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“Eugene? A word, please?”
Looking over to us, he made eye contact with me and put up one finger as he followed Calvin into his office. I turned back into Killian’s hold, and we stepped into the elevator as the doors opened. Going down to the lobby, Killian called George, and we exited the building. He opened the door for me, and I stepped in with him following. Blaine took a seat in the front, and Eugene entered the car on the other side of me after a while.
George pulled off, and I immediately perceived the weird atmosphere in the car. Laying my head on Killian’s shoulder, I felt he was tense, but he never stopped rubbing my knee for comfort. It didn’t take long for me to get lost in my thoughts again.
Cheryl isn’t my mother. For the last 23 years of my life, I’ve been living with a woman who wasn’t actually my blood… Looking back, I could understand why Eugene would go to such lengths to protect me, why he was more like a parent than a brother. I gazed over at him slowly and noticed how he looked lost in his thoughts as well.
Ever since we’ve been reunited, there’s not a time I look over at him to actually see his mind not racing. He’s been away for seven years, and I could only imagine what he’s gone through. He’s changed, and I can’t tell if it’s good.
And I’m confident I noticed that he occasionally whispers to himself. More than the average person would. With the changed person he is, I don’t think he has any sympathy for our family. It scares me partially to think about what he’s capable of.. but regardless of that, he was still my brother, and I was happy to have him in my life again.
Looking away from him, I grabbed his hand in one of mine and rubbed it softly. I felt his eyes on me for a moment, and then he looked away, accepting my hand.
We reached the penthouse, and Killian walked me inside. Benjamin showed Eugene to a room, and Killian took me to ours. I slowly stepped into the bathroom and stripped myself of my clothes. After taking a quick shower and washing my hair, I stepped out and threw it in a messy bun. After I put on some underwear and one of Killian’s t-shirts, I heard a tiny knock on the door as I sat on the bed and spoke.
“Come in.” Almost instantly after the door opened, Delilah’s Maltese puppy ran into the room and came onto the bed to lick my face. I giggled as I tried to calm it down and eventually felt another puppy climbing onto my lap. I grabbed her and pulled her in for a hug as I kissed her forehead.
“Hello, mommy’s baby, how are you?”
“Good! I was playing with Snowball downstairs,” She shared, and I chuckled.
“So that’s what we’re calling him?” She sighed dramatically.
“I don’t know. I’m trying to think of a name, but it’s so hard! And Kimi was no help.. She told me to name him Marshmallow. She was also hungry when she said that,” I smiled.
“Well, you should catch her at a time when she’s not hungry so she can really help you.” She nodded her head and stared at me for a moment. I tilted mine at her, and she spoke.
“Mommy… you don’t look happy.” I felt her tiny hands on my face, and I gave her a small grin. Was it not sad that a five-year-old could see right through me? I pushed a piece of her flyaways behind her ear, “I’m not too happy right now, baby..”
“What’s wrong?” She asked, her face showing concern. I kissed her forehead as I pulled her in for another hug.
“Grown-up problems.. you can’t understand yet.” She nodded.
“..When I am a grown-up, will you tell me?” I giggled at her question, but it died down as I soon realized that once she’d gotten older, I’d have to explain.. all of this.
“Of course I will, Dede..” I responded, and we continued our conversation about nothing in particular. The door opened, and we both looked over to see Killian walking in. He had his sleeves rolled up, and I could tell he had been busy in his office.
“Hi, Daddy..” Delilah said softly, and he picked her up before kissing her cheek.
“Hello, pumpkin. You know, it’s getting pretty late, and you’re not in bed yet.” He looked around semi-dramatically and spoke in a hushed voice.
“Now, you didn’t hear this from me.. but Benjamin is looking for you downstairs. If you hurry fast enough, you can make it to your bedroom and brush up quickly before he sees you.” She gasped as a small smile came to my face while I watched their interaction.
“You didn’t tell him where I was, did you?!”
“Of course, I didn’t. I wouldn’t rat out one of my favorite girls to that old man.. Now run along. We don’t want you getting caught.” She wiggled from his grip and tiptoed as she rushed to her room without making a sound. Killian got ready to close the door when he noticed the little puppy. Pointing to the door, he spoke.
“You too.. out.” He ordered, and the dog jumped off the bed and ran to the door, but not before rubbing his head on Killian’s leg. He shut the door and looked over to me.
“I assumed you wanted some alone time… any better?” He asked, taking his watch off, and I shrugged.
“More or less… I’m mostly just confused.” Placing his watch on the desk, he sighed. “I’ll answer any question you ask… those that I can’t answer, I’ll hand off to Eugene..”
I leaned back against the headboard. “…I slightly overheard when you were talking about my parents and Marissa, but I couldn’t really tell what you were saying.” He unbuttoned his shirt and started pulling it off as he spoke.
“Well… to make a long story short, your grandparents put $25 million to your name, and your parents took it all without you ever even knowing about it.” That was all he stated, and he approached me shirtless as I looked at him in utter disbelief. Placing his hand on the side of my face, he muttered. “Not that it’ll make you feel better, but they also took about $20 million from Eugene.”
“I guess.. that explains everything then.. It’s all coming together, unfortunately.” I whispered, and he wiped the tear that escaped my eye as I shrugged.
