Take the Chance (Top Shelf Romance #9) - Brittainy Cherry Page 0,81

you went behind my back and asked Lyric for the money.”

“You would’ve never let me take it if I told you.”

“Of course I wouldn’t have! Do you think she gave it to you out of the goodness of her heart? Mari, everything is leverage with Lyric. She only does things that will benefit her.”

“No,” Mari swore. “She did this for us, to help us get back on our feet. There were no strings attached.”

“Until now,” I huffed, my hands falling to my waist. “If it weren’t for you taking money from her, letting her hold something so big over us, this wouldn’t even be a problem, Mari. Now she’s trying to tell you how to run our shop. We could’ve worked harder to get the loan ourselves. We could’ve done it, but now she wants to ruin everything we’ve built, all because you trusted the snake. We need to destroy the deal.”

“I won’t,” she said sternly. “I was talking to Parker about everything, and he thinks—”

I huffed. “Why would I care what he thinks? It’s none of his business.”

“He’s my husband. His opinion matters to me.”

“I don’t understand why. He abandoned you when you needed him the most. I was there, remember? I was the one who picked up your pieces after he destroyed you.”

“So what?” she asked.

“So what?” I replied, flabbergasted. “That means you should at least trust my opinion over his.”

She nodded slowly. “He said you’d say that.”

“Excuse me?”

“He said you’d play the cancer card on me, reminding me that you were there for me when no one else was. Parker made a mistake, okay? And based on the past few months of your life, you know what it’s like to make a mistake.”

“That’s not fair, Mari.”

“No, you know what’s not fair? Holding it over my head every day that you stayed. Reminding me whenever I have any kind of feelings that you were the one who stuck around to help me during the cancer. So, what, am I now forever indebted to you? I can’t move on and live my life?”

“You think working under Lyric is going to be you living your life? All of this is happening because of Lyric’s need to control everything.”

“No, all of this is happening because you slept with your sister’s husband.”

“What?” I whispered, shocked by my sister’s words, by the way they fell from her lips so effortlessly, and I stood there for a second, stunned, waiting for her to apologize, waiting for her cold stare to soften, waiting for my sister, my best friend, my Pea to come back to me.

“Take it back,” I said softly, but she wouldn’t.

She’d been poisoned with love—the same love that had once destroyed her.

It amazed me how love could hurt so much.

“Look, Parker thinks…” She paused and swallowed hard. “Parker and I both think that Lyric helping take control wouldn’t hurt things. She’s a businesswoman. She knows the laws and how to help build up the shop. She wants the best for us. She’s our sister.”

“She’s your sister,” I corrected. “She’s your sister, and this store now belongs to you and her. I want nothing to do with it. I want nothing to do with either of you. Don’t even bother firing Chrissy. I quit.”

I walked around to the back, gathered all my belongings, and tossed them into a cardboard box. When I walked to the front of the store, I took the shop’s keys off my keychain and placed them on the front counter.

Mari’s eyes were still cold, and I could tell she wasn’t going to change her mind. I knew I wasn’t going to change mine either, but before I could leave, I had to speak my final truths—even though she’d think they were lies.

“They’re going to let you down, Mari. They are going to use your trust and let you down and hurt you. This time, though, it’s your choice. You have the free will to deal with the devils or not, and just don’t come crying to me when you get burned.”

“I know what I’m doing, Lucy. I’m not stupid.”

“No,” I agreed. “You’re not stupid. You’re just too trusting, which is a million times worse.” I swallowed hard and blinked back the tears that wanted to fall. “For the record, I never slept with him. I love him with every ounce of my heart. I love the way he loves me so quietly, but we never slept together, not once, because I could never get past the idea of doing