Page 39 of Bailey-Rose: The Complete Duet

“Randall…” I started but stopped, unsure how to even begin to share what I was feeling. “He said such terrible things, untrue things. Warrick’s bar isn’t a shithole or seedy, but I didn’t correct him.”

Licking my lips, I fisted the blanket someone had put on my lap, using it to bleed off some of my anger. “He can say what he likes about me, most if it is true, anyway, but Randall should never have spoken about Warrick’s accomplishments like that. It’s just wrong.”

“Oh, my kind, gentle kitten, Warrick isn’t like this because of that,” Vili murmured, sadness filling his expression. “No, he wanted to break Randall’s wrist for daring to touch what is most important to him, to all of us. Business comes and goes, things happen, you move on, rebuild. Yet, when it comes to people we care about, that is a different story. Like taunting a lion through the bars, not knowing the door to the cage is open. Only the lion’s willpower and control keep it from killing the fool with the stick.”

The guys shifted, and Warrick was now sitting next to Vili so he could look me in the eye. “He’s right. I don’t give one flying fuck what that man thinks of my bar. Hell, he can write a terrible review, slander me on social media, or whatever else makes him feel like the big deal he believes himself to be. I told you in my office that you are what’s important to me, no matter what.”

Tears were now streaming down my face. How could I be such an idiot to think Warrick would be upset with me over such a small matter? The more time I spent around these men, it caused me to realize how tainted the view I had of myself was. With a gentle tug, Vili urged me to curl up on his lap as he hugged me tightly. As self-realization took hold and the pain of that knowledge hit me, Vili held me together. He swayed side to side, singing something softly in a language I didn’t know but was beautiful. With slow, deep breaths, I let his scent become my soul focus as it brought me back to a memory as a child…

“There’s my Bean,” Papa Addy exclaimed as he scooped me up in his arms. “What’s the matter? Has Crew been teasing you again?”

I shook my head, sniffling as I looked into his eyes that matched one of mine. “Why do I have two colored eyes, Papa? No one else does, and they tell me I look funny. One boy said his mother told him it was a mark that I was a bad person, and that’s what made my heart weak too.”

Papa carried me over to the fire we had going out in front of our beach house and took a seat. We went there every summer for two weeks just to be a family. It was Papa Addy’s favorite place to go and mine too. There were other families with young kids who came every summer, and we would play on the beach together.

“Bean, I want you to listen carefully to me, okay?” Papa said in his serious tone. Nodding, I crossed my heart to prove I meant it. “This world is full of people of all different colors, shapes, sizes, and ages. If you looked closely enough, you’d find something odd about every single person who’s ever been born.”

I gasped. “Everyone?”

“Yup, everyone, Bean,” he assured me. “Some of these differences might be obvious while others aren’t, but they’re there, trust me. Now do you want to know what I think about the people the universe blessed with being a little odd?”

Eagerly I nodded my head. “Mm-hmm.”

“Well, this is only my opinion, but so far, I haven’t been proved wrong, so keep that in mind. People like you, who seem a little different on the outside or face health challenges, are some of the best humans I know. Life for them isn’t always easy, but nothing will hold you back if you learn to love what’s different about you. I mean, if really, truly, down to the core of your being you embrace what makes you stand out, then what anyone else thinks won’t ever matter,” Papa explained. “Now I won’t say it’s easy, but that is the journey you must take if you want to be the best version of you that you can be. Sometimes on this journey, you might get lost, lose your way, and believe something that isn’t true about yourself.”

My eyes grew wide with fear. “I don’t like getting lost. It’s scary when I don’t know where I am.”

“No one likes getting lost, but sometimes we don’t even know we’re lost. So the moment you figure out that you let someone tell you that being odd is wrong or bad and believe it, is the instant you come to find me, Daddy Rawr, your mother, or your brothers,” Papa said, tapping my nose with a finger, making me giggle. “Do you know why you need to find us?”

“Because you love me just the way I am,” I answered, repeating the phrase all my parents said as they tucked me in at night.

Papa pressed a kiss to my forehead. “That’s right, Bean, and along the way, you’ll find others who don’t see your differences, loving you like I do. People who want to change you or make you feel bad about yourself have never learned to love themselves. So many people in this big world around us never learn how to do that, but I think people like you were created to teach them how. When they see you confident and embracing what makes you stand out, they will see it’s possible too.”

“You really think I can do something that special, Papa?” I challenged, a frown creasing my brow.

Papa chuckled and reached over to hand me a roasting fork with two giant marshmallows on it. “Yes, my baby Bean, you were born to do lots of special things. Never stop dreaming and always see magic in the clouds.”

Eventually, I calmed and snuggled deeper against Vili as my tears dried. How could I have forgotten that conversation with Papa? He was so adamant about never letting me see myself as anything other than Bailey-Rose, his beloved daughter. Hearing that advice again now as an adult, having lived through so many people telling me what I could or couldn’t do, I realized I’d lost my way. Now that I knew I was lost, it was time to turn to the people who valued me for who I was at the core. Lifting my head, I met Vili’s gaze, full of compassion and affection.

While I’ve only known these men for a few days, there’s never been a moment I felt they pitied me or found me lacking. They were overprotective and cautious when it came to some things, but that was out of fear of the unknown, which had nothing to do with pity. Taking both hands, I adjusted Vili’s glasses back up his nose before leaning in to kiss him.

It was a sweet kiss full of promise, hopes, and new beginnings—all things I hoped to build with this pack and each of the Alphas in it. The purr that emanated from this gentle soul was a balm to the exposed wounds of my heart, easing the pain and giving me hope that I might be able to repair the damage. I might not be as strong and confident as I thought, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t be. Anything was possible with the right people in my corner and the willingness to make a change.

“Thank you,” I whispered, nuzzling my nose against his. “I needed to come to terms with a few things, and you helped me see that. Yet, I’m a little sad that your cocoa has probably gone cold now.”

“Kitten, that is the smallest of worries,” Vili assured me. “I will hand you to Lys before he explodes and make you new cocoa.”

Confused by what he said about Ulysses, I started to ask, but Vili stood in one fluid motion and deposited me on the man’s lap. With a wink and a smile, Vili was off to the kitchen, and I was left to face the rest of my incredibly worried Alphas.

Lysse wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his face in my neck, taking deep breaths of my scent. Everything about his body was rigid like he was ready to jump up and run off to do something. With each inhale, he relaxed until finally, he pressed a lingering kiss on my neck before lifting his head.

“Sooo…” I started, unsure what to even say to them. “I don’t know what to share or tell you about all this. Where would you like me to start?”

“Let’s start simple,” Yun-Sun suggested. “I think it would help to know if he dumped you or you broke up with him?”

Gareth scoffed, smacking Yun-Sun lightly with the back of his hand. “You call that starting simple?” He then turned to me. “Let’s go with how long you were together?”

“We were friends for a few months. I didn’t trust he was really into me. Then officially dating for about six months, the longest I’d ever had a boyfriend,” I shared, plucking at a loose thread on my shorts. “As for Yun’s question, well, I don’t really know. I thought sleeping with another woman was a pretty clear indicator he was done with me. Then again, I did scream and swear at him before storming out of his apartment, so I can see why he thinks I broke up with him there in the bar.”