AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Mom,” Chloe says as she approaches me. Her voice is quiet, shaky.
I spin around and pull my daughter into my arms, cradling her how my mother once cradled me.
“Are you okay?” she asks, looking up at me with wide, concerned eyes.
I drop my head to hers and nod as I allow the tears to fall. “Yeah, just…I was just telling your grandmother about your father.”
Chloe snuggles into me. “I wish I had met her.”
I cry harder as I reply, “Me too.”
64
YELLOW BY COLDPLAY
Jay
I’ll never understand how the company that thrived for years under Theo’s stead has so quickly declined under Cash’s. Shaking my head over another email from a concerned supplier, I slip my phone into the pocket of my Armani tux. Now is not the time to worry about business. In an hour, guests will start arriving, and I’ve yet to even see Cat.
I considered going to see Theo this afternoon, but I’m still so damn angry at the man. And though he’s lucid and speaking, according to Cat, he’s still bed bound, so I’d have to get through Carolyn to see him. It’s unlikely that she’ll let me anywhere near him after our last interaction.
For now, I’ll have to be content with the knowledge that she consented to throwing the engagement party on their property. Cat misses her brothers desperately, and I’ll do anything to get them back to a good place. Things with Carter have improved, but Cash is still cold and angry. And the possibility that being with me could cost her a relationship with her brother eats at me a little more every day.
As I step into the living room in hopes of finding Cat, a voice startles me.
“Heard congratulations are in order.” He’s facing the fireplace with his back to me. He’s tall and broad shouldered, and he’s wearing a black button-down and slacks.
It’s an all-white party, and this man is clearly not dressed for the occasion.
“Thank you,” I say, tucking my hands into my pockets and waiting for him to turn around.
His dark chuckle grates on me. “Oh, I’m not doling out congratulations. Nor will I allow you to marry my daughter.”
My jaw tics when I realize who the mystery guest is. It’s been almost thirty years since his affair with my mother set me on a path toward revenge, yet I’m still not prepared for this moment.
“It’s a good thing we aren’t looking for your blessing, then,” I mutter, choking back the rage that rolls through me.
Edward James spins around, glass in hand, and scowls. The man looks shockingly like his oldest son, though his face is weathered and his eyes are glassy. And even from across the room, the one similarity between him and his daughter is blatant. They have the same whiskey-colored eyes. And his are glowing amber just like hers do when she’s angry. “You going to tell her you share a sibling?”
My heart drops, and my stony exterior falters for a moment. Refusing to let him see how shocked I am at his candor, I straighten my shoulders and lock the mask back in place. “So you admit that Chase is my brother?”
Without a reply, he brings his rocks glass to his lips and watches me silently.
“You ever going to tell him? The kid is spiraling. He deserves answers.”
“You think we’re so different,” he sneers. “You screwed my daughter’s best friend.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “No. I didn’t. That was your other son. But none of it matters. You know what’s worse than being hated by your family, Edward? Being nothing. You are inconsequential to Cat, and therefore, you are inconsequential to me. You have no power over me. What you did with my mother? What you and my father did? None of it matters, because in the end, I have her. And everything else—well, it all is just shit, right?”
Tipping the glass slightly, he stumbles forward. “Your mother hated living in that house. You think I don’t matter? She picked me over both of you. She was willing to give it all up to be with me.”
His words stab violently at my heart, even if he’s giving me information I already have. Even if I always questioned my mother’s feelings regarding my father and me. Obviously, we weren’t enough. But in the end, that’s on her.
“Do you know what he did to my mother because of you?” I grit out.
“From what I’ve heard, they never found a body, so I’m afraid I don’t,” Edward replies with zero emotion.
He’s a fucking monster. He had a child with her, yet he acts like her death doesn’t concern him in the slightest.
