Asher’s POV
I feel like the unluckiest person alive, and every day seems to bring more problems. I just wish Violet were here. She has this
way of making everything feel better, but right now, I’m stuck
in a never–ending limbo.
My mind’s been spinning, and I don’t know what to do
anymore. My dad has always been my hero, my role model, but
the truth of what he’s done. It’s horrifying. I don’t know how to
process it, and I certainly don’t know what to think.
“Your father used to come here a lot,” Matthew said, joining me
beneath the tree my father used to love.
“It’s funny,” I muttered. “They manage to disappoint me even from their graves. It feels like one hit after another since
they’ve been gone.”
“They loved you,” Matthew replied, his voice soft. He was trying to comfort me, but it wasn’t enough. I know they loved me. That’s not the issue. The issue is all the secrets they kept- secrets that now haunt me every single day. I wish they had
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trusted me enough to tell me everything when they were still alive.
“I don’t think I can handle any more of their secrets,” I admitted, my voice tight. Matthew gave me a nod of understanding, not needing to say anything more.
“He’s my brothers,” I added, the bitterness creeping into my voice. “But I honestly don’t even know what a brother is anymore.”
Every single one of them had done nothing but stab me in the back. They said blood was thicker than water, but honestly, my blood relatives were nothing but assholes.
Matthew didn’t speak immediately. He just stood there, hands in his pockets, letting me vent. After a long pause, he sighed, “I know you just found out about this. It’s hard.“”
“Apparently, our parents were more alike than we realized,‘ I sneered. I know my dad wasn’t a bad guy, but I couldn’t wrap my head around how he got tangled up in all of this.
“I never told you this before,” he began, my voice lowering. “But when I found out that my mother wasn’t my real mother, I felt like I was punched in the gut. And it wasn’t just the shock of it-
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it made so much sense. She had treated me horribly for years,
and I just kept making excuses for her. But now, I get it. She
wasn’t even the person I thought she was.
You tried everything you could to earn her love, and so did I
with my father. But nothing ever worked. He kept comparing
me to you–no offense, of course. I just couldn’t measure up in
his eyes.
He always told me how different I was from you, that I was
never going to be the kind of person he wanted me to be. I
preferred reading books in door. I preferred hanging out with
girls instead of sitting through those boring council meetings. I
was born different. But my father hated that. Your father, on
the other hand, will support you no matter what kind of path
you choose because that’s the kind of person he is.
We can’t change the past, Asher. But we can control the future.
You’ve got to stop holding onto that grudge. I know it’s hard,
but it’s not worth it to keep fighting battles that will only bring
more pain.”
I didn’t know if I was ready to hear that yet, but I nodded
anyway. Aiden had a point, but it didn’t change the anger I still
felt deep down. “I don’t know. I just don’t know how to let go of
all this. this betrayal.”
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Aiden smiled a little, trying to lighten the mood. “It’s good to see
you thinking this through. You’ve always been the one with
the answers, but sometimes it’s okay to not have everything
figured out.”
This was the first deep conversation we had. And it’s the first
time he shared his past with me. I knew it’s not easy for himn
because he was also fighting with his past, about how the
queen neglected him and how his father betrayed him. Now
seeing him moving on really made me happy.
“Now, on a totally unrelated note, I’m going to tell you a small
news.” he smirked.
“It’s about you and Grace?” I guessed almost immediately.
“How do you know?” Now it’s his turn to be surprised.
“I can tell from that smile on your face. So. you and Grace are
finally making it official?”
He chuckled, pushing past the heavy conversation. “Yeah, it
was tough, especially after everything with Kylie. But she’s the
one I want to be with.”
“That’s good,” I said with a smile. “You made a choice between
love and duty, and you chose love. I respect that. It’s not an easy
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thing to do, but you did it.”
Chapter 169
