AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I have to blink several times to focus on the petite figure who’s walking toward me.
Valerie’s face soon comes into sharp focus. She’s gazing at me and her sons with a mix of surprise and amazement.
“What’s up, Mom?” Oliver finally asks, withdrawing from me. Getting to his feet, he raises his arms over his head and stretches.
“I came to look for Rory,” she says, her gaze flickering back to me. “Her dad’s here to take her home.”
“What?” I scramble to my feet at once. “My dad’s here?”
Valerie nods and stares at me with a strange expression. “I didn’t know you were Philip’s daughter. You should’ve mentioned him during lunch.”
I hesitate, wondering if she’s acquainted with him somehow. “Do you know my dad?”
“Not really,” she says with a sad look in her eyes. “I have nothing to do with Philip. It was your mom that I used to know.” Stepping closer, she folds her arms around me. “I’m so sorry you lost her at such a young age, Rory.”
The genuine sincerity in her voice startles me. It’s been years since anyone’s brought her up. A familiar ache goes through me, reminding me that not all wounds are supposed to heal.
“It’s all right, though,” I say with a heavy sigh. “Dad has always been around to take care of me.”
Valerie steps away, looking worried. “He doesn’t look too happy right now.”
“Oh...” Dad’s got to be pissed about the way I suddenly disappeared from the party.
Valerie’s gaze shifts toward her sons. “You guys better go with Rory and be ready to explain to him why she didn’t go home last night.”
Seth stares between his brothers. “You better tell me what happened. Where did you find Rory and how did you convince her to follow you all the way here?”
“There’s no time to explain,” says Oliver, marching toward me. Wrapping his arm around my waist, he twists his neck to glance at Seth. “Let’s go meet Rory’s dad and see what he wants.”
Seth strides forward and stands in Oliver’s way. “You guys need to shut up and let me do the talking. I want her dad to let her stay with us. Don’t behave like idiots and make a mess of the situation.”
“Our bruh’s the man,” Simon says in a deep, mocking voice and slaps Seth’s back.
Seth doesn’t utter a sound but his face instantly pales.
“I told you not to be rough with him!” Valerie snaps at once. Rushing over to Seth, she stares at her eldest son anxiously. “What is it, Seth? Did he hit you too hard? Are you in pain? Did you remember to take your pain meds after lunch?”
A sliver of anxiety wraps around my chest. Seth is tight-lipped when it comes to being in pain. I wouldn’t have known he’d been punished so hard if his brothers didn’t explain everything to me in detail.
“I’m fine, Mom,” Seth says, straightening up. “Don’t worry about my injuries. They’ll heal soon.”
A guilty expression spreads on Simon’s face as Valerie glares at him.
“Fine, I’m sorry I hit him,” Simon finally submits. “It’s his fault for acting so macho and nonchalant all the time. I keep forgetting he had his ass beaten to a pulp two days ago.”
“We’re wasting time,” Seth says, leading the way out of the room. “Let’s go meet Rory’s dad.”
We follow him into the hallway outside to reach the staircase that leads us back into the entrance hall of the manor.
I’m silently wondering how Dad knew where to find me. It was only a few hours ago that I sent him a text, mentioning I was with a friend. I was intentionally vague about who I was with. How could he know the exact location of where I was?
Dad is pacing up and down the entrance hall when we reach him.
“Dad,” I call out, walking forward to meet him while Seth and his brothers hang back. “What are you doing here?”
He whirls around at the sound of my voice. Rushing over to me, he sweeps his gaze all over me, making sure I’m not hurt.
“Dad,” I say, forcing him to look at me. “How did you know where to find me?”
