knew how much pain he inflicts on me. If only for tonight, someone could break the spell I’m under, and give my heart to someone else. Or, better yet, return it to me.
I’m no longer the woman I was.
Foolish, confident, and full of dreams.
The Scarlett everyone knew, she’s broken by a man who so desperately needs my help.
There isn’t and never was—a choice in the matter.
When it comes to family, I owe everything to Morgan.
My sister is the reason I’m standing here with everything.
Everything including a broken heart.
Morgan is visibility upset.
Angry eyes are just the start, then came the strut toward us, fists clenched with stark white knuckles which are noticeable even in the dim-lit room.
People around us observe in silence while they huddle in groups, yet glancing every so often with a nosy curiosity.
“What’s he doing here?” she growls, her eyes are blazing at me while she waits for a response while ignoring his presence.
“Morgan, I—”
Noah places his arm on mine, suggesting I don’t answer. Her eyes carelessly wander toward my arm where he’s touching me. Clenching her teeth, a visible flush spreads across her cheeks.
“Morgan, will you calm down. Scarlett didn’t know I was coming. This is my fault. Can we please go somewhere and talk?” he begs.
The fire in her eyes is wild, untamed, and ready to cause destruction as they shift toward him. “Did something change since last week? Did you sticking your dick in some whore’s pussy actually not happen?”
Noah tilts his head in shame, unable to speak or even look Morgan in the face as his posture falls, and his words become silent.
“I didn’t think so,” she clipped, slamming more hurtful words against him despite people eavesdropping around us. “Go on, give me the long-winded explanation on how you’re sorry. How you wish it never happened. Well, guess what? In a few short months you’re going to be a daddy again. Reality check, baby.”
“You chose to give up on us!” Noah erupts, his temper getting the better of him. “You chose yourself over your family. You blame this on me, that this is all my fault, but you set the wheels in motion. I was fucking devastated when you issued me those papers on Christmas Eve, of all days.”
Morgan’s glance tightens. Noah’s not helping to diffuse the situation by placing blame on her. She will never take responsibility for what she started, and so many times I’ve wanted to tell Noah I agreed with him. If she didn’t initiate the divorce, this never would have happened.
But again, this isn’t my battle, and I know better than to openly take sides.
“Morgan,” I say softly, to calm her down. “Let’s go outside. Get some fresh air. Okay?”
She shakes her head like a petulant child, refusing to move.
Taking drastic measures, I pull her arm with force away from Noah, dragging her away from the crowd and to a quieter place behind the kitchen and out onto the small outside patio.
She’s silent all the way, but the second we get outside, she screams, “This isn’t fair! I don’t deserve this. I gave him everything. Everything I had to offer. And look what he did to me.”
Placing my arm around her shoulder, she sobs into my embrace, mumbling words which make no sense at all. She’s hurting, I understand, but in so many ways, I envy her. I envy the life she had, even if it was short-lived with the man she loved. I envy her pain. I’m a sadist, I know. I’d rather feel the love of a man who consumed me than never to have loved at all.
“Look, the two of you need time apart to process.”
“He thinks he can see his kid?” She laughs, pulling away, her mascara running down her face and ruining her perfect makeup. “The judge will do what is in the best interest for Jessa, and he’s a low-lying scumbag. That’ll teach him.”
There’s no reasoning with her. Her anger’s tunnel-visioned and my worry lay with him, not her right now, despite she being my sister. I love Morgan, but she’s not completely innocent in all this mess.
“You need to calm down, okay?” My frustration spirals in my tone. “It’s not like you’re the complete victim in all of this? You sent him the divorce papers. You gave up on your marriage. What did you expect him to do?”