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Yes. George. George may have been the only person Charles ever truly loved.
“This isn’t fair,” I mumbled.
“It isn’t. I’m sorry, Aimon. I had no idea.”
Fay cleared her throat, looking from me to the muffin.
“You didn’t want the kid either. You told me so. What will you do if you are carrying the next Carmelo heir? Will you send it away to boarding school like they did with me? Despise it for ruining your life? Will it get raised by nannies, and not even know its own mother?”
Blue-green almost disappeared through narrowed lids. “I don’t know who you think I am. I’m sorry you don’t like the way you were raised. What I do know is the love and responsibilities of a mother. I had the perfect role model. If I am pregnant, my child will be my life. That’s how it works in my world, Aimon. They’ll be cherished. They will be the center of my universe. If you think I’d ever let anyone hurt them, including you, you’re…wrong.”
“Well, you’re lucky to have that mindset. Even luckier if you’re able to pull it off. Not that I think you will. My grandfather may be dying, but I guarantee he’ll try to ruin both of your lives from the grave. It’s just how he is.”
“Aimon?”
“You can’t convince me otherwise. The man practically raised me. If anyone knows what he’s capable of, it’s me. I’ve tried living my own life for years. I thought when I was grown up, he’d leave me alone and just let me ‘be’. That maybe I could get a word in on how I wanted to live. Nope. Every purchase, every decision, is a fight. It’s wrong, or useless. ‘What do you need that many cars for, Aimon? Why buy a house there, Aimon?’ Ditching your bodyguards again? What did I tell you about that, Aimon? It’s my life. I made the money, dammit. Shouldn’t I be able to do whatever I want with it? Go wherever I want. Alone? ‘Don’t date her? Don’t wear that. Do you know what that color of that tie symbolizes? Do you want people to see us as weak? Carmelo’s aren’t weak. We rose from the bottom. You almost didn’t make it.’ This. That. Always something.”
“Aimon?”
“You better pray you’re not pregnant. You have no idea what you’re in for, Fay. This lifestyle might seem appealing, but I promise you it’s not. No amount of money—
“Ai—I can’t. I-I can’t. Breathe.”
Fay’s eyes were wide with terror. When she cleared her throat again, I looked back at my plate, immediately flying to my feet. What looked to be a rash was appearing on her chest and side of her neck. And her complexion—her expression.
“Thomas!” The chair flipped from behind me as I ran over and pulled Fay’s chair from the table. “Thomas! Fay, talk to me. Are you okay?” I took the muffin, breaking it apart. My world immediately slowed. Time stopped. All I could see were the small slivers of almond. “Oh, fuck. Okay. It’s going to be okay. Jesus. That was my damn muffin, Fay. You just had to take it. You’re always—Fuck.”
“Aimon. I can’t…” Her nails raked down her throat, breaking the skin. “I’m sorry. I can’t…breathe.”
The door swung open as Thomas raced in. “Get Parker, fast! Fayette’s reacting to the almonds.” And she was. It was a reaction I wasn’t prepared for. It was happening fast. Too fast. Her skin was getting extremely pale and blotchy. I’d seen this before. It was so far back in my memories, but I could remember the fear. The panic in our household. “Hurry up!” I picked her up, spinning us for the bed as the door closed. “What was it? God dammit.” My eyes searched the bed, stopping on the extra pillow. “Feet up. That’s right. Fay, stay with me. One of the housekeepers used to have reactions to things too. This happened to her once. We’re going to put this pillow under your feet and get the blood rushing back to your organs, okay?”
Tears streamed down the sides of her face as she tried gasping for breath.
“I’m sorry. No more nuts in the house, I promise. I had no idea they’d put any on my plate. I should have mentioned it to them when I ordered. I didn’t think. Come on, breathe for me. Thomas!”
“Aimon. Ai-mon.”
“No. No talking. They’ll be right here. They’re coming. Thomas! God dammit!”
I pushed to straighten, feeling nails dig into my hand as Fayette reached for me. Her fear was my own. I wasn’t sure when I’d become so attached. Hadn’t I tried everything in my power not to? Maybe it was the baby talk. Maybe it was because she was the only person I’d spent almost every single minute with for the last damn week and half. I wasn’t sure whether I hated her or liked her, but in this moment, it wasn’t hatred that I felt. Not anything close to that.
“You have to hang on, okay? Parker—”
The door flew open and I moved as Parker and Thomas rushed to Fay’s side. A blue cap went rolling across the floor and in one swift motion Parker stabbed the device into Fay’s thigh. For seconds he didn’t move.
“Thomas, get me an IV going. Push the three.”
“The three?”
Parker kept his fingers at Fay’s throat as he moved in and listened to her breathing.
“Good. Good. Shit. The three. More epi, glucocorticoid, and an antihistamine. We want to stop the inflammation so she can breathe better. Aimon, get me that bag. Thomas, we need to get some oxygen going here.”
“On it.”
The men were a blur as I kept my attention on Fay. She still didn’t look good, but she did appear to be able to catch her breath.
“I can’t believe I missed this on her chart. I don’t think it was there. I wouldn’t have missed it. Did any of you know she had allergies?”
