191 Chapter
downstairs in time to see him stumbling through my front door.
an? What the hell man?” I ask as I help him up, supporting his weight,
He was drunk, it wasn’t a hard guess. He usually stays clear from drinking too much because of what
happened. Today things seem different. It fucking worried me because the last time he drunk this much
was during his dark times.
I help him take a seat then take mine beside him.
“What happened Ro?” I ask worriedly.
“You were right. Fucking right as always” he stammers. “I messed up big time. How the hell am I going to fix what I destroyed with my bare hands?”
I feel the pain in his voice and it kills me. I love my brother more than anything. When he suffers, I suffer right along with him. I would do anything to take away his pain. His heartaches. But I know I can’t. Not really anyway.
“Explain to me why you think you’ve messed up and where exactly have you messed up?”
He looked distraught. Like his world just collapsed down on him.
“I love her Gabe. I fucking love” he yells.
“Who?”
“Ava!” he shouts. “I fucking love her. It hit me today”
And it hit him hard. This is what I was afraid of. When he finally realizes the fucking truth. My prediction came to pass. The realization is his undoing.
“Why didn’t I realize it sooner? Why did it take me this long? She’ll never believe me if I were to tell her that I loved her. I all but killed her love for me. Spent most of the nine years making her pay for that night. I hurt her so fucking much. She’ll never believe me”
A tear drops down his face. Paih marking his grey eyes that are similar to mine. I feel my heart lurch as waves of pain radiate from him.
“What am I going to do? How am I going to fix all that I broke? How the fuck am I supposed to mend her broken heart when I broke it?”
I grip his shoulder and bring him to me. Rowan isn’t one to show weakness. Even when Emma left him, he
how he would fix what was shattered. He just drank.
+15 BONUS
His shoulders shake as he tries to fight his emotions. My heart goes to him. He is my twin and I fucking
hate seeing him like this. I have no idea how to help him.
Nine years of pain and heartache wasn’t going to be easy to fix. Ava had grown into herself. Risen up from
the ashes like a damn phoenix. She wasn’t going to easily allow those that hurt her come near her.
“I don’t know Ro, but you’re Rowan fucking Woods and you always get what you want. You’re going to fix
this and you’re going to get Ava back. You never quit, so don’t start now”
He straightens and looks forward. His eyes staring at nothing. Completely lost in his mind. 1
“What if she doesn’t take me back?” he whispers more to himself.
This isn’t my brother. Rowan is assured and confident. The fact he is doubting himself just proves the
power Ava has over him. I fucking believe she has more power than Emma ever had.
The love he had for Emma was youneed
easy. Puppy love. That’s why it never lasted. That’s why it
crumbled at the first sign of trouble. I believe, though not entirely sure that what he may feel for Ava may be stronger. Way fucking stronger.
“You’ll just have to give it your best” I whisper back. 1
We stay seated, lost in our own heads, until he falls asleep. I stand up and help him to one of the bedrooms. The one he uses while he is here.
I deposit him on the bed and watch him for a while as he struggles even in his sleep. I want to be confident that he will win Ava back, but I am not. Nine fucking years. That’s how long he has hurt her.
I would be surprised if Ava gave him a chance after that. I can only hope. Hope that the love she had for him isn’t entirely gone, because I’m not sure he’ll survive losing her.
Synopsis
Ava: Nine years ago I did something terrible. it wasn’t one of my best moments but I saw an opportunity to have the guy I’ve loved since I was a young girl and I took it. Fast forward to years later and I’m tired of living in a loveless marriage. I want to free both of us from a marriage that should never have taken place. They say if you love something…. It was time to let him go. I know he’ll never love me and that I’ll never be his choice. His heart will always belong to Her and despite my sins, I deserve to be loved. Rowan: Nine years ago, I was so in love I could barely see right. I ruined it when I made the worst mistake of my life and in the process I lost the love of my life. I knew I had to step up in my responsibility and so I did, with an unwanted wife. With the wrong woman. Now she has once again flipped my life by divorcing me. To make matters even more complicated, the love of my life is back in town. Now the only question is, who is the right woman? Is it the girl I fell head over heels in love with years ago? or is it my ex wife, the woman I never wanted but had to marry?
