AllFreeNovel
Share Us
With a deadly calm that frightened Abby—a fact she refused to show, Celeste pulled in a deep breath. “So, Elaina couldn’t keep her mouth shut. That stupid girl.”
Abby’s heart sank. It was true. With all of her nonchalance regarding Celeste’s lack of affection for her over the years, deep down she’d always wished for her love. It was clear now why she never received it the way Elaina had. Elaina was Celeste’s, she and Wyatt were not. Swallowing the lump in her throat and trying to sort through the fog of confusion that muddled her brain, she shook her head. “But … how?”
“Your father couldn’t keep his dick in his pants,” Celeste said. After I gave him a child, Elaina, he still couldn't leave your slut of a mother alone. I allowed him to keep his mistress without argument for a while, but he was rising in society, putting us more in the public eye. It had to stop. I warned him, but that didn’t work. I gave him a child, and that didn’t work either. When I found out that his whore was pregnant with you, I went through such lengths to cover it up because the wench refused to have an abortion. I even disappeared for months under guise that I wanted seclusion throughout my pregnancy. Yes, I pretended that it was me who was pregnant with you. I demanded that your father take you and raise you in our home, as if you were mine. If people knew otherwise, the Aldridge name would be a joke, as well as my family’s name. I couldn’t allow that kind of scandal.”
Celeste was pacing, showing her growing agitation, something Abby had never seen before. “Things seemed to work well enough. Our image remained pristine, and your father continued in his success—our success because he would have gotten nowhere without me or my family’s money.” She let out a hiss. “Imagine my surprise when years later I found out that Caleb was still secretly carrying on with his mistress. Seven years later! Not only that, but she was pregnant again. He came to me so repentant, and again, I had to preserve our image. It was like what happened with you all over again. Before I knew it, I was raising both of Caleb’s bastard children.”
With her jaw practically touching the floor, Abby gaped at the still-pacing Celeste. It was like she’d just heard the plot of a very bad soap opera. This was her life. It was an honest to god soap opera. “Why did you two even get married?”
With a sigh, Celeste shrugged. “Your father was very handsome and so charismatic. He came from humble beginnings, which automatically made him unsuitable for me. My parents forbade our relationship. I got caught up in the excitement of a forbidden romance, and I knew Caleb could be great with a little push and financial backing. I was right. It was good for a while but the passion quickly fizzled out. I stopped caring about his mistresses. As long as he was discrete, I lived with it.”
Mistresses? Her father, whom Abby thought was the perfect human being, was an adulterous cad. The woman she thought was her mother wasn’t. Abby’s world was crumbling right there on the plush carpet.
Celeste laughed. “Getting a mistress pregnant twice was not discrete.”
“I … if he had stayed with her ... my mother for so many years, maybe he loved her. Why didn’t you just divorce him?”
Her eyes narrowed on her. “You naïve, little girl. Your father loved no one but himself and his two spawn. I have to say, he loved my Elaina as well. You continue to think your father was a saint? Think again. When I demanded he get rid of his whore once and for all, he didn’t hesitate. He, too, was caught up in his status in high society.”
“G-get rid of …? What do you mean?” If Celeste admitted to something crazy like her father killing her mother, Abby was certain she would lose her shit. With all she’d learned, that scenario would fit right into the soap opera storyline.
“We paid her off, and she was all too happy to take the money. She didn’t even want you or your brother,” Celeste said. “God, the amount of money and threats it took to keep everyone who knew the truth about you and your brother quiet was staggering.” She shook her head. “I took you in and raised you. You lived a great lifestyle because of my generosity. You owe me everything.”
“I don’t owe you a thing. I didn’t beg to be taken in and raised by you. As a matter of fact, I might have been better off without all of your negative energy and resentment clouding my childhood.”
Celeste moved so fast that Abby didn’t see the blow coming until pain exploded on her left cheek. Wide-eyed and cupping her burning face, she staggered backward.
“Ungrateful bitch!” Celeste said. “After all I’ve done for you, you should be begging to help me. I actually started to think there was hope for you when you agreed to help me destroy Coldwell. I was beginning to think I hadn’t wasted my time pretending you were mine.”
Eyes watering, more from emotional than physical pain, Abby whirled around and scampered towards the door. The strength to fight with Celeste had evaporated, leaving her defeated and in despair. She couldn’t believe she’d fallen for the heartfelt story Celeste fed her about naming her when she was born. Sick to her stomach, she barely made it outside before emptying her stomach behind an immaculately trimmed shrub.
***
The hand lightly and awkwardly patting her shoulder nearly made Abby laugh. That and a hesitant, “There, there, stop with the water works,” would have sent her into a fit of giggles if she wasn’t so distraught. Elaina’s awkward comforting only got worse the more Abby cried.
“Abby, come on,” she said. “I’m not good at this kind of thing. You’ve been crying for hours. Just stop.”
Abby hiccupped. “I can’t. How long have you known? About Wyatt and me?”
“About four years now,” Elaina said. “I heard mom and daddy arguing and couldn’t help eavesdropping. Those two sure argued a lot. They must’ve had the worst marriage in the history of marriage. Mom caught me listening in and she terrorized me into keeping my mouth shut. I was tempted to tell you a few times, especially when we fought. I feel terrible about that.” With another huff, she smoothed Abby’s hair out of her face. “You really should stop crying, you look awful.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Sorry,” Elaina said.
“Look, just because I offered you a place to stay, doesn’t mean you have to comfort me. I’ll be fine.” After Elaina had revealed the truth about Abby’s parentage—which led to Abby confronting Celeste—she begged to stay at Abby’s apartment for a few days until Celeste cooled down. She would, without a doubt, strangle her daughter for spilling the family secret. Abby knew she’d go crazy having her sister in her apartment but it was the least she could do. When Elaina wasn’t being mean to her, she had her rare moments of kindness, and Abby didn’t want her to have to face Celeste’s wrath alone or end up without a place to stay in a couple of days.
With a huff, Elaina disappeared. Padded footsteps announced her return. “Here, this will help.”
When Abby glanced up as something cold was pressed against her left cheek. Wincing, she gratefully accepted the pack of frozen peas. “So, this is what it takes for you to be nice to me,” she joked halfheartedly. “My entire life unraveling and getting beat up.”
Elaina snorted and plopped down beside her on the couch. “Oh, hush. You’ll survive. So, what? You found out that Celeste isn’t your mother and our father was a cheating scoundrel, you’ve still got your shit together, Abby. You have a job, your own place, money put away. I wouldn’t say your entire life is in shreds. I, on the other hand, am done for. Broke, homeless, and without even the prospect of a rich husband in sight.”
This time, Abby did laugh. A low chuckle that made Elaina smile. “Of course, you’d twist this around and make it about you.”
“Of course,” she grinned. “I know you think I’m a total bitch, Abby, but I really do feel bad that you found out about everything like this. I can’t imagine how you must feel. And I’m so sorry for hitting you earlier. I lost it. All those things I said, I’m sorry. I’m not going to lie…I was jealous of you growing up.” Elaina glanced around the small apartment. “I still am. You’ve always been so independent and sure of yourself. I always thought that as the oldest, I should be the one with everything figured out. But, you and Wyatt are the smart ones. Wyatt is most likely going to become some millionaire tech genius—that little nerd, and you’ll land some posh job doing boring artsy stuff. You two will be fine after this entire mess.”
Abby studied her sister carefully. It was the first time she’d seen her sister so vulnerable and honest. “You will be, too. I know we fight like cats and dogs, but I was hardly going to stand by and watch you live on the street and starve death.”
