54. Delilah
Chapter fifty-four
Delilah
“ M arissa,” I whispered in pure shock, and she sighed.
“’Marissa’... hmm. Well, I guess I shouldn’t be angry. Brielle is your mom now. I’m assuming with you two and Killian playing family for the longest time… I was bound to get this sort of reaction.” She shrugged as if it wasn’t breaking me down as she was sitting across from me.
I stared at her for a moment as my brain couldn’t process what was going on....
No, honestly... What the actual fuck is going on?
First, Michael dies in front of me after trying to abduct me for ransom. Then Marissa sits across from me as if we’ve known each other forever. The woman who left me and Bribri. The woman who gave up her child of inconvenience and only tried to get her back when she realized her sister, who sacrificed everything to raise me, wasn’t struggling as she’d hoped.
The longer I stared at her, the more I could feel myself trying to catch my breath, trying to remain calm as my throat felt like closing up. My hands that were once still were now trembling as my heartbeat never slowed. Am I about to have a panic attack?
“If you’ve picked up anything from Brielle, I just know you are about to have a panic attack… or maybe you’re in the middle of one already. I can’t really tell,” Marissa muttered, confused, and I gazed at her wide-eyed.
At least I had some time to process Michael coming back into my life. Even if he tried to use me for extortion, I was given time to adjust to him appearing in my life. And as my biological mother sat before me, I almost wished she would give me the same courtesy… minus the attempted kidnapping.
Am I dreaming?
“What—what are you doing here?” I asked, seemingly out of breath, and she shrugged, looking off into the distance for a moment.
“I don’t know, really. I haven’t seen you since you were just a child. You probably hate me for all I know... By the way, speaking of deadbeat parents, how’s Michael? Did he visit yet?” she asked, and it took me a moment to realize she was waiting for my response as her eyes landed on me once again.
“He’s dead,” I whispered, and she nodded.
“Figures... The idiot couldn’t hold on to much anyway, much less hold onto his life,” she muttered angrily, and she sighed. “Tell me, was it your uncle?”
I nodded slowly. She smiled softly, and I sat frozen in my seat.
“How... why... when—” I tried to begin, and she stopped me.
“Delilah... honey, if we’re going to get anywhere, you need to calm down. And no, I’m not going to kidnap you or do anything to you. I’m here to talk to you, honestly,” she assured me, and I did my best to calm my racing heart. Just a few minutes ago, I was enjoying my time with Archer… Who would’ve known I would be facing the woman who made me hope and wish for a family when I was just four years old?
“You know... you remind me so much of Brielle: you’re almost perfect. Every woman wants to be you, and every man wants to be with you. No wonder Archer and Luca are smitten with you,” she muttered.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. There were so many things I wanted to say. So many things that were buried and forgotten to hide the pain. But there was only one thing I could say, one thing that tormented me my entire life:
“You abandoned me,” I said softly.
She simply stared at me. “I didn’t want a child, Delilah. I would have given you up either way, but for some reason, I wanted Brielle to take you. Whether it was for you to have a better life or for her to have a worse one, I still don’t know,” she responded bluntly.
I was taken aback. Tears sprang to my eyes at her revelation, and I seethed as I tried to control my voice and temper.
“Why tell me this? Do you want me to hate you even more?!”
“Why yes... I want you to know the type of person I am. I’m not going to lie or sugarcoat anything. Michael tried that, and look where he is now. I don’t need to lie to my… well… to Brielle’s daughter.”
I crossed my arms, still enraged and confused. “So why now? Why would you even come if your only goal was to make me hate you?”
“Because... I’m screwed up. Even though I don’t deserve your love, a part of me still loves you. I don’t want your pity, forgiveness, or love. I just wanted to see you. The little girl who has grown into so much more than I have and will ever be. You deserve the world, Delilah… I’m happy Brielle and Killian were able to give it to you—something I don’t think I would have ever been able to do,” she said, and only then did I notice the real emotion within her eyes.
My biological mother, Marissa… is cold-hearted and honestly terrifying to me. But I could tell she was telling the truth... something I didn’t entirely want to hear, but which I needed to hear to feel sane and at peace with myself.
“I am selfish. I deprived you of a childhood that you deserved, and I am sorry that you had to experience such a thing. I’m sorry that I wasn’t the mother you needed, and I’m not asking for any sort of forgiveness. I just want you to understand how remorseful I am, and maybe you’ll be able to find peace within yourself sooner rather than later.”
I remained silent. What could I say? What did I want to say?
Nothing. I had no response. It was not okay, and I did not forgive her, but hearing her point of view was helpful—nice even.
We sat in silence for a moment or two before she stood up silently with a blank look in her eyes.
“Take care of yourself, Delilah. Take care of Brielle and Eugene as well for me, please,” she muttered, and for some reason, I felt something in the pit of my stomach.
“I’ll never see you again… will I?”
She gave me a weak smile as tears filled her eyes. “Depends on the mercy your uncle is willing to give me.”
Knowing Uncle Eugene, I knew that this would be the last time I’d ever see her.
She began walking away, and as if on instinct, my hand shot out and grabbed hers. She stopped for a moment and looked at our intertwined hands. A few tears fell down her face as she rubbed the back of my hand with her thumb twice... before pulling away and essentially walking out of my life.
Kimi slowly approached with our coffee, and I laid my head on her shoulder as she sat beside me.
“Are you okay, Dee?” she asked, knowing how much I’d endured in the past few days.
I nodded slowly.
“Yeah. I’m okay, Kimi.”
