Royally Broken by Elle Boon Page 0,40

didn’t choose your—husband. Explain that to me. I thought every girl dreamed of marrying the man of her dreams?”

Palmer licked her lips, looked down at her hands, then at her son. Keys wondered if she was going to speak or not.

“You know I was raised by my grandparents, right?”

He nodded, letting her set the pace and didn’t speak.

“My grandfather is...was my favorite person in the world. I looked up to him as the greatest man in the world. I saw how he treated my MeMaw and thought that was how all men should treat their wives. That’s what I wanted. He was a wonderful protector growing up. Anything I wanted I only had to ask. I never wanted to disappoint him or my MeMaw. When I started seeing a young man from Arkansas I hadn’t really thought about marriage. He was really nice and came from a good family, but grandfather didn’t like him.” Palmer took a drink of water, setting it back on the table before continuing in a quiet tone— “he was killed in a drunk driving accident. Carson didn’t drink, Keys.”

“Were you thinking of marrying him?” He hated the thought of her loving another man.

She shook her head. “I don’t know. I liked him a lot. We got along well, but it wasn’t like that for me. He’d come to meet grandfather the week before. I don’t know what they talked about, but then he was killed. The following month my grandfather introduced me to Thomas. He was older than me by a lot. I don’t know why I didn’t see it then like I do now. It was so obvious the way he moved right in, saying and doing things that he could’ve only known about if he had inside information about me.”

“Your grandfather set you up with him?” Keys understood without her telling him.

“Oh yes. Thomas liked everything I did. The same food, the same wine, even enjoyed going to the theatre. It was all a lie. For years he wooed me. Lured me into a false sense of security. Chaste kisses, and hugs, until our wedding night.” She shivered.

“You don’t have to tell me about that.” Fuck, the revulsion on her gorgeous face told a story all on its own.

“No, you need to know. I need to say it. Thomas was twelve years my senior. He was far from the nice man I thought him to be. After the wedding we flew to Nassau for our honeymoon. I thought...I thought it was going to be romantic and perfect. I’d never been with anyone. He knew that and said he was happy. It was a lie. Everything he’d done and said to me was a lie. That night, in the place that was meant to be romantic and memorable, turned every dream I’d had into a nightmare. The real man Thomas truly was, appeared. He was brutal and ugly, and didn’t care anymore to wear the mask he’d worn for the past several years. I threatened to divorce him and he laughed. Then hit me.” She put her hand to her cheek.

Keys couldn’t stand to sit across from her any longer, not when his very being was screaming to take her into his arms. Motherfuckingsonofabitch. If Kincaid wasn’t already dead, he would be. “What did your grandfather say? Surely you told him?”

He got up, lifting her out of the chair and into his arms, carrying her over to the sofa on the other side of the room where they could still see Jaxson.

“Thomas told me to go ahead and tell him. He said my grandfather knew what kind of man he was and wouldn’t care. I didn’t believe him. The next day, black and blue and bleeding, I waited for him to leave me alone. When he did, I made my way to the concierge desk in the lobby. I called for a cab, made it to the airport and home. I had my ID and credit cards from before our marriage with me, so I was able to buy a ticket on the first available flight. When I landed my grandfather was waiting. He was furious.” She wiped her face with the backs of her hands.

Keys leaned back, snagging the Kleenex box. “Here. Honestly, Palmer, I don’t need the details.” He could fill in the blanks. Shit they’d seen it all come through the club from young girls and boys, to older ones too. All who’d been through shit nobody...well other than other sick