#Chapter 208 – Hard Lines

When Victor and Evelyn come down the stairs ten minutes later, Rafe is sitting at the kitchen table looking down at his folded hands. Evelyn doesn’t say a word, barely glances at him as she instead goes to her boys, who are standing by the open front door.

“Mama!” Ian says, breathless with excitement. “Did you see it!?”

“See what, baby?” Evelyn says, coming to put a hand on his back between his shoulder blades and see what the excitement is about.

“The house,” Alvin says, leaning against the door and looking up at her with wide eyes. “The car house!”

“Oh,” Evelyn says laughing and looking at the driveway. “It’s called an RV, boys – a Recreational Vehicle. Apparently,” she smirks and looks over her shoulder at Victor, who pulls out a chair to sit across from Rafe, “your dad buys the newest model every year. Just in case.”

“It’s awesome,” Ian says, his wide eyes eager. “Can we go travel in it?”

“Can we go live in it?!” Alvin shouts, clasping his hands beneath his chin in excitement.

“You’d want that?!” Evelyn asks, laughing and gesturing towards it. It really is beautiful but…live in it!? “You’d want to live in that thing, like living in a can of sardines?”

“Well, our other house did burn down,” Ian says, pouting, “we should get a new one and this one is already here.” Evelyn can’t stop the laugh that starts to spill from her at his earnest kid logic.

“Yeah,” Alvin says, as if it’s obvious. “And we can take this one to the beach.”

“Okay, okay,” Evelyn says, reaching for the coat hanging on the peg by the door. “Let’s go explore it, and then we’ll decide whether or not we should move in.”

The boys run out the door, happy with this deal, and Evelyn looks over her shoulder at Victor before following them. Victor gives her a deep nod as Burton hands him a fresh cup of coffee.

Thank you, Victor says into her mind, for distracting them. I’ll handle this in here.

Anytime, Evelyn replies with a wink. Then, she pulls the door shut behind her, following her sons to the RV.

When the house is quiet again, Victor turns his attention to Rafe. “Evelyn told me what she knows,” he says, his deep voice rumbling with disappointment. Hearing his tone, Burton quickly makes himself scarce.

eyes to meet

Rafe a look that suggests what he has said is an understatement. A

get it. It’s not like I don’t already know that what I did was horrible. I’m going to make it better.

to get genuinely confused as he sits down at the table. “That I’m going to repeat back to you your actions in the past few months? And you’re going to have to face what

looks at

be more than happy to go through the details and pin you to the wall for each one. I’ll skip right to telling

leaning across the table and glaring at his brother. “That is

Victor,” he says, his voice muffled against his palms. “In all the s**t after the wedding – in all of the s**t before the wedding. You weren’t

Victor says, sitting back in his chair, a

says, taking down his hands and glaring at Victor. “I did it. I’m man enough to take responsibility for my choices, even if…well, if not

holds his coffee in his hands as

when I started the lie,” Rafe says slowly, perhaps figuring it out for himself as he goes, “…nothing, in my life, seemed more important to me than ripping this

Victor sits quietly, listening.

that…dad was just using me, as he does all of us. He’s just like John Walsh in that way, do you know?” Rafe looks up, then,

of Alphas,” Rafe says then, shaking his head. “Where it’s fine, encouraged, even, to just take whatever the hell you want, and shape the world into the image you want it to

his brother. “How did you get out of it, Victor?” he asks. “How did you…not become them, like dad

escape it,” Victor murmurs, holding his

Rafe says, leaning

shakes his head. “I treated her…I’m ashamed of how I treated her, Rafe, at the start of all of this. I have trouble even thinking about the things I said to her. But I was the Alpha, I was just repeating things dad said to mom for years, things

then?” Rafe asks, genuinely

or as a surrogate, or as my kids’ mom. But as a full person, who loves and fights and speaks and breathes. And the way she loves,” he

certainly blew up your life to do

his brother would laugh. Rafe holds up his hands, though,

that how I have to change? I have to find the

an Alpha household that told her her entire life that

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