AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No.”
She watched my face and waited for me to elaborate. When I didn’t, she ran her thumb over the picture of me as a boy. “You look happy together in the picture.”
“We used to enjoy each other’s company during the yearly visit,” I said.
“You only saw each other once a year when you were kids?”
“Yes.”
“That sucks. Did you live in different states?”
“We did not. He lived with our father and his mother at the manor. I believed I was only invited to visit for the obligatory annual photograph. That is until today when my mother informed me that everything I thought I knew about myself was a lie.”
Morgan set the photograph back on the mantel and wrapped her arms around me. She leaned her head against my chest and held onto me.
The shield encasing my heart broke a little more.
“She kept me apart because it was what she wanted,” I said. “All these years I had no idea.”
“I’m sorry,” Morgan said.
I pet her hair, taking the comfort that she offered.
“What happened last night?” she asked. “You haven’t told me why you left.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, my throat thick. “I didn’t intend for that to happen, for me to be whisked off by the police. I saw a special on the news and a plea from my brothers.”
“Jasper and—”
“Sebastian.”
She nodded against me.
“I was taken to the police station, then to a private hospital, then held prisoner at my father’s manor. That’s where my brothers ambushed me with my mother. They seemed to think my concern would be losing my inheritance, which is the furthest thing from my mind.”
“Losing your inheritance?”
“We’re required to meet regularly, due to a stipulation in my father’s will. During my amnesia, I missed that meeting.”
“If he’s making you get together, it sounds like your father wanted you all to be closer.”
“Perhaps.” Though I hadn’t understood why he’d cared. If he’d wanted us to be closer, he could have included me more in his life. Looking back now, how much of that was my mother’s doing?
“And missing the meeting means you all lose your money?” Morgan asked.
“Just me, I guess.” Though I hadn't considered that before, either. “My brothers have already sold their shares.”
“Wow. So you lose your shares of your dad’s company. That’s messed up. But also, how long have you guys been getting together since they sold their shares?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“If they haven’t had to get together to preserve their shares, it sounds like your dad wasn’t the only one who wanted the three of you to have a better relationship.”
Her words hit me like a punch in the gut. She was right. Neither Jasper nor Sebastian was required to get together anymore out of threat of loss. They chose to go. And they knew it had been important to me to keep my shares, which is why they had lawyers working to help me now.
“You’re right,” I said.
And I’d run away from them without a word tonight. That was unfair. I pulled my phone from my pocket and found many missed calls and texts that I had ignored and continued to ignore.
