Chapter 51
Gatsby
Steam poured from my nose as I breathed in and out, never taking my eyes off the bastard that thought he had my Daisy.
Max laughed dryly and sauntered back to the table, where he pulled out his chair and sat back down, as if nothing had happened. He reached for his fork and knife and, while we all stared at him, he cut his steak and took another bite.
"Sit." He pointed to me with his fork. "This meal is expensive. Might as well eat. Probably a little different than the meat you're used to, but?—"
He was cut off by me letting out a guttural cry from my chest and running toward the table. He fell over in his chair, and I yanked him out by his shirt and threw him to the ground.
Tuth and Neal let out sharp cries and demands for us to stop, but there was no going back. I swung my fist at his face, connecting with his nose. It let out a loud popping sound as it broke. Max fought back, kicking, rolling, and attempting to punch while holding a hand to his face. I kept going though, continuing to lay swing after swing on him.
Finally, he was able to wiggle out of my grasp and scramble to his feet.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" he demanded. Blood poured from his nose onto his chin and shirt. Scowling, he went to the table and grabbed a cloth napkin. He put it to his nose and then turned back. "You're going to pay for this, asshole. I'll ruin you. Yeah, you've got money, but I've got a reputation, and that'll do more than you think."
"The reputation you have is one I'd never want," I shot back, straightening my suit. I looked down to see if there was any blood on me. Surprisingly, I didn't see any. "You and your little Champagne Circle. I know all about your reputation."
Max scoffed and looked at Daisy's friends. "You hear this? A cannibal convict is lecturing me on right and wrong. That's fucking laughable. Who do you think people will believe?" Max strode over to me and got nose to nose with me. "My family's legacy will have more impact on the world than your name ever will, Gatsby." He spat out my name like it was a sin.
"I think you're right," I told him. The silence that fell upon the room with my words said more than I ever could. His family did nothing productive for society. In fact, his family spent millions of dollars every year in attempts to hurt the world, and for that, he would be remembered.
"Fuck you, you little piece of slime ball shit." He stepped back, continuing to hold his nose with the rag. "You think because you're rich, you can fit right in with the rest of us, but rest assured, you'll never be welcome, you sick fuck. How many people have sat on your table? Huh?"
I could answer that question for him if I wanted, but it was none of his fucking business .
I looked at Tuth and Neal, huddled together. "The ramblings of a bitter, jealous man who has realized he's lost."
"Lost?" Max laughed. "I can't lose. Daisy will never leave me. She can't."
"She already has." I shook my head. "You're delusional."
"Think again, asshole." A slow, evil smile slid over Max's face as he dug into his pocket and removed his wallet. He ruffled through it and pulled something out. He tossed the paper on the table and nodded for me to take it. Cautiously, I went to it, and when I got close enough to see what it was, I froze.
It was a photo of a little girl.
Slowly, I reached for it and brought it to eye level. A small, blonde-haired, green-eyed toddler child.
"What is this?" I shook my head, my stomach tightening with nerves. I didn't want to hear what he had to say.
"That's Lydia. Our daughter."
I closed my eyes and tossed the photo on the table, as if it were poison. No, that couldn't be true.
"Daisy doesn't have children," I said, confidently.
"She lied to you." Max snickered. "It's why we're together in the first place. Her grandmother discovered she was pregnant and told her if she didn't keep it, she'd lose her entire inheritance. Despite what she's told you, or made you believe, she's just as vain and money hungry as the rest of us. If it weren't for your deep pockets, she wouldn't give a shit about you."
"That's not true," I said, the confidence in my voice wavering. How could she not tell me she had a child? "Daisy loves me."
"Daisy loves herself." Max rolled his eyes. "She's never loved me, our daughter, or anyone else. She's all about self-preservation. She runs from anything remotely scary. See what she did just twenty minutes ago?" He waved at the door.
"Why, if she loves you so much, did she ask to go alone?” He cocked a brow at me. “She heard me mention Lydia. She knew the fun times were over. Now that the truth was going to be revealed, she'd have to return home. Did she tell you about how we were planning another baby? The nursery is already finished."
I swallowed, the ball of weight in my stomach becoming a crushing, sickening stone.
"A nursery?" The words slipped out before I could stop them. That couldn't be true. Why would she lie to me about something so huge?
"Yes, we want a son." Max finally removed the bloody rag from his face, tossing it on the floor. He shook his head and laughed at me. "You stupid fuck. She played you." He went to the table, picking up the photo and forcing it into my hand.
"When you see her, remind her why she needs to come home."
I looked around the room, hoping that Tuth or Neal would step in and tell me otherwise, but they looked just as stunned and solemn as me. Had she not told them either? How could she hide a child like this? None of it made sense. Surely Neal, her cousin, would have known about a child.
I left the room without another word. It wasn't until I stepped outside into the rain that I remembered that I'd given my car keys to Daisy, and that she'd left.
She left knowing the future she had weaved for us was gone. She didn't want to face me when I found out.
Under the awning, I put the photo in my pocket and called Dewayne for a ride.
I was left alone. None of the guests I'd attended dinner with came out to see if I was okay. Once in the car, I stared out the window, trying to fully absorb Max's explosive confession.
I pulled out the photo and looked carefully at the little girl. How old was she here? She couldn't be more than a toddler. Her cheeks were still puffy, and she was missing teeth.
Lydia.
I sighed and shoved the photo into my wallet for now. If I ever saw Daisy again, I was going to make her confess. My chest ached at the very thought of her having a child, a marriage, a sex life, with that asshole. How could she have been planning a future with him, while she was planning one with me? A nursery? She'd never once mentioned children in our future.
Was it because she didn't trust me to be a good father?
As Dewayne drove, I began to spiral.
She knew the truth about me. Despite keeping everything tightly wrapped, she'd discovered it. That’s why she allowed me inside her body but not her heart. Max must be right—she hadn’t told me she’d once been pregnant with his child and had plans to be again. In her eyes, I wouldn’t make a good stepfather.
I was a monster.
Furious tears spilled from my eyes as I ran through every moment we had this summer. She had so many opportunities to come clean and tell me everything.
So had I.
I realized, as we pulled through the gates to my estate, the one I had created for her, that we'd always been destined to fail. She'd had her secrets, and I'd had mine. And neither of us trusted the other to love us through them.
"Oh, your car is here," Dewayne said as he pulled into the garage .
"What?" I looked up from my lap and wiped my face clean of the salty tears.
"The vehicle you took this afternoon. It's here." He pointed out the window. I sat up and stared blankly at the car Daisy had taken. What did this mean? I took off through the rain toward the front of the house. I stopped short at the bottom of the stairs and stared up.
A wet, shaking Daisy stood under the light under the front door, her teeth chattering. She turned, her brown eyes large and terrified.
"G-Gatsby, I?—"
I walked slowly up the wet, slippery stairs, and when I reached her, I stood still. I stared at her, taking her all in. Her clothes were covered in blood.
"What did you do?"