The Gravity of Us (Elements #4)(69)

I had grown up in a home with screaming, and it was the last thing I ever wanted my daughter to witness.

My voice dropped low. “Please, Jane. Just go.”

She stepped outside, her head still held high. “Think about what you’re about to do, Graham. If you slam this door, it means we must fight. If you slam this door, it means there’s going to be a war.”

With no thought needed, I replied, “I’ll have my lawyers call yours.”

With that, I slammed the door.





“Lyric’s back in town,” I said, hurrying into Monet’s Gardens where Mari was putting together a new window display.

She glanced over at me and gave me a small nod. “Yeah, I know.”

“What?” I asked, surprised. “When did you find out?”

“I saw her two days ago. She stopped by Parker’s place to talk.” The way the words rolled off her tongue so effortlessly and carelessly confused me. Who had taken my sister, my favorite person in the world, and changed her?

What had happened to my Mari?

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked, my chest hurting as my heart began to crack. “You saw me yesterday.”

“I was going to mention it, but our last conversation didn’t lead to the best place. You stormed off,” she told me, picking up the vase and moving it over to the windows. “And what does it matter if she’s back? Her family is here, Lucy.”

“She abandoned them for months. She left her newborn in the NICU because she was selfish. Don’t you think it’s terrible for her to just walk back into Graham’s life? Into Talon’s life?”

“We don’t really get a say in that, Lucy. It’s none of our business.”

More pieces of my heart shattered, and Mari acted as if she didn’t even care.

“But…” Mari took a deep breath and crossed her arms, looking my way. “We do have to talk about the business. I thought I could hold out for a while longer, but since we’re here now, we might as well talk.”

“About what?” I asked, confusion filling me up.

“Lyric is a bit worried about how some of the things in the bookkeeping are adding up, and I mean, I think she’s right. I think we jumped the gun hiring Chrissy. We aren’t bringing in enough profit.”

“Why in the world are you talking to Lyric about the store?” Mari grimaced, and I cocked an eyebrow. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Don’t freak out,” she said, which of course made me freak out even more. “Remember when we were starting out and we couldn’t get a loan to cover the rest of our needs?”

“Mari…you said you got another loan from the bank. You said after months of trying, it finally went through.”

She continued, breaking her stare from mine. “I didn’t know what to do. You were so happy and excited to move forward after me getting sick, and I didn’t have the guts to tell you the truth. You gave up so much of your life for me, and all I wanted was to give you our shop.”

“You lied to me about the loan?” I asked Mari, my chest tight. “You asked Lyric for a loan?”

“I’m sorry, Lucy, I really am. With the medical bills and everything piling up, I knew I’d never be able to get a bank to help me—”

“So you went behind my back and asked Lyric for the money.”

“You would’ve never let me take it if I told you.”

“Of course I wouldn’t have! Do you think she gave it to you out of the goodness of her heart? Mari, everything is leverage with Lyric. She only does things that will benefit her.”

“No,” Mari swore. “She did this for us, to help us get back on our feet. There were no strings attached.”

“Until now,” I huffed, my hands falling to my waist. “If it weren’t for you taking money from her, letting her hold something so big over us, this wouldn’t even be a problem, Mari. Now she’s trying to tell you how to run our shop. We could’ve worked harder to get the loan ourselves. We could’ve done it, but now she wants to ruin everything we’ve built, all because you trusted the snake. We need to destroy the deal.”

“I won’t,” she said sternly. “I was talking to Parker about everything, and he thinks—”

I huffed. “Why would I care what he thinks? It’s none of his business.”

“He’s my husband. His opinion matters to me.”

“I don’t understand why. He abandoned you when you needed him the most. I was there, remember? I was the one who picked up your pieces after he destroyed you.”

“So what?” she asked.

“So what?” I replied, flabbergasted. “That means you should at least trust my opinion over his.”

She nodded slowly. “He said you’d say that.”

“Excuse me?”

“He said you’d play the cancer card on me, reminding me that you were there for me when no one else was. Parker made a mistake, okay? And based on the past few months of your life, you know what it’s like to make a mistake.”

“That’s not fair, Mari.”

“No, you know what’s not fair? Holding it over my head every day that you stayed. Reminding me whenever I have any kind of feelings that you were the one who stuck around to help me during the cancer. So, what, am I now forever indebted to you? I can’t move on and live my life?”