Love Betrayal

Chapter Twenty-Eight

River

The next day, while Bella goes to view some properties, I decide to go for a run, just to clear my head and process everything that has happened recently. It’s been a lot, and I hate that Corey was dragged into this when she’s still healing from what happened to Matthew. She doesn’t deserve any of it, and Rosalind using Mom against her was a low blow.

It also shows me that no matter how much she says that she’s okay and doesn’t care about our mother, she obviously still does, because one text had her out running to her. And that breaks my fucking heart. Mom needs to reach out to her and be her mother, because no matter how much I’m there for her, nothing can replace the love of a mother or father. I’ve tried to stay out of it, but I’m definitely going to be speaking to Mom next time I visit her, because this needs to stop.

When I get back to the clubhouse, Romeo is out front cleaning his motorcycle. When he sees me, he stops what he’s doing and comes over to me.

“Hey, there’s something I wanted to ask you about,” he says as I remove my earbuds. I know what he’s going to say, and I guess there’s no time like the present to get this out of the way.

“Yeah? What’s up?” I ask, bracing myself.

“I wanted to talk about what Cathy said when we were in the warehouse. Something about how she has always known... What was she talking about?” he asks, brow furrowed.

Shifting my feet, I look down before staring him in the eye. “At Jeremiah’s birthday, your mom got drunk and told me that Robert isn’t my real father. Andrew is. It was some secret our mothers knew about. I haven’t spoken to your dad, so I don’t know if he knows, or his side of the story, but my mom confirmed that it’s true. You and I apparently share the same father. So we’re half brothers.”

And cousins.

I have no idea how that works.

“What the fuck,” Romeo says quietly, shaking his head. “How could they keep this from us all these years? And why didn’t you tell me? You should have told me as soon as my mother told you.”

“I know, I was just struggling to process it all,” I admit, running my hand through my hair in frustration. “I didn’t know how to tell you, I didn’t know what to think. I only told Bella a few days ago, and then I was going to tell you.”

He opens his mouth, then closes it. “Well, I’m at the processing stage now, so I need some time. And yeah. I wish you told me right away.” He turns away from me and walks back inside.

“Fuck,” I grit out, wanting to hit something.

I know how hard it must be for him. Firstly it means his dad cheated on his mom when she was pregnant with Romeo, and with his aunt, and yeah, he’s right. I should have told him. He deserved to know the truth just as much as I did.

When Cathy said she knew, I wasn’t surprised. She’s the type who knows everything.

I go into the gym and punch the bag for a while, take a shower and then ask Bella if she wants to go out for lunch.

I need to get out of here.

Romeo is scarce for the next few days, and I give him that space. On day four, though, enough is enough.

“Are we ever going to talk about this?” I ask when he comes into the gym while I’m working out. “I’m done with this, Romeo. It’s always been us two, and I want us to go back to how we were. I didn’t want us to change and that’s why I didn’t even want to talk about what I’d heard.”

And now things feel different, and I don’t fucking like it.

“I’m not angry, I’m just... I don’t know, okay? I don’t know how to handle this,” he says, shrugging. “I spoke to my mother, and she said she never meant to tell you about it—it just happened because she was so drunk. So they were just never going to tell us. And when I asked Dad about it...”

“What did he say?” I press, as this is something that’s been weighing heavily on my mind. What does Andrew say about all of this?

“He said he didn’t know for sure, but he had a suspicion. But when Aunty Lisa didn’t say anything to him, he assumed you were Robert’s, because the timing was so close together,” he explains, and when I really look at him, I notice how tired he appears, like he hasn’t been getting much rest.

“It doesn’t have to change anything,” I tell him, getting off the weight machine and going over to him. “We are us, just like we’ve always been. You’ve always been like a brother to me, Romeo. This just makes it official.”

“It means you are next in line to the MC, after my child,” he says, scanning my face. “So where do you stand with all that? Because I want my child to lead, whether it’s a boy or a girl. If I have a daughter, which Julianna thinks it will be, you could fight for leadership by sticking to the old ways.”

“That’s what you’re worried about? I don’t want the MC. If I have to stand up and lead one day, I can, sure. But I’m not gunning for that position, and I’d never take that away from any of your future children, no matter their gender. You know me, Romeo. You know me. So stop second-guessing everything just because of what we found out,” I say.

He nods. “You’re right, I do know you. And I’ve always loved you like my brother.”

He holds out his palm and we shake hands, and then we share a hug.

I hated fighting with him, and now we can move forward and deal with the hand we’ve been dealt.

Now I just need to tell Corey about it, and it’s all out in the open.

And eventually, I’m going to have to face Andrew.