“No.”
“Then what?” Raven started to raise her voice, unable to keep her anger in check.
“I know he’s responsible for a lot of terrible things, but he’s more than that. He’s just so hurt by the awful things he’s seen that he struggles to feel empathy and compassion for others—”
“Then how could you possibly care for a man who feels nothing for others?” Raven’s eyes were big and raging, full of sheer disappointment for her sister.
“Because I believe he can change. I believe he can come back to the right side. I believe, in enough time, he will be who he used to be… He’s just not there yet.”
“Even if that is true, it doesn’t change what he’s already done. He’s ordered his men to execute the weakest worker every week to keep the rest of them working like bees in a hive. He’s done that for years, Melanie. He might not be the one with the knife or the rope, but he’s the one with the blood on his hands. How the fuck do you feel anything for that monster?”
She dropped her chin again, her eyes slowly filling with tears. “That’s a bit hypocritical, don’t you think?”
“My man is nothing like yours.” Raven kept her voice steady, but her rage was making her red in the face. “He’s tried to stop Fender many times. He’s tried to convince him to run the camp in a different way. He’s tried to reason with him. They are not the same.”
The moisture toppled over Melanie’s lashes and dripped straight down her cheeks. “I know I can change him. I can…”
“You’re still going to marry him without knowing for sure?”
“Yes. Because I have faith in him.”
“Or is it because you know you have no choice?” Raven snapped. “Because if a man forces you to marry him, that’s not love. That’s cruelty.”
“He’s not forcing me.” She lifted her chin and wiped away her tears. “He’s never forced me to do anything. I can leave this place whenever I want. I stay because I want to stay. I’m telling you, he’s not the barbarian you know him as.”
“I don’t care how you know him when you’re living in this mansion and life is good. He chooses to execute innocent people. Period. Some of those women could be your friend. One of those women could’ve been me. The only reason why it wasn’t is because Magnus saved me. Let that sink in.”
Melanie inhaled a deep breath, more tears falling down her cheeks. “I understand… I do. I feel like I can feel both things at once. I hate him for the things he’s done, but I’ve also fallen in love with the other side of him. You have no idea how ashamed I feel right now, having you look at me like that, knowing you’re right and I’m wrong. But I also can’t change the way I feel because I’ve never felt this way for a man in my life.”
Raven had no sympathy whatsoever. “You’re too young to know what real love is. You barely have had a long-term relationship with any man in your life. You’ve been traumatized by what you’ve been through, and you found a man who can protect you against all that. Stockholm syndrome. It’s not real.”
I actually felt bad for Melanie, loving her sister but also loving my brother. She felt so much guilt and shame, but she couldn’t just walk away from Fender. It was too complicated. My relationship with Raven was still complicated.
“Raven…” She wiped away her tears with her fingertips and breathed until she was calm enough to speak. “I know it’s wrong. I do. If I could just not feel this way, I would. I know Magnus and Fender are totally different people, but how are you going to be with a man who continues to work at the camp? Maybe he doesn’t like it, but he still participates. Fender doesn’t like it either, but he feels like he has no other choice. Why can you be with Magnus, but I can’t be with Fender? Magnus has never actually tried to stop anything.”
Raven’s gaze turned cold. “He saved us, didn’t he?”
I hated seeing the two sisters pitted against each other when I knew how they really felt about each other. It reminded me of my relationship with my brother. “I will stop it.”
Melanie slowly turned her head to look at me.
“I don’t know how, but I will.” It wasn’t just about being with Raven; it was more than that. It was the right thing to do. Just because horrible things had happened to my brother and me didn’t mean we were justified to do horrible things to other people.
Raven didn’t look at me, but she inhaled a deep breath, and a look of pride came over her face.
“But I understand, Melanie.”
Melanie’s eyes slowly softened as she stared at me.
Raven looked at me, unsure of the meaning of my words.
I continued. “Fender is a good man. He’s loyal like no man I’ve ever known. He’s strong, refusing to break for anyone. He’d cut off his own arm and give it to somebody he cared about if that’s what made them happy. He’s just been hurt by what happened to us, and somehow, having all the money in the world will make our father pay for what he’s done to our family. Hurt people hurt people… And Fender is so traumatized by what he had to witness in our childhood home that he’s numb to the pain and suffering. It doesn’t justify what he’s done whatsoever. But he’s not himself. He’s never really been himself since that night. I believe he can see reason and change. I do. Yes, Melanie, I understand. I hate him for what he’s done…but I still love him.”
Twenty-Nine
Evil Veins
When we returned to my estate, she went upstairs to my bedroom, but she walked quickly and with intention, like she had no desire to sleep. She walked inside and moved to the large window that overlooked the pastures. The curtains were open, so she crossed her arms over her chest and looked out, even though there was nothing to see in the dark.
I could feel her searing emotions, feel her anger. There would be retribution for what I had said to Melanie, and there would be retribution for what Melanie had said to her. I was willing to do anything for this woman except lie about how I really felt.
I stood behind her and watched her for a few moments before I removed my shoes and jeans. I pulled on my sweatpants and threw my shirt in the hamper in the closet. I gave her enough time to speak her mind, but when she didn’t, I came up close behind her.
“I don’t understand her…” She took a deep breath, her chest rising as her lungs expanded. “If she wants to marry a monster, fine. It’s just another stupid decision like all her other stupid decisions. But I won’t be a part of it.”
I stared at her long brown hair as it hung down her back. As the months since I’d first laid eyes on her passed, it had grown longer and longer. It marked the passage of time when there was no other way to keep track of it. “You’re all she has.”
“I don’t care. I can forgive a lot of things…but not that.”
“I’ll be there. I’m all that my brother has in this world, and even if I disagree with his decisions, I’m still his brother…and I’ll be there for him. I know this is hard for you, but we have to remember that. Even if this is the worst decision of her life, you should still be there. She’ll be unhappy if you aren’t, and deep down inside, you know you will be too.”