Thunder (Hell's Handlers MC #10) - Lilly Atlas Page 0,120

stripper.’ It’s not like I’m gonna fucking tell. I’m an immoral stripper. Stuff a few hundred in my shorts, and my mouth is sealed tight. I refuse to let that poison into my personal life.”

No. Those situations were nothing like hers. How could he not see that?

But he seemed lost to his rage, now pacing the kitchen. Then he stopped dead in his tracks and faced her. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?” he snarled with hatred.

Honestly, it hadn’t even crossed her mind. In her head, she sure as hell wasn’t married. She had never been. There hadn’t been any truth to her “vows” or loyalty between her and her husband. It’d been a business deal, one she’d never wanted and escaped from at the first chance she could.

He had to recognize that.

“It wasn’t a real marriage, Thunder,” she said, defeat weighing her down.

“Is it legal?”

“Yes, but—” She wanted to go to him, soothe him with her touch, beg for forgiveness, plead with him to look at things from her perspective, but maybe this was the catalyst she’d been looking for. Even though it sliced into her soul, here was her out.

And she needed to take it.

“M-maybe…” Oh, God. She pressed a hand to her queasy stomach. The words stuck in her throat like a sharp shard. “M-maybe, this is a sign we should c-cool things down for a while.” She stared at her feet, like the coward she was, unable to make eye contact.

“Seriously? You’re fucking dumping me?”

“Y-yes,” she squeaked around constriction in her throat. “I-I just think we’re getting in over our heads. It’s too much right now. Too much with all my other responsibilities.”

“So, being with me is just another responsibility on your long, long list, huh?” His voice was so dark and ugly, full of disgust, it made her cry harder.

She wanted to scream that he could never be a responsibility. He was the one thing in her life just for her. The one thing she’d chosen for herself. The one thing that made her happier than everything else. But she choked back the words. “I just can’t divide myself like this anymore. I’m neglecting my family.”

Liar. Liar.

“You know what? That’s fucking fine.” He threw his hands in the air. “I don’t need this horseshit anyway. Only fucking fools fall in love.” As he stormed toward her, he slapped a box of cereal on the counter, sending Lucky Charms flying to every corner of the room.

Mak flinched but didn’t budge as he stomped past her. The forceful clomp of his boots on the linoleum floor echoed in time with her battered heart. Her chest grew tighter with each passing second, and when the door slammed so hard it rattled the walls, she doubled over on a painful exhale.

Air whooshed from her body as she wrapped her hands around her middle. A sob tore from her throat. Then another. And another. After a few seconds, her legs gave out, and she sank to the floor, a weeping, hyperventilating mess.

The agony of watching Thunder walk away from her made all the beatings she’d taken in the past feel like hugs.

She’d done the right thing.

As horrible as it was and as long as it would take her heart to recover—maybe it never would—she’d done the right thing for her family.

“Mak?”

Amy’s tentative voice cut through her intense sorrow.

“I heard shouting. Are you okay?”

“Uh, yes.” She kept her back to her sister and quickly swiped at the tears. Over the years, she’d become a pro at keeping her true emotions from her siblings. First, when living in their father’s house, she’d never let them discover the bruises from her punishments for rebellious behavior. Then, once married, she kept a smile plastered on her face so they’d never know her misery. Even in the years since they’d escaped, she shouldered the financial burdens and fear of being discovered without a peep.

The kids would have a better childhood than she did. One without constant fear, worry, and unhappiness.

“I just, uh, tripped. Landed hard on my knee,” she said as she began to rise from the floor. Before she had a chance to stand, thin arms circled her from behind.

“I love you, Makenna,” Amy whispered in Mak’s ear. “It’s okay if you need to cry sometimes. I’ll still think you’re the strongest and most amazing person I know.”

Her eyes fell closed as she curled her arms over the ones hugging her. Tears continued to leak out and stream down her face, but she