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Our perfect Saturday together ended the minute Mason’s father came knocking. Liam comes stumbling down the stairs in only his boxers, hair sticking straight up, looking all kinds of fucked up. He came home from his work trip late Thursday, slept most of yesterday, and partied last night. I heard him stumble in at six this morning.
“What’s with all the yelling?” He raises his arms above his head, stretching as he lazily makes his way to the couch. “You two?”
Liam looks at me, worried, and I quickly shake my head but don’t say anything.
“Mason? What is it?”
I look at my boyfriend who hasn’t blinked in the past few minutes. His jaw is set tight, and I don’t know what to do or say to him. I feel helpless. His father put him in an impossible situation.
“Soph?” Liam turns toward me again. “Who was here?”
Inhaling a deep breath, I release a sigh. “Mr. Holt.”
“What was that fucker doing here? Was it about you?” he asks me. “About the Westbrooks?”
I shake my head. “Not directly.” I guess it could be if this scandal breaks and people start looking into the cases he worked on or assisted, inevitably anything to do with me or Mason.
“Serena’s pregnant,” Mason blurts out, grabbing Liam’s attention. “With his fucking child.”
My heart breaks for the man I love so damn much. I see his pain and can feel and hear it.
“As if my father could infuriate me anymore, he has an affair with the only person I trusted after Emma’s death. One of my friends. Someone I lived with and confided in for years.” Mason’s head falls as he rests his elbows on his knees. “I can’t believe she’d do that to me. She knows how much I hate him.”
“Holy fuck,” Liam says, blinking. “Serena and your dad? There’s no way.”
“According to him, there is…already has,” Mason says. “The worst part? You ready for this?” Mason’s voice switches to a crazy high-pitched tone. “He wants me to claim it, tell the press it’s mine to cover up his goddamn affair.”
“Jesus Christ.” Liam brushes a hand through his hair, shocked. “And why would he think you’d do that?”
“Oh, he thinks if news gets out, they’ll basically question his character and start digging into his history. They’ll look for anything suspicious, and once they find it—which if he’s so concerned means there is something for them to find—they won’t stop. He’s suggested it could come back to me, considering he’s been a key player in all of my legal cases. I’m being coerced to cover his ass or have my skeletons dragged out of the closet too.”
“Can they really do that? Can they reopen cases and charge you?” I ask.
“You know he’s full of bullshit,” Liam says before I get an answer. “They’d have to find something first to give them probable cause to re-investigate everything. He’s just trying to rattle you, so you’ll do it.”
“Well, it’s fucking working. This is the last thing we need right now. Not to mention, it’s not fair to Sophie. Lying for my father…it makes me fucking sick to even think about.”
“Mason…” I move closer and wrap my arm around him. He’s so worked up, he’s shaking. “I’m not leaving. You have me by your side no matter what, okay?” I lean my head on his shoulder, but a second later, he pulls me into his chest and hugs me.
Liam stands in front of us and cracks his knuckles. “Want me to go rough him up a bit? Tell him he made his bed and now he can lie in it?” He flashes a knowing grin, but I roll my eyes at his awful timing of a joke.
“What I really want is to hear it from Serena. She owes me an explanation,” Mason says. “Because until then, I won’t really believe it.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Mason
Mason: Please tell me it’s not true.
I hit send and hold my breath when I see the jumping dots on the screen. Then they disappear.
Mason: Don’t lie to me.
Serena: I’m sorry.
Mason: That’s it? That’s all you’re going to say?
Serena: I fucked up, Mason. I’m so sorry.
I toss my phone, shaking my head, not wanting to believe it. Being betrayed by my father is nothing new, but Serena? She was the closest thing I had to a sister. Now I don’t know what to think. My dad’s a sleazeball, and he’ll never change. How the hell did Serena end up with him?
Deciding I need to blow off steam, I pack my workout bag and head to the gym. Tyler isn’t there to box with me, so I work solo with a punching bag until my hands are sore and sweat drips into my eyes. The pain feels good, and it helps clear my head as usual, but the frustration returns once I’m home, and the memory of my father telling me the news returns.
