Chapter 17
WILLOW
Iwait outside on the manor’s steps for an Uber, courtesy of Ian, while I blink back tears and process the betrayal that eats through me like a disease.
It’s cold, but I huddle under my coat and let the shivers stiffen me to the core because it’s the only way I can be at least partially numb to this heartache.
It looks so peaceful out here. Snow covers the ground and glitters in the trees surrounding the property. Above, the sky is a light grey. There’s a sun somewhere beyond those thick clouds. I can almost feel it on my face, trying to breach.
“Willow,” Cole says as he walks outside.
I look back and see him. His brothers stay inside, framed by the doorway but watching. “I don’t want to talk to you right now.”
“I completely understand,” he replies. “But we do have to talk about this. You have to give me a chance to explain.”
“You never gave me a chance to hear the truth coming from you. What’s my incentive?”
“Willow, I’m sorry.”
My tears are getting harder and harder to control. One slips and rolls down my cheek, hot and salty, before it drips onto the stone edge of the step.
“It happened years ago, before she even met my father,” he says. “It wasn’t serious. She was a single mother; I was on leave during my military service. It was never supposed to lead anywhere.”
I whirl around, anger burning red in my cheeks. “Yet you never thought to mention it to me. I had to hear it from her in the middle of a family Christmas lunch, Cole!”
“Sheila does this all the time. She hurts people, she ruins moments just for kicks,” he says. “I was in a vulnerable spot. She saw an in with the Morgan family money and tried to take advantage of it. For a moment, it almost worked.”
“Cole, I don’t want to hear about it right now. It doesn’t matter anymore.”
“It didn’t mean anything.”
“I don’t care!” I snap and push him away, surprised by the ease with which he lets me. “I care about the fact that you kept it from me. You let Sheila blindside me in front of her son and his new wife, in front of your brothers.”
Cole lowers his gaze and takes a deep, heavy breath. I glance past him at Toby and Asher.
“They didn’t tell me either. You all just sat there and let that awful woman make a fool of me,” I add, anger making my voice tremble.
Behind me, I hear the Uber roll around the decorative fountain—now just a marble sculpture covered in snow.
“I was ashamed, alright? I was worried you might think less of me,” Cole admits.
“You kept it from me. That’s what makes me think less of you,” I reply.
The words hit him hard. I can see it in his eyes. It hurts me, too, but it had to be said.
“Willow, give us a chance to apologize,” Asher says, stepping out. “You’re absolutely right. Cole should’ve told you. We should’ve pressured him more; you’re right. But you should also try to understand why we hesitated, why we chose to keep it from you.”
“I mean, you’ve met Sheila, right?” Toby mutters.
She’s probably still at the table, kicking back with a glass of Pinot and laughing about it with Terrence and Katrina. I saw the smug looks on their faces. the pleasure they derived from hurting me, and it makes me sick to my stomach.
“I’m done talking right now. I need some space,” I reply.
My heart breaks as I climb into the back seat of the Uber and confirm my ride with the driver. At the same time, Cole rushes down the steps.
“Willow, don’t do this,” he calls out.
But it’s done. I close the car door and let the Uber take me away.
I dare not look back, sulking under my coat, as the cost of my decision soon comes crashing down. Before long, the tears flow freely, and I sob and whimper while the distance between the Morgan brothers and me grows bigger.
“Are you okay, miss?” the driver asks, giving me a concerned look in the rearview mirror.
I reply with a polite nod. “I will be. Thank you.”
“Family drama?” he scoffs and shakes his head slowly.
I almost chuckle. “You could say that.”
“It’s the holidays, miss. They either bring out the best, or they bring out the worst in people,” he says.
“You’ve got that right,” I agree.