But then a loud knocking echoed through the house.I frowned slightly, lifting my head from Jaxon's shoulder.
He shifted beside me.“I’ll get it.”
“No, it’s okay,” I said, already leaning up.My lips pressed to his to settle him before I crossed the room to the front door.Every knock was louder—and more impatient—than the last.
“Alright, alright,” I muttered under my breath.
My hand wrapped around the handle as I pulled the door open without much thought—
And froze.
My breath caught as my eyes landed on the person standing there.
“Mom?”
All I could do was just stare at her.In the three years of living here, she'd never come to visit me.Not once.I half-expected it to be some sort of trick, some illusion that she wasn't really there, but her next words made it all a reality.
“How could you do this?”she snapped immediately, her voice sharp, cutting straight through whatever confusion I hadn’t sorted through yet.“To Lori?To me?”
My brows pulled together.“Excuse me?”
“Oh, don’t play dumb, Savannah,” she continued, waving a dismissive hand like I was already exhausting her.“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?The embarrassment?The damage?”
Damage.
To her.
Of course.
“You always do this,” she went on, her tone rising as she waved her hands around exasperatedly.“You always find a way to ruin things.All of this”—she gestured vaguely, like my entire life was the problem—“for what?Some ridiculous fake romance?”
She scoffed, running a hand through her curls and pacing on my front porch.
“Lori hadeverything,”she continued, her voice laced with frustration.“Do you understand that?That marriage would’ve connected us to the Sinclairs.A family like that—Savannah, that was a goldmine.That could’ve set all of us up for life.And you ruined it because you couldn't think of anyone but yourself.You knew how much this meant to me.”
I felt something in my chest tighten, but it wasn't hurt that I felt.For the first time in my life, I finally had a clear picture of who my mother was.
The calculated opportunist.
“Are you done?”I cut in.
She blinked, clearly not expecting that.
“What—”
“No, that wasn't meant as a question.You're done.”
The shift was subtle, but it was there.I stepped forward slightly, not enough to be aggressive—just enough to hold my ground.
“For once, you’re going to listen to me.”
Her lips parted, ready to interrupt, but I didn’t let her.
“You don’t get to come here after everything and start pointing fingers like you’ve been part of my life long enough to have that right.Where were you?”I continued, my voice steady but no longer soft.“When I was dealing with the aftermath of Chase?When everything fell apart?When I was trying to pick myself back up?”
Silence.
“I’ll tell you where you were,” I added.“Nowhere.”
