Page 14 of The Contract Marriage

“Oh my God. We were just talking about the island.” Tyler’s tone is full of impatience and contempt. I must be “too poor” to rate any respect.

“Laucala Island,” Brielle clarifies in case I don’t get it.

“Why? We decided on Cancun,” I say.

“Nothing wrong with exploring some other options,” Tyler says.

Brielle bites her lip and lowers her eyes, even as her hand on Tyler’s arm tightens. “I’m sorry I make you uncomfortable. I don’t mean to.”

Of course not. Her clichéd refrain grates on my nerves because she said the same to Hugh after Mom tumbled down the stairs. I clench my jaw. “Do you ever mean to do something?” I say icily, then walk into the store without waiting for the two of them. This is exactly the kind of behavior Tyler expects—angry, petulant, and slightly spoiled.

The second I step inside, I know that Liam isn’t working. The air doesn’t vibrate with the bright energy that always cheers me up. My heart deflates, like a puppy learning that it’s raining too hard to go for a walk. I breathe slowly to control my disappointment. It’s better this way. I’ve become too used to his presence, but he shouldn’t be dragged into my mess. He’s—

I stop. He’s not just special and warm. He’s…he’s too pure to be tainted by the likes of Hugh, Deena and Brielle. Especially Brielle. I was always careful in my interactions with him at Stanford because she was only a short drive away at Santa Clara, ready to come over and steal whatever she thought I valued the most—or failing that, destroy it.

And now, I just don’t want Brielle to break him the way she did my real family. Pochi wasn’t the only one or the first. The coroner’s report listed Mom’s death as an unfortunate accident, but I’ll never believe it. Deena and Brielle showed up on a day our housekeeper was conveniently on leave, then provoked Mom until she fainted at the top of the stairs, causing her to fall and break her neck.

I saw my mother tumble down the staircase. Everything else vanished in an instant, and it was all I could do to run toward her and put my arms around her limp body. Terror pounded through me when she wouldn’t smile or move.

“Mom!” I screamed over and over again. But she didn’t open her eyes, not even a flicker.

“Oh my gosh.” Deena’s trembling gasp cut through the suffocating fog of panic. I turned to her.

“Please! Help!” I screamed because I didn’t know what to do. I was just a sheltered ten-year-old child.

Her face pale, she nodded, taking out her phone with a shaking hand.

Brielle jabbed her elbow into Deena’s side. “Mom, maybe we need to wait until Dad gets back. What if he gets angry? We weren’t supposed to be here,” she added the last part in a hushed tone.

Something I couldn’t pinpoint flickered in Deena’s eyes. “Right, right. Okay, so… We’re just going to wait a little bit, okay?”

“He’s playing golf! He won’t come back until late.”

“So what? Why should we get into trouble because of you?” Brielle shot back, raising her voice.

Rage exploded, burning away the terror and panic. With a piercing shriek, I launched myself at her. Brielle screamed, her arms raised in a defensive posture.

“Help Mom! Now!” I screamed as I pushed her.

Deena shoved me hard. I fell, hit the marble floor hard on my right hip and rolled a couple of times. She ran her hands down Brielle’s body, checking for injuries, as though ten-year-old me could have seriously hurt her.

Then when she was satisfied that Brielle was fine, she turned her eyes toward me. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

I pushed myself up. “You have to help her. Mom fell because of you.”

“No, she fell because she was clumsy. We didn’t do anything,” she insisted, her chin tilted stubbornly. “You owe my daughter an apology.”

“I don’t apologize to killers!”

Deena turned even paler while Brielle just blinked at me. Deena raised her hand and moved to slap me, but caught herself. Instead, she shoved me back hard again, like the first time wasn’t enough. I stumbled and landed next to Mom and shook.

“That is what you deserve for lashing out.” Deena curled a protective arm around Brielle. “Let’s go, baby. I’ll get you something nice and sweet to cheer you up.”

Brielle shot me a triumphant look over her shoulder. And no matter how I screamed and begged, they ignored me—and nobody came to the rescue. I just hugged Mom as she grew colder and stiffer, and cried until I felt dizzy and disoriented. It wasn’t until the sun was almost down that Hugh returned.

He looked horrified, then almost dropped to his knees when I told him about Deena and Brielle. I don’t know what I expected, but I thought maybe he’d say Deena and Brielle lied or that he’d put the two of them in jail.

But Brielle ran to him and hugged his legs. “Daddy, I didn’t mean to cause trouble when I asked Mom to come here.” She sobbed. “I just wanted to see what kind of people lived in a house this nice. And I just wanted to see the pony she got for her birthday.”