Page 24 of Broken Butterfly
She couldn’t be more wrong.
Elizabeth floats closer to me. “Have you ever been in love, Fallon?”
I don’t answer.
“Julien always tells me that my capacity for love is infinite. I guess, maybe, that’s how I can love him, Jayson, and Ryder at the same time. But I think there’s a difference between loving someone and falling in love with someone. Love changes and evolves over time, don’t you think?”
I remain silent and watch the misty vapor rise from the water while listening to her melodic voice.
“Love is constant like the sunrise and sunset. You know they will always happen, just like your love for someone will always be in your heart, even if you aren’tin lovewith them. I’m not making much sense, am I?”
“You’re naïve, kitten. Love is just an illusion. It’s a word used to justify possession and jealousy. If love was real, it would last. Couples say they love one another then break up a year later. A husband will tell his wife he loves her every day, then fucks anything in a skirt behind her back. Parents say they love their children then ignore them or abuse them. Love is complete bullshit.”
“You’re wrong, Fallon.”
“Am I? You can’t even decide who you love, Elizabeth. Your entire life, you’ve been manipulating three men who say they love you and who you say you love in return. You’re a coward. That’s not love. That’s you being scared and selfish.”
“Fuck you, Fallon. How dare you presume to know anything about me or how I feel? I have loved more deeply than your cold heart could ever comprehend. I ran because I’m broken and no good to anyone right now, including myself. I had a life that was taken from me. I survived whatHedid to me and was building a new life, one that I cherished and wanted more than anything. Then that was taken from me too, just like my daughter. So fuck you!”
Elizabeth jumps off her floating mat and swims away from me, heading back in the direction of the hotel. Daughter? What the hell is she talking about?
“Elizabeth!” I yell at her. She doesn’t stop but does toss back her middle finger at me as she gets out of the water and puts on a robe.Shit! I go after her.
I catch up to her in our room. “You said daughter. What the hell did you mean by that?”
“And I said fuck off.” She glares at me. If I were a smart man, I would back off and leave her alone.
“What did you mean, Elizabeth?”
She grabs her suitcase from the closet and begins throwing items haphazardly into it. If she thinks I’ll let her walk out of this room or allow her to leave me, she is out of her goddamn mind. I yank the case from the bed and throw it across the floor.
“You are such an immature asshat.”
“Tell me something I don’t already know. What daughter?” I’m like a pit bull unwilling to let go. She tries to move past me, but I push her back. I’ll get physical with her if I need to.
“What daughter?” I ask again. She rips her robe off exposing her bikini-clad body to me and points to the scar that slices right down the middle of her abdomen.
“The daughter that was taken from me. The daughter I lost because ofHim. The daughter I never knew existed because I was in a coma when I lost her.”
What the fuck? She was pregnant when she was attacked?
“Now you know all my dirty little secrets, Fallon.”
“Elizabeth,” I solemnly say because there is nothing else that I can say at this moment.
Tears leak down her cheeks and I about fall to my knees wanting to beg forgiveness for being the cause of her current pain. She clenches her hands into tight fists as if she is preparing to punch her way out of the room to get away from me.
“You’re so wrong, Fallon. Love is real. It’s not selfish or possessive. I love my daughter more than anything in this world. Jayson and I created her from our love. If I could have given my life in exchange for hers, I would have done so without a second thought.”
“I’m so sorry, Elizabeth.”
Her face heats and her eyes blaze like an emerald inferno. “You can take your apology and shove it straight up your ass. I don’t want it.”
“You want to fight, kitten? I’m more than ready to take your punches and verbal blows. If that’s what you need right now, then bring it on.”
“I hate you,” she seethes.
“No, you don’t.”
