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THE FLIGHT FROM NEWYork City to Miami had drained him, but Nik had his driver take him straight to Magnolia Everest’s estate.
He wasn’t certain if she would consent to meet him, but she did. She bore a strong resemblance to Daria and looked a decade younger than her age. The photos he had seen of her always had Magnolia dressed in outfits more suitable for teenagers than middle-aged women. But when Daria’s mother came to the drawing room, she was nothing like her photos. Her hair was left loose, her face free of makeup, and she was dressed in a loose, long-sleeved silk blouse and slacks.
“Mr. Alexandropoulos.” Her voice was as husky as Daria’s.
They shook hands briefly. “Thank you for seeing me, Mrs. Everest.”
She nodded, and when they were seated, she said without preamble, “Daria’s not with me.”
Ah. She knew about him then. It was all he allowed himself to think. The fact that Daria was not here was something he preferred not to dwell on at all.
“Was that why you came?” she asked. He didn’t answer right away, and she was beginning to see why Daria’s friends had oh-so-carefully described him as mercurial and aloof. Understatements, all of them, Magnolia thought.
“She came here three months ago, and she found me drunk.”
Nik stiffened.
“But I wasn’t drunk enough not to realize something was wrong with my baby. She wasn’t crying, but I’m her mother and I could feel it. I kept asking her what was wrong in my slurred voice, but she only said she was going to take care of me. And I let her even when...she’s never cried. Don’t you think that’s strange? My baby’s always been a girly girl.” Her voice broke. “She should cry more, don’t you think?”
Nik’s jaw clenched. Memories drifted in his mind, Daria telling him she didn’t allow herself to cry as punishment for hurting him.
“It sobered me, seeing her so determined to care for me even when she was hurting inside. It broke me.”
And looking at her, Nik saw that Magnolia was also punishing herself now. Tears brightened her gaze the way it did Daria’s, but Magnolia kept her eyes unblinking, not letting a single drop fall.
“She didn’t tell me a thing about you, you know. All she told me that it was her fault because she lied.” She choked the last word out, emotions tightening her throat. “Why are you so hard on her? One lie and you took away her pride, took away everything, even though she loved you so much—-”
Nik stood up. “I’m sorry,” he bit out. He didn’t give a damn if leaving suddenly would make him like the biggest prick on earth. He just didn’t want to listen to another person waxing poetry about Daria. Iolanthe had done it, even Miranda, and of course Magnolia would do it, too.
If he listened to more of this, all his defenses would crash, and he would—-
As he turned away, he heard Magnolia speak behind him. “She’s the silliest daughter in the world, you know.”
Nik knew he should leave. That the more he listened, the more he would think that Daria—-
“She’s so silly it breaks my heart,” Magnolia whispered. “She dated all those men, and she let them speak lies about her because she kept thinking that one day, a man would come to love her, despite her past, and with that she could prove that even someone like me – someone like me could be loved.” Her voice caught, and then and there he saw her for who she was, saw Magnolia the way Daria had always seen her mother.
A woman the world punished for loving too much and not being sorry for it.
Slowly, Nik turned to face Magnolia, and his defenses broke down as her eyes sought his assurance. Him, the man who had thought she was despicable, the same man who had hurt her daughter.
“I was such a bad mother to her, Mr. Alexandropoulos. But I can still make it right, can’t I?”
It was almost like hearing Daria speak those words. He thought about the hurtful things he had said of Magnolia Everest, of how daughter and mother were alike, and now he knew it was true. And it was a good thing.
“Yes, Mrs. Everest,” he heard himself say roughly. “You can still make it right.” He meant it, and he hoped to God he could still make it right, too. Because everything was clear now.
Memories came back to him, the oldest memories – the most precious memories.
He remembered how furious he had been at Daria throwing a bottle at him twice and Daria promising him she wasn’t insane, and Nik wanted to smile even as more pain ravaged his chest. Because if he could remember the good times, he could remember the bad times, and there were so damn much more of them.
He remembered himself shouting at Daria. What’s my goddamn fucking number?
He remembered himself putting Daria in her place. You’re just a cunt that belongs to me.
Other people could have lied about her, too. Miranda’s words came back to him. And this time, he believed the same damn thing.
“I’m sorry.” His voice was raw.
Magnolia’s smile was sad. “I’m sorry, too. Not for you or me. I’m sorry for my daughter. I’m sorry that she’s so silly...so sweet to find something in us to love.”
