Page 86 of This Witch Is Not Wicked

“You don’t care about what he wants as long as he’s doing your bidding,” Enid continued. “You’re working him to death. He stays up all night reading alchemy books, studying the art of making potions because there’s no other time for him to do it, and that’s his true passion. You take him for granted. You demand and demand and demand, yet you never stop to ask what he wants for himself, and he doesn’t say anything because he’s trying to make everyone else happy.”

Mother’s eyes welled with tears, and I looked up at Enid, shocked by this outburst. She’d barely showed any emotion when my brother was tearing her bog apart, but he said one thing about my lab, and she’d exploded.

She said all the things I hadn’t been able to say, and she’d done it the first official time she met my family. She was so brave, so utterly brave.

“Nevan.” Enid shook her head, tears gathering in her eyes as if she was coming back to herself after an out-of-body experience. “I don’t think I can do this anymore.” With that she turned and ran out of the house, the door slamming shut behind her.

I blinked, not fully able to process what had happened in the span of a few short minutes.

“What in the fuck was that?” Wolfe said.

A loud snort came from across the table, and I looked over to see Cillian asleep, chin tucked into his chest.

What a mess.

I opened my mouth to say something, to explain myself, then closed it because I had no idea what to say. I looked behind me. Enid’s figure got farther and farther away from the cottage in the waning light.

“We can talk later,” Mother said. “You have to go after her.”

My mind replayed all the amazing things Enid had said, then landed on that final thing she’d told me.

I don’t think I can do this anymore.

“Did she just break up with me?” I asked, feeling dazed. Maybe the wine was finally hitting me.

“It sounded like it.” Wolfe took another bite of his chicken leg, and Niamh elbowed him.

Mother reached across the table and laid her hand over mine. “Go after her.”

If Enid had ended it, that meant our entire charade was up. She didn’t want to fake date me anymore. I’d known something was wrong all night, but I hadn’t realized how wrong. Until she said those words. Fuck.

“You can fix this, Nevan,” Niamh said with an encouraging smile.

“No I can’t.” I let out a dark laugh and leaned back in my chair. “I actually can’t fix this because none of it was real.”

Father dabbed his mouth with a napkin. “Don’t say that, son.”

“No.” I took off my glasses and pinched the bridge of my nose. “You don’t understand. I mean those words literally. None of it was real. I lied to all of you.”

Confusion flitted across Mother’s face. “You lied about what?”

“About my relationship with Enid. We made the entire thing up.”

“Why in the fuck would you do that?” Wolfe asked.

Enid had been brave, so I supposed I could be too. I threw up my arms. “Because I don’t want a relationship, and you wouldn’t listen. None of you would. I’m so busy already between being a healer and trying to create enough potions that I could open my own apothecary⁠—”

“You want to open your own apothecary?” Father asked.

For fuck’s sake. My family really knew nothing.

“Enid needed someone to help improve her reputation so she doesn’t get exiled,” I continued, “and I needed someone to get you off my back about marriage. Except then . . .”

I trailed off, not sure where my mind had been going with that sentence.

“Except then you fell in love with her,” Mother said softly, eyes once again welling with tears.

Love. The word struck me straight in the heart, and I knew instantly it was true. Fuck me.