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That was… wild to say out loud.
Before all this, before the deep thinking I’d had to do trying to understand motivations and all that, I’d never thought my relationship with my father was… complicated.
He just was who he was.
I thought my mother’s sickness had changed him, but he clearly still loved me, still loved Soren. I never thought much of Soren not looking like either of our parents, not looking like me, because… shit, genetics were complex. I just knew that was my brother, and I loved him.
That was it.
It was all so,sosimple until I realized it wasneversimple.
It had always been a fucking mess, I just wasn’t in on it.
“What can I do for you, Nalani?” Stanford asked, eyes begging… forgiveness?
But… he hadn’t wrongedme.
An argument could be made that he’d wronged Soren, but even that didn’t feel quite accurate.
Of course… Soren might disagree.
“Tell me why you’re being so transparent,” I spoke up, meeting his gaze. “My mother has been gone for years. William is no threat to her anymore. And yet… you never showed up. You never made yourself known.”
He nodded. “Because he wasn’t just a threat to her. He was a threat to you, to Soren, to what your mother wanted to leave for you.Clearly.” He scoffed. “She asked me to promise, asked me to stay away. And I did… until you married Orion.”
“Because he beat William at his little game,” I explained. “Which I know you had some part in.”
“I can’t deny what’s right in front of your face,” he agreed. “I encouraged Orion to purchase the building, butnotbecause I thought it would put you in a bind. Because I trusted it in the hands of someone I knew and respected more than a stranger. I had no idea he’d play it the way he did.”
I sat back in my chair, just staring for a moment before I nodded. “I believe you.”
“I’m glad,” he countered. “Larena made me promise not to bring any of this to you. Not the land deal, but the affair and all of that. So I honored that. But she also made me promise that if either of you came to me for the truth… I would tell it. So that’s what it is. And I’ll answer any other questions you have. But I hope you’ll still let me work with you on the expansion,” he added. “It… it’s important to me. It’s something Larena always wanted for this place and it would be an honor to assist with seeing it through.”
I nodded. “Yes, of course,” I agreed. “I’m absolutely still open to all of that, but… there’s things that have to be resolved first. Father or not, William is a wild card, and with everything he’s done so far… he’ll go nuclear if—when—he finds out we’re working with you.”
Stanford shook his head. “You let your husband and I figure that out. I promise you, Billy’s sabotage days are over.”
“I believe you,” I said. “But that’s not all. I… I’m going to need you to talk to Soren,” I told him. “You have to explain everything—why you weren’t there, all of it. With the things William has said, I think my brother is going to need that. And I can’t be good with you unless he is.”
Before Stanford could respond, a quick knock sounded at the door, followed quickly by its opening without waiting for an answer.
Only one person did that.
Shit.
I hopped up from my chair, eyes wide as the topic of conversation walked in, wearing a huge smile as he held up my mother’s laptop. “Finally cracked it for you, sis,” he said proudly, gesturing at it.
“Oh! That’s amazing,” I gushed, hurrying around the desk to take it from him. “Did you dig into it at all yet?”
“Nah, I brought it straight to you,” he answered, eyes narrowing as let me pull the device to my hands. “My bad though. I didn’t realize I was interrupting something.”
“Just a meeting that’s basically over.” I shifted, trying to stay in front of him, but he easily gave me a gentle shove aside.
“Who are you?” he asked and a deep sigh pushed through me as I turned just in time to see Stanford turn.
As their eyes met, the air in the room immediately went thick.
“Stan Reese,” Stanford answered, standing to shake Soren’s hand.
