiles. “Yes you have.”
I let out a breath and allow him to pull me into a hug, sliding my arms around him as I bury my face into his neck. “I just hope I’m strong enough to face him.”
“You are the strongest woman I know, Lily St Clair. And I know you can do this. And I’ll be right there when you slay your demons.”