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Jana kept driving past the road that would take her back to Prosper, and instead turned toward her sister’s place. Natalie might have already left for work, but Jana had texted her that she needed an urgent meeting. So whether that was at Natalie’s condo or her office, it didn’t matter to Jana.
Yes, Jana might have called things off with Knox, and it still hadn’t fully hit her. None of this had. And she was sure once she processed it, she’d be curled into a ball. But right now, she was furious. Things had happened years ago that she had no knowledge of, and now, it had destroyed what she and Knox had so recently and fragilely began to build together.
Was there still a future for her and Knox? Jana sincerely doubted it. There had just been too much turmoil between them. Too many misunderstandings. Too many silent years. And Jana was fully entrenched in her family’s business, and she couldn’t support herself on her column. So what choice did she have but to be loyal to her parents?
And Knox had to be loyal to his family, even though he was willing to overlook all of that. Jana wouldn’t let him break apart his family once again. The aftermath of the first time was still haunting every step in their relationship.
A return text from Natalie buzzed Jana’s phone. She read it at the next stoplight. Good. Natalie was heading back to her condo to meet. Maybe she’d already talked to their parents and knew what was coming.
Jana just hoped that her sister wouldn’t put on her lawyer poker face and would instead be the sister she should be.
It took only a minute to find a parking place, since most of the residents were likely at work. Jana had been to Natalie’s condo a handful of times, which spoke volumes as to their sibling relationship. All business.
Jana turned off the car, and another text chimed in. Her heart thumped when she saw it was from Knox. She closed her eyes and exhaled. She didn’t even want to read it, because then she’d start bawling, and she really needed to be levelheaded. Still… she opened the text.
Talked to Holt and my dad. Please call me when you can.
“I can’t,” Jana whispered to herself. She’d barely made it through that first phone call with him, and even if somehow things could be smoothed out with the Prosper family, she’d seen the deep-seated hatred her dad had for them. It wasn’t a good foundation to build any relationship upon.
Because with Knox, she knew things were real, too. Like, marriage real. And how would that be? Having fighting in-laws when she was raising their grandkids?
Jana should at least hear Knox out, right?
She stared at his text, her thoughts warring against each other. In the end, she decided not to reply yet. If she did, he’d just text again with something else, and she had to focus on her meeting with Natalie.
Climbing out of the SUV, Jana hurried to the condo. She found the spare key that her sister had told her about, and she let herself in. Natalie’s place was so immaculate that it was almost sterile. She didn’t have any plants or flowers, or anything of that sort. Black and white photographs of bridges decorated the living room wall, paired with a black leather couch and otherwise white furniture.
Jana was too antsy to sit down, though, and had paced the room a dozen times before Natalie showed up.
“Hi,” Natalie said, coming into the living room, her light green eyes wary. Her strawberry blonde hair was pulled back in a smooth ponytail, and she was dressed in a power suit—navy with a white blouse beneath.
Jana always felt dowdy next to her sister, and that made her angry, too. Why did she allow herself to feel less than others in her family? Now that she’d found out the deceit and greed going on, she was even more mad at herself for never questioning anything.
“Want something to drink?” Natalie asked, heading to the kitchen. “We can sit and talk in here.” No hug, nothing friendly.
Not that Jana was in the mood… “I’m fine.” She was probably hungry, but her body wasn’t focused on any of that.
A few moments later, the two sisters were sitting across from each other in an equally sterile kitchen. There was literally nothing on the kitchen counters, save for a complicated looking cappuccino maker.
“So…” Natalie said with a brief smile. “What’s up?”
“Did you talk to Dad yet?”
The flicker in Natalie’s eyes answered the question. “Look, Jana—”
“Answer me this question,” Jana cut in. “Why did Dad threaten Rex Prosper? I know it was about Knox, but I want to know when, how, and why exactly. And why did you know and not me? He was my boyfriend, so I don’t know why I’m the last to know.”
Natalie looked away, her neck staining red.
Jana waited, and she’d wait as long as necessary to get the answers she wanted.
When Natalie met her gaze again, Jana was surprised to see tears in her sister’s eyes.
“I found a pregnancy test in the garbage, and I told Dad,” Natalie said. “I knew it had to be yours.”
Heat rushed into Jana’s chest, then pooled into her belly. She stood from the table, unable to sit any longer. “Why didn’t you come to me?” She might be asking her sister that question, but she was berating herself for throwing it away where her sister could find it… which brought up other questions of how Natalie really found it.
Jana strode to the kitchen window, shaking with disbelief. She couldn’t even look at her sister.
