Broken Hearts and Second Chances novel Chapter 3

That night, Matthew and Patrick arrived at the hospital with Megan in tow. Their faces were grim, while she wore her usual weak, teary-eyed expression, as though she was on the verge of crying.

It was the kind of look that would easily evoke pity, though, to me, it was nauseating.

“Cat, Sarah, please, don’t divorce my brothers,” Megan pleaded, her voice trembling.

“It’s all my fault. From now on, I’ll keep a proper distance from both of them. Can we try that?

“Before you came into our lives, they’ve always protected me. But that changed after they got married. I only want us to get along with each other. They’re my brothers. Nothing more than that.”

She almost got on her knees but Matthew and Patrick stopped her.

“Get up, Megs. This isn’t your fault. You’re our sister. What’s wrong with us saving you?” Matthew said firmly.

“Exactly,” Patrick chimed in. “Why apologize? They’re the ones being petty.”

“But…” Megan whimpered, tears welling up in her eyes, “If my presence is causing your marriages to fall apart, I should...”

She looked as though she might break into sobs at any moment while her brothers looked on grimly.

At that moment, I finally understood that Sarah and I could never compete with Megan. That fragile, helpless expression was something I could never master.

Men have a natural instinct to protect girls like her.

All she had to do was stand there and look pitiful, and they’d rush to shield her without hesitation.

I could not do that. I would not.

I chose to ignore Megan and fixed my gaze on Matthew. “Did you sign the divorce papers yet? If you have, let’s head to the courthouse right now. I don’t want to waste another second with you.”

Matthew threw the signed agreement in my face. "It's signed. Let's go."

Patrick mirrored his brother as he spoke to Sarah. "I signed it. We're done. Let's go now."

She glanced at him calmly. "Did you get my gift?"

“What gift? What’s the point of gifts after a divorce? Ridiculous."

Sarah looked like she had been slapped. Her gaze softened and her voice trembled as she spoke, "When you get home, look for it. You’ll realize you just lost the most important thing in your life."

The four of us got ready to head for the courthouse, but just as I stepped out of the hospital room, Megan suddenly grabbed my arm.

"Cat, please don’t divorce Matthew! It’s my fault, I was wrong. Please, don’t leave him… I want you two to be happy."

She desperately clung to me.

Out of instinct, I pushed her hand away, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground.