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“Why were you here this long in the first place?” I demanded, latching on to that information as a way to not have to think about the rest.
“For you,” my mother said. “We tried to play it off on TV like our relationship was mutual, that you were the ungrateful child that could never put her pettiness aside to appreciate what she had. It didn’t work and he was not happy about that.”
“Of course, he wasn’t ,” I muttered. “Did it tarnish his pristine reputation?”
“Exactly,” my mother said. The fact that she could talk about it so calmly was a testament to how desensitized she was to it all. She’d played her part perfectly and, honestly, I didn’t trust half of what they were saying.
“If it’s so bad then why are you with him still? Your kids are grown and out of the house,” I pointed out. Apparently, I couldn’t just walk away now, I wanted answers.
“I’m an omega with no skills. I wasn’t allowed to work. What am I going to do, Eleanor?”
Morgan moved and I fixed my gaze on hers, ignoring my mother’s answer.
“Why are you here, too?”
“I was trying to help your mom get out,” she said. “My best friend died in an abusive relationship when we were in college and I recognized the signs. I mean, at first, I did it just to be a bitch, to get back at you. Then I found out the real story and I couldn’t just leave. That’s why we haven’t left. We’ve also not been stalking you, just living here.”
“He thinks we’re trying to mend things with you and fix his reputation,” Mom explained.
“What the actual fuck?” I said, throwing up my hands.
Morgan snorted. “Don’t get confused, I’m not a good person. I will never back down from what I want. This was just my way of making amends for not being able to help my friend. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“Good to know where you stand,” I said dryly, shaking my head. I couldn’t imagine living my life that way.
“I’m an honest woman,” she said drily as she stalked away. I turned my attention back to the mindfuck that was my parents.
“Then what are your plans? You’re just going to go back to that when you leave here? If he thinks this will fix things then he’s delusional. I’m never going to change my ways, nor am I going to take back anything that I’ve said. Telling the world I lied? Absolutely not.”
“We tried to explain that to him,” Brent agreed.
A wave of dizziness hit me and I wavered on my feet. Brent moved forward and helped steady me with a hand on my elbow.
“Come inside,” he urged, helping me to a chair. I wanted to argue but couldn’t. I had no plan to come in and socialize, my intention was to make them leave.
I just wanted my life back, why was that such a hard thing to achieve?
“I know this is a lot to take in,” Brent said quickly. For the first time in our lives, I could see the beta side of him come out. His tone was calming and sweet, trying to calm the rising tension. It was strange and felt almost unnatural.
I realized I didn’t know these people at all. It was a sad reality but one that was out of my hands.
“The world protects divorced omegas now,” I said quietly. “You can get out of here and he’d be forced to pay you. After you get your feet under you, there’s plenty of jobs you could do. You’re not incompetent.”
“That’s what I tried to tell them,” Morgan said, letting out a laugh that grated on my nerves.
“This is a family conversation, go sit the fuck down,” I told her, dismissing her with a wave of my hand. For once in her fucking life, she listened. She could be mad all she wanted I didn’t give a single fuck.
I waited for my mom to protest to defend the omega she wished was hers but she didn’t bother. Instead, her eyes were on me.
“I really am sorry, Eleanor. I shouldn’t have used Morgan to try to hurt you. I think part of me has always been jealous of your spirit. Of the fact that you got out when I couldn’t. You’ve never truly conformed to our standards or did what was expected of you.”
“It’s a trauma response,” I said. “I guess yours was being a terrible mother.”
This was everything I’d ever wanted to say to her, to them, but now it felt awful. A heaviness had settled in my stomach now.
“I deserved that,” she said as she sat down heavily. “I will say that one thing I did not fail at was shielding you from the worst of his anger.”
I couldn’t argue with that. This was all a shock to me. Their personalities all kind of matched to me growing up, I thought they were all arrogant assholes made for each other. Apparently, it was all a mask to keep them safe.
