Christy's POV
My mother's face lost color the second the words left my mouth. The room went impossibly quiet, like the air itself was waiting for an explosion.
For a breathless second I thought she would laugh or make some ridiculous, painful little bark to deny it all but instead her lips trembled and the joy that had been in the room for Kelvin's return shattered like glass.
My father looked at me with an unhappy expression as he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
"Christy," he called me and the single syllable carried more weight than any armful of words could.
"This is not an easy story," he said with a sigh.
Mason's hand closed over mine while my mother reached for my fingers, and tried to interrupt, but I had asked.
I needed to know and understand why Kendrick's mother's hatred has been aimed at us.
"Let's go to the study," my father said finally, a crease forming between his brows.
