BROKEN VOWS

Chapter Twenty One. New beginnings

Rainbow's POV.

"Everything I knew about my family was a charade," Hunter repeated, his voice trembling with indignation. His eyes blazed with a mix of anger and hurt, as if the very fabric of his reality had been torn apart.

"Surely, you don't mean that?" I tried to interject, to offer some semblance of comfort, but Hunter held up a finger, silencing me. His gaze bore into mine, filled with a deep sadness and a sense of betrayal.

"How can I not?" he asked, his voice cracking with emotion. "I mourned my aunt for years, believing a lie. She was more than just a family member to me, Bow. She was a guiding light, a source of comfort and strength. To lose her like that and just now finding out how she actually died... it's like reliving the pain all over again."

Hunter's words hung in the air, heavy with the weight of his sorrow. His eyes glistened with unshed tears, and I could see the struggle he faced in coming to terms with the truth. The realization that his family's narrative had been a fabrication was a bitter pill to swallow, and I could only imagine the turmoil that churned within him.

Hunter's words spilled out in a torrent of emotion, his voice cracking with anguish. "I idolized my grandpa; he was my hero, I thought he was the epitome of honesty, hard work, and integrity. But now... now I'm not so sure." He paced back and forth across the room, his long strides devouring the distance.

His eyes blazed with a mix of anger and hurt, his lip quivering as he struggled to contain his emotions. Tears streamed down his face, but he didn't bother to wipe them away. He was too caught up in the maelstrom of his feelings, his mind reeling from the shock of discovery.

"And my grandmother... she was the kindest, most compassionate person I've ever known. So what if Auntie Kayla wasn't going to get married and have the traditional family? My mother loved her sister dearly, and her death devastated her. But it was all a lie, wasn't it? A carefully constructed facade, designed to deceive and manipulate." His voice rose, indignation and outrage simmering just below the surface.

Hunter's pacing grew more agitated, his footsteps echoing through the room like a drumbeat. "A charade! They were all guilty of this deception, and yet they looked me straight in the eye and lied to me, time and time again. How could they do that to me? How could they betray my trust so utterly?" The pain and anguish in his voice were almost palpable, and I could feel his heart breaking with each passing moment.

Hunter's words were laced with anguish, his voice cracking as he spoke. "How could they do that to her? She must have been so lonely, so isolated. And I was just as blind, just as ignorant. How could I have been so dumb not to have noticed anything?" He gripped his hair tightly, his knuckles white with tension, as if trying to physically hold on to his sanity.

I could see the weight of his guilt and regret bearing down on him, and I knew I had to try and comfort him. "I know you're upset and confused about what you've just uncovered, but please don't let that erase all the wonderful memories of you and your family. Your childhood memories of your aunt, all the laughter and adventures you shared before... everything you two did, it's all still real. Those memories don't just disappear because of some secrets that were kept from you."

Hunter's pacing had stopped, and he now stood before me, his eyes searching mine for solace. His chest heaved with ragged breaths, and his face was etched with pain. But as he looked at me, I saw a glimmer of hope, a spark of understanding that maybe, just maybe, he could find a way to reconcile his past and present.

"Your aunt wouldn't have faked who she was or everything she did when you two were together," I said softly, trying to offer some comfort. "If not for anything, at least believe in that." Hunter's eyes welled up with tears, and I could see the dam of his emotions on the verge of bursting.