Colette’s Confession PT 2 (Patreon)

“It’s going to be okay,” Ariana said, but she sounded considerably less certain than she had several hours ago.

Colette straightened and tried to mop up her tears with her sleeve. Jasmine snagged a nearby towel and handed it over. Colette nodded in thanks and blew her nose.

“You told them,” Jasmine said quietly.

Colette’s eyes flicked up to her. “I had to.”

“Did you?”

Colette’s mouth tightened. “I should have done something a long time ago. I could have saved others from becoming his victims if I wasn’t afraid of the repercussions.” Colette straightened her shoulders and jutted out her chin, even though her eyes were troubled and uncertain. “But we’re past that now. I’ll see it through, even if it costs my marriage.”

“You aren’t going to lose Lyle,” Ariana said firmly.

“I always knew it was a possibility,” Colette said with false calm. “What man wants spoiled goods? Lyle thought he was getting someone pure, beyond reproach. Now he knows otherwise.” Colette’s hands fluttered in her lap. “How am I going to tell him the sordid details? That it went on for years and why I didn’t ask for help?”

Colette averted her face as she broke down again. She didn’t make a sound. Jasmine and Ariana waited until she regained her composure with a ragged sigh.

“I didn’t tell Dad because I thought he may believe Warren over me. Of course, Warren reinforced that belief and said Dad would be ruined if they were ever at odds. As I got older, I found out that wasn’t true, but it didn’t negate the fact that we did enough business together that breaking off with him and anyone who sided with him would cripple us.” Colette swallowed hard. “It was easier to pretend it never happened. I knew if I said something, it would put everything in jeopardy.”

“You’re doing the right thing,” Ariana said fiercely. “We can’t let him get away with this. I wish you told me.” Ariana gripped Colette’s knees. “Those nights I used to hear you crying after the parties, I thought it was stress or because Dad told you off, but it was because of Warren, wasn’t it?”

Colette didn’t answer, but she didn’t need to. Her tormented expression was all the confirmation they needed.

“Looking back, I know doing anything would have been better than keeping it to myself, but I felt so helpless. And the longer it went on, the more I felt like a willing participant, which made me feel even worse. I didn’t know how to stop it.” Colette’s hands twisted in the towel. “I used to fantasize about telling Dad and having him beat the crap out of Warren in front of everyone.” Her eyes dulled. “But Dad abhors weakness. He could have just as easily shrugged it off and said if I was going to run a company, I should be able to deal with this myself.”

Ariana opened her mouth to object and then closed it. Jasmine said nothing. Maximus was unpredictable and perfectly capable of being that callous.

“Lyle will never understand what it’s like being a woman. Our word and opinions don’t hold as much weight as a man’s. Our decisions are constantly evaluated and questioned. Those with less experience and knowledge are taken into the fold merely because they’re male. We have to expend so much energy trying not to offend their fragile egos. We have to suggest rather than give orders. We’re forced to do this balancing act on this razor-thin line while they have a mile wide of leeway. It’s exhausting.”

Colette’s gaze unfocused as she stared off into space, lost in her thoughts, a million miles away.

“I put off having kids because I was terrified I’d have a daughter,” Colette confessed. “My heart sank when I found out the gender. I knew she would be a target. I knew how difficult everything would be for her in our world. I didn’t want her to go through what I have.”

Ariana gripped Colette’s hands to get her attention. “She won’t. Polara has so much more support than we did, and she has you and Lyle as parents. She hit the jackpot! That’s not counting who she has for aunts!”

Colette’s anxious expression eased ever so slightly.

“Not to mention, she has Rami and Roth as uncles and Bailey and Kye for backup. Polara’s covered.”

Colette tried to smile, but she couldn’t hold it. “I don’t know what happens next.”

Ariana’s eyes flicked to Jasmine. “Maybe it’s time to let our husbands take over and do what they do best.”

Colette looked to Jasmine as well. “How are you and Roth?”

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly.

Colette grasped her hand and squeezed. “You’ll get through this. We all will.”

“I can’t believe I ever saw him as unemotional,” Ariana marveled. “The way he sits there for hours, watching you sleep... I swear, he regulated his breaths to yours. I’ve never seen a man look at a woman the way he looks at you, like his life hinges on you.”

“I noticed that when he came into the hospital room when I gave birth.” Colette visibly relaxed at the topic change. “He takes in every nuance of her expression. He’s so focused on her, like nothing else exists for him. They were attached to one another at the Ball. He wouldn’t let go of her and kissed her at dinner, in front of everyone… That’s all anyone was talking about.”

**This is a raw draft of Bitter Sins. Please do not share or distribute.

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