Book 2 of 2, sequel to Alaska's Illicit.
In which Mikaere returns to Alaska, but upon arriving realizes that she has a new problem: Vaughn, Darren, or should she just stick with Jared?
Vaughn's past and life are revealed, and also a serial killer mi...
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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: THE REVEAL
Content warning: domestic violence, death
Back in October, Vaughn sits down across from Mikaere at the cafe.
She looks pretty in her white dress, and he knows how tired he must appear. He had severe trouble sleeping, and his nerves are quite literally out of control.
He can't stop wondering and worrying over what her reaction will be. Will she blame him? Will she think he's in the wrong? Will she side with the papers?
After they've said hello and gotten their drinks, she remains quiet, waiting patiently for him to start when he's ready. And he's so grateful to her for that, but he wishes he didn't feel obligated to open up like this. But ultimately, it is his choice. And he wants her to know, so he starts at what he feels was the beginning.
"When I...was seventeen, my girlfriend Penny broke up with me for a college student named Ethan Harrison. Who was also my father's business rival's slash ex-friend's son. Basically, it was messy," He starts off, and he has all of her attention. He wonders if she notices the slight shaking of his hands or voice. He hopes she does not. "The first few months, everything was fine. Penny and I were still friends, and she seemed happy. But after a while..." He pauses, taking a sip of his coffee.
This is so hard. He's never told anyone this because he's never needed to. They've just usually already known.
"After a while, I started noticing the bruises. The way she'd flinch or make excuses for things. The signs, everything, it...it was all there.
"So I pulled Ethan to the side at a party one night and confronted him about it, and I was accused of just being a jealous ex in front of everyone. And Penny backed him up, so there was nothing I could do then.
"A few months later, I actually managed to get evidence that he was hurting her, and I confronted him again. He said he'd kill her if I called the cops. But things got so bad, and I didn't think he would actually follow through, so I called the cops.
"...Penny...told me it only got worse when that happened, after I called the cops, and she begged me not to do it again." His voice breaks slightly at the end of the sentence, before he pauses again. "So I listened to her. And a few days later she was dead."
He's quiet for a moment, lost in thought. Everything still feels so recent to him.
Yes, his therapy has been helping, but he still fears he'll live with the guilt forever.
Mikaere stays silent, listening with sad eyes and slightly parted lips. He knows she probably didn't expect any of this.
He continues on. "I ran into Ethan on the street a few days after her funeral, and he said, "I told you I'd kill her if you called the cops." And so I hit him, right there on the sidewalk in front of the people in town.
