Meadow’s POV:


    My breath stuttered and my eyelids fluttered. I had to physically clutch my chest through my top because


    his words had cut me deeply.


    ‘Most marriages are jokes,‘ he’d said. Like ours. Like my marriage to ric. A contract, his need to feel


    touch, my need to be ruined. It wasn’t real. None of it was.


    Yvonne scowled, curling her fists on the table. “I’m going to have a talk with his manager,” she gritted


    out, but before she could rise to her feet, I stopped her.


    “Don’t,” I muttered, shaking my head. “It’s not worth it.”


    ‘He didn’t lie,‘ I almost added.


    Yvonne watched me for a moment with her head tilted, almost like she was trying to figure something


    out. And then she asked out of nowhere: “Is your marriage a joke, Meadow?”


    My jaw ticked. “Now why on earth would you ask me that?”


    She hesitated before she answered. “I didn’t mean it like that. But like you said, I lied to you, and you wish


    I gave you a heads up. But if I had given you one, would you have left him, Meadow?” Her gaze shifted to


    the ring on my finger. “Because I see that ring, and if you were anyone else, I’d say you married him for his money, but your father is a goddamn billionaire-”


    “Was,” I cut in coldly. “He was one. Not anymore. Now he’s just a prisoner in a cell living the rest of his days there as punishment for his sins.” My voice cracked at the end.


    I didn’t like to talk about my father. I didn’t like talking about anyone in my family, really. But I hadn’t


    spoken to my father in nearly twelve years–if not longer.


    And I had no interest in doing that anytime soon. Or ever. But it was easier to make Yvonne believe that I


    was with ric for his money, because after my father was convicted, his bank ounts were frozen and emptied because he had embezzled most of it.


    All of it, even. His entire lifestyle was a lie.


    “So what?” Yvonne scoffed. “You married ric for his money? I already told you you still have a trust fund.”


    “And I don’t want it. I don’t want any of Clint’s dirty money.


    Both of us had forgotten about our drinks, but now, Yvonne picked hers up, taking a small sip of it. I didn’t


    touch mine.


    “So what? You think ric’s money is clean?”


    “Yes,” I answered confidently. I didn’t know much about him, but I knew he had integrity, and I was certain that he hadn’t acquired his money illegally. Hell, he grew up with money. I could tell by the way Ingrid behaved.


    ‘Doesn’t mean his father was clean, though, does it?‘ a voice in my mind asked.


    I swallowed, shaking my head to clear my thoughts as my eyes met Yvonne’s brown, worried ones–if she really was worried, that is.


    Yvonne was silent. I ran a hand through my hair, already getting frustrated. “Why are you even so concerned about this, Yvonne? Do you want ric? Is that it? Is that why you want me to leave him so badly?”


    I noticed the way her right eye twitched every time I called her Yvonne… and that was exactly why <b>I </b>continued to call her that.


    “God, no,<i>” </i>she replied, grabbing my hand across the table. I wanted to pull away, but I didn’t. “Meadow, I just want what’s best for you, okay? You had just gone through a break up and you jumped into another—”


    “Yeah, and guess the reason why we broke up.‘


    I hadn’t outrightly told Yvonne what Juniper did, but I did tell her the night of the party that my sister was the reason.


    Yvonne swallowed. “About that… why didn’t you tell me that Juni was locked up in a psychiatric facility?”


    All the breath was knocked out of my lungs as my eyes grew slightly wide. There’s no way she would’ve known unless… unless she had already met with Juniper.


    It had already been about a week since she was released, and I still hadn’t heard from her.


    And now I had to exin why my own sister was locked up in a loony bin. “I–I…”


    “You get mad at me for lying to you while you were also actively lying to me?” Yvonne scoffed. “What did she do to you that made you want to keep her in there?”


    My lips pulled down into a deep scowl and I tilted my head, tapping my index finger against my chin like I was thinking. “Let’s see… Oh, I know. She asked Tyler to fucking rape me right after she beat me up,” I hissed. “And that was a day after Tyler confessed to have yed me because my own sister asked him to. ric was simply trying to protect me from her, and at first, I was onboard with it.”


    Yvonne’s gaze narrowed as she stared at me through the rim of her ss. “What do you mean ‘at first<b>“</b><b>?</b><b>” </b>


    I shoved out a breath, not sure why I was still talking about this. “When I asked ric to let her go, he said I wasn’t ready, and that it was for my own good. And when I went to see her, she was okay for a while and then she just… switched up on me.”


    Something shed in Yvonne’s eyes. “Well, she was held in a psychiatric facility. What did you think would happen? They must’ve given her drugs that made her… deluded. And I am sorry,” she whispered. “I am so sorry about what she did to you. If I’d known earlier, then I wouldn’t have asked ric to release


    her…”


    I stopped listening just then. She was still speaking, but I just… wasn’t listening. Because my ears were ringing. I shook my head, pulling my brows together as I focused on my aunt.


    “Wait, what did you just say?”


    There was no way.


    No. Fucking. Way.


    “About what?”


    My throat tightened. “You said you asked ric to release her?” My voice was so small, I could barely even hear it.


    Yvonne frowned slightly. “Well, yes, I did. The moment I found out about it I told him to let her go.<i>” </i>She grabbed my hands again. “And I promise I’ll make sure Juni doesn’t do something like that to you again.”


    For weeks, I had asked ric–No. Begged him–to let my sister go. But the moment Yvonne asked, he released her<b>? </b>


    He released her for his first love. Not me.


    My breath hitched as something else hit me.


    How did ric know to release Juniper on ount of Yvonne’s request? He wasn’t supposed to know that she knew Juni.


    It didn’t make any sense.


    “Yvonne…” I started, not knowing how to word the question. Did he know that she was my aunt?


    “And don’t worry, love. I didn’t tell him we were rted.”


    “Then how… how did you get him to release Juni?”


    Yvonne took a long sip of her drink this time. And when she dropped the ss down onto the table, she looked away from me, avoiding my gaze.


    “Yvonne?”


    She heaved a sigh, and when she looked back at me, a familiar expression of guilt was swirling in her


    eyes.


    <b>“</b>I’m sorry, Meadow. I–I shouldn’t have…”


    My heart fell into my stomach. “You shouldn’t have what?” I asked slowly.


    “Last week, we were… together in Vegas and ric got drunk and he… he said some things, okay? And


    then he mentioned locking his wife’s twin sister in the facility and I just… I asked him to let her go.” 1