“No lies there,” Ransom muttered.
“What if Craig tries to attack me?” I sucked in a quick breath.
“Then he’ll meet his premature and extremely painful death in my hands.”
The elevator slid open. We both walked out.
My legs were shaking, my palms sweaty, but astonishingly, no part of me wanted to turn around and run away. I wanted to see this through.
When I reached Hera and Craig’s door, I raised my fist and rapped four times. The door swung open immediately, as if someone were already expecting us on the other side.
Hera. Sweaty and gaunt-looking, probably after a spin class. Her Alo Yoga attire clung to her boney figure. Her hair was a mess. Her mouth was twisted in a bitter smile.
“Came for your victory dance?” She bared her teeth.
“Is that what you think this is?” I narrowed my eyes at her.
How delusional could a person be to think any part of this was fun for me? Mom and Dad were clueless. But Hera? She was disgusting.
Hera leaned a hip against the door, taking a sip of her bottled water. “Well, my husband is currently being taken into custody on attempted rape allegations, and I’m here barricaded in my apartment waiting for Mom and Dad to send their PR staff to clean up this mess, so, yeah. I think you’re having a great day. Finally, good, respectful Hera messed up and Hallion comes out on top.”
Craig was in custody? Already? That was fast. And also weird. Maybe I wasn’t the first one who’d complained? Maybe there were others?
“You’re insane.” My fingers twitched, begging to grab her and shake her. “And think very highly of yourself.”
“No, you are jealous.” She stabbed my chest with her finger. “And you’re also out of here.”
She tried to slam the door in my face. Ransom reached a flattened palm against it, pushing it all the way open and sauntering inside with little effort. I followed him. I wasn’t going to leave until I told her my side of the story. Not because I cared about her opinion—but because she deserved to be tormented by the truth. It wasn’t about hurting her—it was about standing up for myself.
“You’re trespassing!” Hera exclaimed.
“Indeed.” Ransom headed for the kitchen, opening the fridge casually, fixing himself a lemonade. “Even still, my guess is you’re not going to call the police and report your sister’s visit right now. You know, considering the circumstances.”
She stared at him with eyes full of fire and wrath. I stepped into her line of vision, snapping my fingers in her face.
“Focus,” I ordered.
“On what?” she cried out. “It’s obvious to all, Craig didn’t do it. It’s just a lie you made. I know about your little fling when you were in college. He told me! He may be a cheat, but he is not that kind of person. He—”
“He first molested me when I was fourteen,” I started, undeterred. Her mouth fell open.
“What?”
“And it went on for years. As recent as a few weeks ago, the day of your wedding rehearsal and the mysterious allergy. But I’m guessing you were onto him one of the later times he did it, and he told you I seduced him, right? That I wanted it. That I asked for it, even. Which is why you hate me so much these days.”
It all started to make sense to me now. Her behavior toward me. Toward Craig. She thought we were lovers.
Her face contorted in recognition. As if everything finally made sense now. Something else lurked behind her blue eyes. A vacant, hollow sadness I’d never seen before.
Transfixed on me, she collapsed on the arm of the sofa for support. “I…I…I didn’t…I never thought…”
“And you never asked,” I said pointedly.
“You’re right.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I just accepted his version, swallowed my pride, and moved on, thinking you must hate me so much to do this to me and my relationship. Please tell me everything, Hallie. Please.”
And so I did. I didn’t miss one detail, from the first time to the last one, just three weeks ago. The way I tried to fight him off. To stop him. How I’d changed, little by little, after each attack. Craig took pieces of my soul, until nothing was left. Until I became the plastic shell she’d seen plastered on Hollywood tabloids, flashing her nipple to the entire world.
Because I knew what I was.
Damaged goods.
“But why didn’t you tell me?” Hera flew up from the couch, walking over to her floor-to-ceiling window. She wasn’t crying anymore, but she looked wrecked.
“I wanted to.” I watched her back. “So many times. But each time I tried to speak to you, you were busy, or dismissive, or not available for me. You wanted nothing to do with me. I knew where I stood with you. You were ashamed of my dyslexia, with my lack of academic achievement. You didn’t want my averageness to rub off on you. You liked being completely separate entities. I never measured up to you. You were the shining star who burned everything in her path, and I was lost in your shadow.”
She turned around to me, wrapping her arms around herself. “How could I have missed this?”
“Easily,” I said tiredly. “Craig only showed one side of himself to you.”
She shook her head. “He had anger issues. I mean, does. He still has them. He broke one of Mom’s vases when we had a fight a while back. Another time, he kicked a friend of mine out of our apartment because she teased him about his SAT score. He’s been in therapy for a while now. Two, three years maybe? I thought he was doing better. I never imagined his hotheadedness could translate into…”
“Sexual violence?” I completed for her.
“Yes.”
Tears engulfed her eyes. She tried to fight them. After all, she was Hera, the wife of Zeus, the queen of all gods. Utterly untouchable.
“All this time, I stayed with him because I didn’t want to cause a headline. The public really loved that Craig and I were high school sweethearts, so I tried to push through with the relationship.” She sniffed. “So you didn’t make it all up to get back at me for that article?”
I closed my eyes, taking a breath. “Hera, I’m sorry to disappoint, but even though I’m not happy with the way my life has gone, I never wanted to be you. No offense, but it looks like you’re leading a pretty miserable life. You don’t give yourself any breathing room. You work yourself to the bone, exhaust your body with punishing workouts, and you always do whatever people expect of you, without any consideration for what you want. I don’t actually think you’re even in love with Craig. I’ve seen you two together. It looks more like an arrangement of convenience than anything else. You want to be this perfect creature, but Hera…” I opened my eyes, smiling sadly. “The person you’re trying to be doesn’t exist. You’re killing yourself trying to become her.”
Her tears fell freely now, covering her cheeks. She collapsed on the floor. Her forehead touched the cool marble. Her back quivered with sobs.
“I made a horrible mistake marrying him.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
I didn’t fail to notice how Hera was still focused on her life, her decisions, her mistakes, her heartache. Even though I was the one with the trauma. The one who’d been wronged. I supposed sympathy was too much to ask. Especially considering we were all on the brink of a national scandal.