Liona
Cutter held her like that for a while, and they just talked like the old friends they were. They talked about her friend Carly, about her dad and mom. About her life, her hopes and dreams. She melted into him, into the feel of his strong, warm arms around her. He didn't offer to fix anything, he didn't offer his advice. He was just there, present, a warm, comforting shoulder to cry on. She even forgot that she was dressed only in her towel, and practically naked as she sat next to him. After a while, though, their stomachs began to grumble. He glanced up and checked the time on his alarm clock.
“Hungry?” he asked.
She nodded. “I can eat.”
“You should probably put some clothes on, then,” he replied with a deep laugh. “Unless you wanna give the guys a show.”
She looked down at her nearly nude body, covered only in her towel wrapping, and her laughter joined his. “Yeah, I guess so.”
He got up from the bed. “I'll give you some privacy,” he said. “If you follow the hall back down, you'll see the rec room, and the kitchen beyond that.”
She nodded as she got up. “Got it.” She waited for him to leave before she headed to the bathroom. Along the way, she gathered up her trail of clothes. She hung up her towel, a thousand thoughts filling her mind.
She still couldn't believe she'd let Wyland do this to her, make her a victim. Even as she thought about the series of events that had occurred, about the small, incremental changes that had happened in her life, a flush crept into her cheek. As she stared into the mirror, completely naked in Cutter's bathroom, she realized that this was her moment. This was her chance to take control back. Cutter wasn't going to do everything for her. He might try to punish Wyland, hurt him in every way he knew how but it was up to her to provide her own focus and control in her life.
No one was going to do it for her.
“You got this, girl,” she said to her reflection, and nodded. “You got this.”
She looked around for a brush. Of course, he didn't have one. She grabbed one of his combs off the edge of the sink, instead, and ran it through her damp hair. She worked out the tangles, her mind still swirling.
She'd made the wrong decision all those years ago, she realized. She'd been blinded by Wyland's family's wealth, his prospects for the future, the gifts he'd showered on her with his ample allowance. She hadn't looked at Wyland's mother, or his father, to see what kind of man he might become.
Back then, she should have been looking at Cutter. Now, she could see him for the good, honest man that he was. Sure, he was rough around the edges. But he'd never hurt her. She was more than just some kind of trophy for him, a bit of arm candy to show around at parties and functions.
She frowned into the mirror as realization set in.
It was probably too late, despite what Cutter said or implied about his feelings for her. He wouldn't have her, now, not after all these years. How could he? She had Wyland's prints all over her, little proofs of his tender “love.” And, then again, she'd chosen Wyland, and not the man Cutter used to be. She hadn't believed in him back then, believed in the kind of man he would become.
Besides, what kind of man would take her now? Especially after she'd become such damaged goods. She was broken, just like Humpty Dumpty. And, just like the big egg from the nursery rhyme, all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Liona back together again. She nearly began crying again, but somehow managed to keep her tears locked up inside her.
She put Cutter's comb back on the lip of the sink and grabbed her clothes off the floor. As if on cue, her stomach grumbled again. She hadn't eaten anything all day, she realized, except for a light breakfast before leaving for the church that morning. She smiled to herself. She'd started out this day dreading how it would end, how this wedding would have been a change for the worse. By now, she would have been Mrs. Liona West. But, instead of locking her into a fate worse than death, this was a different change. It was one of rebirth. Her whole life stretched out ahead of her, a completely different one than she would have ever imagined a year before. This new life may have been a scary one, with its fair share of trials and tribulations, but at least that big and scary life would be hers and no one else's.