AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What was the threat?” Grant asked, squatting down, eye-level in front of me, before lifting the quivering glass from my fingers.
“He gave the congressman a choice,” I said, staring at my hands. “He could either go along with theirarrangement, or Wesley would k-kidnap his daughter anduseher like he did otherlittle girls. She’s only six-years-old, Grant,” I softly wailed, wiping a tear from my cheek.
The gut-wrenching terror I’d locked deep down inside me that day broke free. Panic and fear careened through my system, leaving a trail of violent tremors quaking through me.
“Of course, the congressman agreed after that. But before Wesley ended the call, he warned the man if he told anyone, or if anyone found out about the payoff, he’d k-kill them all.”
When I lifted my head and peered up at Grant, his eyes were dull and lifeless. Every muscle in his body had turned to stone, and the potent waves of rage rolling off him slammed me like a tsunami.
Suddenly, the glass in his hand shattered.
I jolted and yelped, then jumped off of the swing.
“Stay back,” he snarled. “You’re barefoot, and there are shards all over the place.”
“But your hand,” I said, nodding to the blood blossoming on his palm.
“It’s just a flesh wound.” He smirked as he stood and cinched his non-bloody hand around my waist.
Lifting me off the porch, he stepped over the glass and carried me to the welcome mat before easing me onto my feet. I opened the door, then followed him into the kitchen. Grant pointed to a cabinet that contained a first aid kit. I quickly retrieved the kit, then sat at the table. While I laid out the medical supplies, Grant stood at the sink, rinsing the blood from his hand and plucking out glass fragments.
When he joined me at the table, I cupped his fingers and gently dabbed the blood while picking out the remaining slivers with the tweezers.
“Why on earth did you crush that glass with your hand?”
“It was an accident.” He shrugged.
“I’m sorry you cut yourself, but I’m glad I finally get the chance to pay you back and bandageyouthis time.”
“Stop being so worried about paying me back. I don’t want that.”
“What do you want?”
“Exactly what you’re finally giving me, darlin’…honesty.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth from the beginning.”
“You’re telling me now, that’s all that matters.” A soft smile tugged his lips before he sobered. “I need to knowwhy, after finding out what he was capable of, you agreed to marry Wesley.”
It was going to be impossible for Grant to understand, but I had to try if I ever wanted him to forgive me for pretending to be Aubrey…which I truly did.
“She’d spend hours telling me about you, your parents, about growing up in Richardson, and about how much you loved each other.”
Grant nodded and swallowed tightly as sadness filled his eyes.
“I hounded Aubrey relentlessly to tell me stories about your family.”
“Why?”
“Because I grew up without a morsel or a half-a-grain of sand of the love and affection your family shared. When I was a teenager, I started secretly reading risqué romance novels. I used to pretend I’d been conceived in the heat of passion, in a room bathed in candlelight, with rose petals on the bed, and a standing, silver ice bucket teeming with champagne. But the cold, hard reality is I’m probably nothing more than an unfortunate accident.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because my parents never gave me any reason to think otherwise. My whole life they’ve been totally self-absorbed, cunningly manipulative, and incapable of loving anything but amassing money, maintaining appearances, and clinging to the upper wrung of the elite social ladder. Since the day I was born, they groomed me, heaped unrealistic expectations on me, manipulated and controlled me. I tried to be what they wanted…tried to earn their approval, but I was never good enough. I was always so defeated I didn’t know how to break the cycle or fight back. I never knew my own mind, power, or strength until they backed me into a corner and demanded I marry Wesley.”
As Grant nodded in understanding, relief swept through me.
Maybe he truly understood why I’d tried to reinvent myself as Aubrey.
