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And they wanted to punish me for breaking those arbitrary rules.
I finally found my footing and stood up tall. I whipped my hair back and forth and squared my shoulders, unashamed in my scarlet robe that did nothing to hide my nakedness.
And I looked that accusing Elder in the eye as I answered him: “I have no idea where Abilene West is. My name is Consuela Borden, and I took Abilene’s invitation as my own.”
It was only out of the corner of my eye that I saw Beau stagger several steps backward, and it was in that moment that I realized I’d lost it all. I’d been thiiiiiiiiis close to everything I’d ever wanted. And I’d been fool enough to think I could even have it. But life was doing what life always did—snatching everything good away right at the last second. Nothing ever changed for girls like me.
My own mother didn’t love me enough to stay around. Why did I think anyone else would fight for me?
I climbed the ladder out of the dunk tank, slung a wet leg over the other side, then slung my other one over the top and jumped the few feet to the polished wooden floors of the ballroom. I landed with a thud, but the Elder was apparently no longer concerned with me. He’d turned back to the crowd at large.
“The harlot has confessed! Initiate,” the Elder skewered Beau with his glare. “Did you know of the harlot’s deception?”
Beau just shook his head, looking dumbfounded. “I didn’t know she wasn’t Abilene,” he said. He didn’t look my direction, and that burned.
“Then you are banished to the foyer while we decide your fate,” the Elder declared dramatically.
20
Beau
A punch to the gut would give me the same effect. I wheezed for air as I spun around to face her. “What the hell is going on?” My voice boomed off the walls of the foyer.
“I was going to tell you,” Abilene—Consuela—whatever the fuck her name was, said.
She was shivering and dripping, and a part of me wanted to give her my jacket, and another part of me wanted to see her suffer.
“When?” I asked. “Once you popped out my baby?” I looked at her belly. “Is that baby even mine? Is that another lie?”
“Don’t ask that,” she snapped. “Everything I’ve told you is the truth! The truth.”
“Except your damn name!” I took a few steps away from her because I felt as if she was suffocating me with her very presence. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Simple answer? A con artist,” she said softly. “Or at least I used to be. And I told you that. I didn’t hide anything. I hustled to survive. One mark after the other. It was my life. It’s all I ever knew. And when I saw my chance at getting in the Oleander… I made it mine.”
She took a step toward me, crossing her arms to try to conceal her nudity beneath the sheer robe. “When I found out I was pregnant with your baby, and then you told me all about your Initiation, well… I saw an opportunity.”
“An opportunity to con me?”
“I didn’t con you,” she said quickly. “I mean, yes, I lied about my name but that’s it. I took an invite from a belle who didn’t want it. I had to pretend to be her to be given a chance. But I didn’t con you. Not you.”
I huffed. “That’s how this looks right now.”
“Which I understand. And trust me, this isn’t how I wanted you to find out. I thought I could keep the secret until we were at least out of this place.”
“I want the truth,” I turned to face her head on. “Is that baby mine?”
She nodded as she said, “I swear to you, it is. I would never lie about that. I would never lie to my baby about who his father is. And I know deep down you believe me on this.”
“I want to believe. I always have. But then I also believed you to be Abilene West, so, clearly, I’m not as good a judge of character as I thought. I was an easy mark, right?”
“You were never my mark. When we hooked up at the bar, I didn’t know who you were or even planned on having sex. Sex has never been part of my cons. I never went there. You and I were simply two people who had intense chemistry, too many drinks, and…” She took a long inhale and then added, “The Order was my mark. Not you.”
“Why?” I asked. “Why do all this? Who would want to go through all these Trials? You were already pregnant with my baby. Payday was coming your way already. So why?”
“Because I needed to do what was best for the baby. I couldn’t care for a child with the type of life I was leading. I wanted the money so that I would be able to raise my child with everything I didn’t have. But I also wanted—”
