AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She glanced over at me. “There is a lot more…but you need to know something. Your brother…he was working with your dad. He was…he did some bad things. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t—”
I cut her off with a wave of my hand, attempting to act casual, even though my heart was sinking. I had to be realistic, though, as much as it pained me. “I know what Joseph’s like.” It would be naive of me to think he’d go against our father. Of course he’d be involved in whatever had happened. And now I thought about it, maybe my supposed fragility wasn’t the only reason he hadn’t given me any details. Maybe he knew that whatever he told me wouldn’t paint him in a good light. Taking a deep breath, I squared my shoulders. “I know it’s unfair of me to ask, but if you know what happened, could you tell me? Please?” I turned to face her, laying all my cards on the table. “I know we don’t really know each other, and you don’t owe me anything, but I came back to Alstone to get closure, and I would really like to have all the information about what happened while I was gone. The only reason I felt able to come back was because my dad’s not here anymore. He…we…Ihatehim,” I whispered fiercely. “I owe him nothing. I just want to be able to move on with my life.”
Jessa studied me for a long time, and then she finally nodded. “Okay. Are you here visiting James?” At my nod, she continued, “Why don’t you drop off your bag and come up to my apartment? I’ll open a bottle of wine because, believe me, we’ll both need it to get through this conversation. It was…well, it was a very traumatic time for me. I’ve only recently felt like myself again. Or a new version of myself. A better version, I hope.”
I stared at her, my mouth falling open. I’d had no idea she was involved. “Are you sure you want to relive it?”
She nodded once, decisively. “Yes. Talking about it is good for me. And I believe you when you say that you want your dad to rot in prison. I’ve been around false people enough to be able to tell when someone’s lying. I should know—I used to be one of those people.”
“Yeah, you always came across as a bit of a bitch.” I laughed lightly, teasingly, and her lips curved into a wry smile.
“Oh, I was. I like to think I’ve changed, though.” She shifted the bags she was gripping from one hand to another. “I need to go and get this shopping put away. I feel like my arms are about to fall off. I’ll meet you up at my apartment in a few minutes?”
I nodded, and she gave me her apartment number, disappearing off up the stairs while I remained in the large foyer, lost in thought.
I knew that my dad was in prison, and I knew that it was all to do with Alstone Holdings. Which meant that I was going to have to prepare myself for potentially hearing about Zayde much sooner than I’d thought.
I was definitely going to need that wine.
* * *
There was a long silence after Jessa had finished recounting everything that had happened—or everything she knew and was prepared to share with me, at least. It was so much to get my head around, and while I knew that my dad wasn’t a good guy, I had no idea he was capable of so much bad. And Joseph…I was so, so disappointed in the part he’d played. I cleared my throat, trying to dislodge the lump that had appeared. “If I didn’t hate my dad already, I’d hate him for what he did to you all. And I’m so sorry about Joe. He’s my brother, and I love him, but I’m not excusing anything he’s done.Anything. It’s beyond wrong. I’m so sorry that you went through all that pain. Getting kidnapped…fuck, Jessa. I can’t even—”
She took a large gulp of her wine, her voice wobbling a little when she replied. “I know. You don’t need to be sorry, though. None of this had anything to do with you.”
“Even so…”
“Some good came out of it, anyway. I got a new group of friends. Good friends. Goodpeople. Not the false friends I had before. I have a much closer relationship with my brother now, too. And best of all…” Her gaze softened, her wobbly smile turning bright and happy. “I fell in love with the most amazing man, who loves me back. I still can’t believe it’s real sometimes. He’s…he’s everything.”
I couldn’t help returning her smile, even as I desperately suppressed thoughts of the person I’d fallen in love with. The man who had shattered me into tiny pieces that I was still putting back together. “Was this after everything?”
She nodded. “Yes. There was more that happened after your dad was involved. Other things. The guy that took me…he came back for revenge. And Cassius…he became my rock.”
Dread settled low in my belly. I already knew the answer to the question before I asked it, but I had to get confirmation. “Cassius? Cassius who?”
“Cassius Drummond. My boyfriend.”
Cassius Drummond.
One of the Four.
“Oh,” I croaked out.
Her astute gaze arrowed to mine. “Hey, don’t worry. Look, it was obvious from the minute I met you again today that you were different to your dad and Joseph. I’m confident in saying that the Four won’t hold your family against you. James is friends with them, after all. Kind of.”
That hadn’t even occurred to me. Maybe she was right, but that wasn’t a concern that was even on my radar. The only thing that I could think about was the fact that the Four meant Zayde.
My heart beat faster, and my mouth went dry.
“Fallon? Are you okay?”
I nodded once. I wasn’t okay, far from it, but I couldn’t even begin to hint at why. Not when Jessa was in a relationship with one of the people closest to Zayde.
“If you want…why don’t you come with me tonight? There’s a party at their house. Another one,” she muttered under her breath, but she was smiling. “It’s open invite, and I know there’ll be loads of people there. You won’t have to worry about having all the attention on you.”
Seeing Zayde again…
I wasn’t ready to face the man that had torn my world apart.
