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“Ladies,” he says smoothly, walking toward me and taking the seat to my right. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?”
“I’ll get to that soon,” I reply, giving him a smile. It’s not fake, not wholly, but it’s not my normal smile. Not the one that placates people, or to be polite, this one holds malice like never before. “We have one more person we’re waiting for.”
“Oh? Who’s that?” Jasper asks just as Carl Pierce walks into the room. “Dad.” Jasper stands and shakes his father’s hand and I stand as well, keeping that smile in place.
“Carl, Jasper, Mom.” I point to the chairs and have them sit down. “I wanted to get together to tell everyone the good news.”
“Oh? What’s this good news?” There’s that hopeful little gleam in my mother’s eyes that tells me all I need to know. She’s hoping this will be the moment I cave, the moment I give in and tell them I’ll marry Jasper, no problem. That I won’t cause issues and will just go with this to save everyone from embarrassment.
She’s about to be sorely disappointed.
“I had lunch today with someone,” I start, my eyes moving from one person to the next. Carl frowns in obvious confusion while my mother sits on the edge of her seat, Jasper looks like he’s enjoying every awkward moment of this meeting.
“What are we doing here?” Carl asks, impatience rippling off of him.
The truth is, Carl really is the reason for all of this. He’s the reason my mother is so scared for the truth to come out, he’s the reason for this rift between my mother and me now—not that that excuses her behavior—he’s also the reason that this whole thing is about to go in my favor.
Because Carl Pierce is an idiot.
And while we’re at it, quite a big piece of shit.
“I’m getting to that,” I answer him with that grin stretching wide. “See, I’ve been doing some thinking. Some work on myself, if you will, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I needed to branch out, make new connections with all sorts of people.”
“What does this have to do with our engagement?” Jasper asks, though there’s a look in his eyes that tells me a little bit of hope lingers beneath the surface, like he’s praying I’ve found a loophole. Not that he’s done anything to prevent it himself.
“Everything, actually.” I stand and sigh. “Today, I met someone. Well, no, technically.” I hold out my hands and look to the ceiling, thinking. “Technically, I’ve met him several times.” I give a sarcastic smile and my mother’s pleased one slowly droops. “I’ve spent time with him and his family, even. But today, I invited him to lunch and talked. Really talked.”
My mother’s eyes fill with fear.
Yup. She knows.
“Talked about the past few years and what the next few will look like for us.”
“Are you talking about that boyfriend of yours?” Carl asks quietly, then looks to my mom. “I thought you took care of that.”
“Oh, she tried,” I interrupt, taking back control of the room. “Yes, she did indeed try to break us up. However, I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about William.”
Carl freezes and Jasper frowns in confusion. “William,” he repeats slowly.
“Yes.” I smile at Jasper, Carl, then my mother. “William Ivers. My father.” I let out a fake laugh. “Who, by the way, had no idea I was his? Isn’t that interesting? I mean, he told me how he suspected that I might be, until my mother insisted I was an in-vitro baby. Then he decided it was probably best left alone.”
Carl scoffs. “So, you figured it out. Well, I’m happy for you guys. William’s a good guy, he deserves to have his kids around him.”
“I agree.” I nod. “Except.” I hold up my finger and tap my chin. “Except there’s a small problem.”
“What’s that?” Carl asks, a smirk still on his lips. Like a man who thinks he’s going to get everything he ever wanted. Just like he always has.
I can’t wait to rip his world apart.
“Well, when I told him I was his daughter, he obviously had questions,” I say. “He wasn’t mad, not at all. Well, maybe a little at you, Mom.” I point to her and her head drops. “But he also… understands.” I soften my voice at that, and my mother turns her head away. I remind myself that regardless of the facts, hurting her isn’t on my agenda. Setting boundaries is. “When I told him how I found out… that’s when he got angry.” I turn my attention to Carl. “See, I explained how I found out. I explained that my mom was struggling with something and I just couldn’t figure out why or what was making her behave the way she was. Then I explained how his best friend—you—were keeping this secret from him.” I lift my hands to the side and say, “For a price, of course.”
“Wait, what?” Jasper looks over at his dad, confusion and horror on his face. “You were blackmailing Jane?”
The genuine concern in his voice has me tilting my head.
Hm. Jasper has a heart. Who knew.
“Not me,” I assure him. “My mother.”
