don’t give a damn about their stupid businesses. Mom always taught me not to get involved, that it was best just to listen and agree, so that’s what I did.”
But their professional rivalry had spilled into their personal lives. Violet had been an easy target for the brunt of their frustrations.
“I was never with Holden. I had no idea he was going to say what he said at the altar.” Her sister didn’t seem to believe her and raised her chin in a disbelieving scoff. Poppy got closer to rest a hand on her forearm. “They didn’t believe you and took out their frustrations on you. Don’t do the same to me.” Surprised, Violet blinked. “I love Turner. Think about it. If I had any interest in Holden, why wouldn’t I be with him now?”
“You can sleep with a man, lead him on, and not actually want a relationship.”
“True. But what would my motivation be? I haven’t taken money from him. Grammie wouldn’t deny us anything if cash was what I wanted. If I wanted to hurt you, why would I deny it? The truth is, I always did my best to hide how much I disliked the guy. I never thought he was good enough for you. As long as I thought you were happy, I was willing to go along with it. But this isn’t happy.”
“No,” Violet murmured. “This isn’t happy.”
“None of us are happy here. We’re prisoners because he’s put us under siege. We have to get out from under him, to show that we’re not willing to be part of his twisted game.”
“Do you have a plan?”
“Sort of,” Poppy said, her hand descending to her side. “You know he’s coming here tonight?” Violet nodded. “We should put it to him, everything we know. We tell him we know it’s all a lie, everything he’s sold to the press. We threaten to tell the media the truth of his motivation.”
Shaking her head, Violet took a step back. “About the affair? No. You can’t tell the world that I was unfaithful.”
“You just said that you didn’t care about the world. Right now, Holden is controlling the narrative that’s out there. The press won’t enjoy being manipulated and used, especially not for his financial gain. Holden Abernathy does not need any help in business… Does Trey love you?”
Startled by the question, it took Violet a second to pull her composure back. “I don’t know.”
“Has he told you he does?”
Violet squirmed. “I can’t think about being with Trey. I’ve barely seen him since the wedding… If we were suddenly together…”
“If you were suddenly together, what? People would suspect you had a relationship? The world, which you said you didn’t care about, doesn’t know how many times he’s been over here or how he’s been supporting you. You and Trey were an item for years. There’s no rule against rekindling an old relationship. You must still have feelings for each other.”
“It’s complicated.”
Poppy smiled. “I like hiding behind that excuse when things get tough too. I won’t patronize you with advice about love, I’m still figuring out how to live with it in my reality. What I will say is if Trey does love you, if this has woken him up to what it would be to live without you, he’ll support whatever you decide.” Though Poppy could see her sister’s conflict, it was clear Violet wasn’t yet convinced. “Every time Holden makes a statement to the press or cooks up one of his schemes, he uses me to humiliate you further. He’s using you to manipulate Trey. Exploiting this family and the people we care about for his own gain. And we’re letting him get away with it.”
“I can’t tell Daddy. I can’t.”
That was the crux of it. Their father had high expectations of his girls, but more than that, he saw it as his duty to protect them. Something he couldn’t feel he was doing particularly well during the whole siege situation.
“I bet Tiller knows,” Poppy said.
Violet was struck by another moment of shock. “How could he?”
“He always knows everything about us and keeps our secrets. We could talk to him, he might help with Daddy.”
“The whole world will know,” Violet said, squeezing her hands tighter around her elbows.
The whole world, as far as the eldest Granger Girl was concerned, really consisted of their parents. They were who she worried about. Being the oldest, she’d always been put on a pedestal by their mother and father. It wouldn’t be easy