Her 20-Year Silence Ended When Her Daughter Came Back for Revenge novel · Chapter 12 of 24

Chapter 12: Not for Show

My mother fell asleep at midnight, in a bed, for the first time since she had left the mines.

I sat on the porch steps in the dark with my arms around my knees.

I heard the screen door and did not turn.

Rhys sat one step above me and put a mug beside my foot.

"It's tea," he said. "She put the sugar in. I couldn't stop her."

"She was giving orders in your kitchen an hour ago."

"I liked it."

We sat there.

The lake was black and flat. Somewhere across it, a fish jumped.

"Eight years," I said.

"I know."

"She scrubbed your hallway floor on her knees. She ironed your shirts."

"I know, Nesta."

"And you never asked her one question. Not her name. Not why she wouldn't speak. Not why she kept her hands covered in July."

He did not argue.

"No," he said. "I told myself it wasn't my business. It was easier."

"It was cruel."

"Yes."

I turned and looked up at him.

He held my eyes and did not look away, and I hated that I could see how much it hurt him.

"Is this about the trust?" I said. "Is that why you're helping us? To take the company back?"

"The company can burn."

"You said you wanted something to put in front of a judge."

"I said that before you walked into my library with your hand bleeding." He rubbed his face with both hands. "I'd give her every cent. I'd give it to you. Don't ask me that again."

The wind moved over the water.

"In the car," I said. "You said it was a mistake."

"Nesta."

"You said, is anyone watching."

"I know what I said."

"Is anyone watching, Rhys?"

He stood up, slowly, and held out his hand.

"No," he said.

I took it.

His bedroom was at the far end of the house, away from my mother's door.

He closed it and stood with his back against it, and I stood in front of him, and for a moment neither of us did anything.

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