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"Adrianna," she chewed out, disgust laced in the four syllables of my name. "Adrianna is a prostitute's name. I wanted to change it, but your dear old father wouldn't let me change his precious daughter’s name. His whore of an assistant picked it out."
It happened so fast. I didn't see it, but I heard it. The loud, cracking sound that couldn't be mistaken for anything other than a backhanded blow. There was not one ounce of guilt or remorse that came with it.
I wasn't sure what stunned me more—Dad hitting mom right across the face, or when Xavier grabbed him by the collar of his Robert Cavalli shirt and shoved him hard and fast up against the wall.
"Dad," Xavier said low and quiet. Anger poured off him in waves. "You should never hit a woman. Ever." I shot a glance at Mom. She cupped her cheek, her jaw aghast, tears floating in her eyes. "You taught me from a young age to always protect my sister," he said. My heart soared for my brother. I was thankful I had him in my corner. "I don't give a shit if what Mom claims is true. Adrianna is my sister, and she always will be my sister. She's good and doesn't deserve to be called vile names and attacked, but hitting Mom because of that? What does that make you? I will not stand to see a woman hit, especially my mother."
Dad’s eyes narrowed at my brother. "Xavier, stay out of it," he ordered, grabbing my brother's wrists. "You don't know the half of it." Xavier pulled Dad and shoved him against the wall again. The fury radiating off him scared me. He could unravel at any given moment and I didn't have the power in me to stop either of them.
"Mom, you knew Adrianna would never fight back and disrespect you, that's not who she is, and you know that. You went for her jugular knowing she had no defense," Xavier gritted out.
"You want to talk about respect?" Mom said hoarsely. Standing tall, she dropped her hand. A lick of fire still blazed in her eyes, and a deep red mark marred her cheek.
She fixed her stare on Xavier.
"You want to talk about respect," Mom said again, her brows raised high. She pulled her shoulders back. She wasn't finished with us.
"Why don't you tell your sister," she spat, "how you respected her friend so much that you got h
er pregnant. Why don't you tell Adrianna about you and Avery? About how I had to cover up your mess for this family and the Herons." She sneered, shaking her head. She pointed to her chest, sloppily stabbing herself with her index finger. "About the abortion I paid for?" she spat with a bite. She still had fight in her. "And you want to talk about respect?" Mom scoffed. "What a joke." She pointed at all of us. "You all are a joke with not an ounce of respect in any of you. You should be bowing down and kissing the ground I walk on for all I've done for you."
She strode from the formal dining room without so much as a falter in her step, leaving us all speechless.
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chills trickled down my arms. I was stone cold and in shock.
"Is it true?" I asked, not recognizing my voice.
Both my dad and brother looked at each other, their eyes shifted back and forth at one another, searching for an answer. They looked confused as to who I was talking to, and truth be told, I wasn't sure which one of them I questioned. I just knew I needed answers. They both had lied to me so bad that I didn't know where to begin.
I stood and took a few steps until we were all standing face-to-face. My stomach was heavy and twisting with cramps, like my intestines were wrapped around stones with gritty edges. I pressed a hand to my belly. God, I felt so small staring up at them, wishing on a prayer it wasn't true. Hoping that what Mom said was all a drunk lie to hurt me because of something Dad did to her, or Xavier getting on her bad side.
But deep down, I knew the answer. I wasn't a fool.
"It's true, isn't it?" I asked again, looking my father in the eye. I started with him. I'd never seen him so torn with guilt. He'd always been so strong and sure of everything. Now he looked shattered, too devastated to speak. Not the father I knew. He couldn't give me the satisfaction of an answer either, even if it was a bittersweet one.
I turned toward Xavier. "Did you know?"
He shook his head frantically, innocent in the shocking reveal. "No. I had no idea until just now."
"He didn't know. No one knew except for me and your mother."
"But she's not my mom."
His eyes hardened. "She is your mother."
"Were you ever planning on telling me?"
"No."
My mouth parted, a faint gasp rolled off my lips. My heart began to speed up at the thought of being lied to my entire life by the one person who I thought I could trust and would support me.
"Why? Why wouldn't you tell me."
"To protect you," he stated like it was obvious.
I tilted my head to the side. "Protect me from what exactly?"