Archer
Putting away my sheet music on my piano, I sighed as I noticed the time. This shitshow of a dinner was about to start. I had yet to get ready. But for some reason, I didn’t care all that much. The sole reason I wanted to show up was to see my princess, the only girl in the world for whom I would put myself through hell and back.
Getting undressed, my mind slowly wandered as I thought about recent events. As I stepped into the shower, I slowly closed my eyes and breathed in the steam.
Delilah was experiencing a lot of emotions, and I was grateful that I was able to be the person with whom she could confide. This only made me care for her more. It made me grow to love her even more than I do now, and I love her so much. It almost hurts.
Fuck, I poured my heart onto that sheet music and wrote actual songs about her. That has to count for something, right? She’s my everything—the air I breathe when I wake up or go to sleep, the peace in my dreams that keeps the nightmares away—absolutely literally everything.
My thoughts were graciously cut off by Sterling banging on the door and screaming at me. “Stop fucking daydreaming and get out here! Your dad is scaring me!”
After finishing up, I exited the bathroom with my towel around my waist and nodded to the door. “Sterling. Leave,” I muttered.
He gulped, looking at the door. “I think he’s trying to kill me!” he whispered, and as if on cue, my father walked past my door.
“Where is that boy? I’m sensing he wasn’t actually leaving to use the bathroom.”
I rolled my eyes at the two of them as I entered my closet and closed the door behind me. Getting dressed, I walked out and buttoned up my white shirt before I heard a knock at the door.
“Come in!” Sterling said as he lay on the edge of my bed.
Vivienne poked her head through the door. “Our guests will be arriving shortly. Come down soon, boys!” She smiled happily and walked away.
I made my way to the door and rolled my eyes as Sterling held my hand.
“Keep me safe. I think Luca is already here, too!” he whisper-yelled.
I glanced over my shoulder at him. “It’s me you should probably be afraid of. I’m tempted to push you down the stairs if you continue to bother me.”
He let go of my hand quickly, and I left the room with him close on my tail.
Upon reaching the end of the steps, I noticed Luca sitting in the living room, swirling a glass of bourbon in his hand. He looked over at me and smiled.
“Ahh, the man of the hour… and his pet,” he smirked, causing Sterling to cross his arms in anger beside me.
“I am not a pet!” he screamed, and Luca gave me the side-eye.
“Careful, Archer... those things need to be put on a leash.”
Sterling glared before turning to me. “And he needs to be put outside, like a bad dog, ” he said with emphasis. I tilted my head as I wasn’t entirely against the plan; however, instead of entertaining their antics further, I resorted to ignoring both of them as I leaned on the edge of the couch.
Luca turned his attention toward me as he spoke with a sarcastic pout. “Why do I feel this dinner may not end well?”
I shrugged. “That’s a bit of an understatement, given that our families coming together is somewhat hell on Earth.”
Both Sterling and Luca nodded. However, Luca smirked as he brought the glass to his lips. “Will Eugene be joining us for the night?” he asked.
I paused as I reminisced about the few nights before, when a panicked Ivory told us all about her threatening encounter with Luca.
He was working with Michael. Is it possible that he knows Michael is dead? He has to. There’s no doubt about it, but something’s off... he’s beating around the bush.
He probably knows that Eugene killed Michael.
I glanced over to Sterling, and he rubbed his neck, letting me know he was getting slightly nervous. He was clearly reading through the signs confirming the connection between Michael, Luca, and Stephan, but he still didn’t know about the casualties.
“I’ve heard some talk about him making an appearance… so yes, I do believe so.”
Luca nodded and took a sip of his drink from the glass again. He tried to hide his smile but, in the end, failed.
“What are you planning to do, Luca?” I asked him seriously, and he gave me a look.
“Why does everyone think I have something mischievous up my sleeve? I simply want the truth to prevail. Is that too much to ask for? Secrets, lies, discretion— it all catches up to us at some point, and with Papa Bear Killian coming home to it all, the truth will set us free—or maybe it won’t.”
Sterling and I remained silent as he tilted his head in thought.
“You know what I love, Archer? No? Do you know, Little Red?” he questioned, referring to Sterling’s ginger hair, and I rolled my eyes at his antics. “I love blackmail ... It’s fun when someone has the control, the upper hand, if you will. But I despise and loathe little girls getting into things they shouldn’t and figuring out what they shouldn’t know. And maybe, just maybe, you know something that you shouldn’t... just like her.”
Obviously we knew, but I’d never explicitly admit that fact. Like he said, he already had the upper hand—but why? Why involve my brother, Stephan, get in touch with Michael, threaten Ivory… go through all this trouble, trying to dig for secrets that would be better left untouched? What was he trying to accomplish at the end of all this?
“What are you getting at?” I asked, infuriated, and he smiled.
“All I am requesting is that you let tonight’s events simply play out. No need to point fingers, alert anyone, or draw any conclusions… otherwise, my secret isn’t the only one to be revealed at dinner.”
He wants to blackmail me. Eventually, Killian will learn the truth about our relationship, but if something other than what we’ve planned goes down tonight and we tell our families of Luca’s involvement, he’ll reveal our relationship to Killian. Tonight was supposed to be Eugene on trial and in the hot seat, not Delilah or me… not yet, at least.
“If I’m being honest… I feel like I’m about to shit my pants,” Sterling muttered for the hundredth time this week.
Luca pouted. “It’s okay to be scared, Little Red. After all , the wolves are coming out to play. ”
I stared at him silently, his smile plastered to his face. He’d cornered us.
We were still going to attempt to reveal Eugene’s connection to my father, but no one knew about the murders yet. That was still, hopefully, something between me, Delilah, Kimiko... and now Luca.
Fuck, something is going to go wrong tonight, and not in the way we’ve planned.