Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 139803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 699(@200wpm)___ 559(@250wpm)___ 466(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 699(@200wpm)___ 559(@250wpm)___ 466(@300wpm)
I shook my head. “That’s not fair to her.”
Julian grunted in disagreement. He turned sideways and pulled me between his legs. Axel grabbed my foot and began to gently massage it. “It is fair,” Julian corrected me. “Once Axel moved out and went to college, he began to build his own life. When he met you, decided to be with you, he began to build his own family. His own personal family—which would be you and our little one—will always come first, as it should be.”
“But she needs Axel—"
“No,” Axel snapped. I snapped my eyes over to his. “Stop. Don’t do that shit, sweet girl. Stop worrying about what she needs. Stop worrying about intruding on my relationship with my little sister. That’s for me to be concerned with. Julian and I will figure all of that out. If you start worrying about it too much, your own mental health will take a toll. You need to focus on you, sweet girl. Don’t worry about her.”
I rubbed the heel of my hand against my chest. Julian pressed his lips to my shoulder. “How can I not, Axel?” I demanded. “Maybe if you hadn’t been so worried about me, she would still have you.”
He dropped my foot and leaned forward to grip my chin. His dark eyes bored into my own. “Stop it right now, Meghan. Don’t pull away from me, sweet girl. She’ll come home when she’s ready, and Julian and I will deal with her however we need to. You are our utmost priority. I will not abandon you for her, even if she is my little sister. I need you to focus on your own health. Worrying about hers is going to drag you back down. You’ve finally started coming out of your shell, accepting both me and Julian as your own. Don’t stop now just because you’re worried about how she’s going to react. That’s not your shit to worry about.”
I ripped my chin from his grasp. He narrowed his eyes at me in a warning to tread carefully, but I ignored it. “How dare you put me above her?” I asked him. “You’re all she has, Axel!” I shouted at him. “I have Julian when you’re not around. Who the fuck does she have when you’re not there?!”
I jumped off the couch. “Oh, no, you don’t,” Axel jumped up and snagged my wrist, yanking me back around to face him. He gripped the back of my neck, forcing me to lock my eyes on his. “Cool it,” he ordered. “Meghan, you’re not someone I pick and choose as it fucking conveniences me. You’re not a fucking option. Stop fucking trying to pull away from me every time you start feeling like you’re being a goddamn inconvenience.”
“That’s what I am!” I shouted, trying to shove back from him.
“Like hell,” he snarled. “You’re not an inconvenience—never fucking have been. I’ll be fucking damned if you stand here and try to think that you are. I’m not letting you walk away from this, Meghan. You were doing so fucking good, sweet girl.”
“I know how she feels, Axel,” I reminded him, tears flooding down my cheeks. “That abandonment that she’s going to feel—I know that feeling.”
“I’m not abandoning her, sweet girl. Making sure that you are taken care of is different. I’ll never turn my back on her, but I love you, Meghan. You are always my number one priority. Stop fighting it, sweet girl. Focus on you; focus on our baby. Julian and I will handle the rest.” He loosened his grip slightly. “Just trust us, sweet girl. You’ve got to learn to trust us when we say that we will handle it. She’s not going to hurt, sweet girl. We will help her, but if you continue trying to rip yourself away from me every time you think me being with you is hurting her, I’m not going to be able to help her. Losing you will be like losing a part of myself.”
“I’m sorry.” I threw my arms around his neck.
He instantly wrapped his own arms around me. “Just learn, sweet girl. It’s okay, but just learn to trust in what I say—what we say, okay? Stop trying to play the hero so damn much.”
He gently pulled back from me and wiped my tears off my cheeks. “Just continue fighting, sweet girl. That’s all we want from you.”
Julian stood up off the couch and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Stop doubting him so much, baby girl,” he told me gently. “Axel loves the fuck out of you, but he loves his sister, too. Just stop thinking that him putting you above her makes you a terrible person.”
I drew in a deep breath. “It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that for once, I am a priority.”