6. Laurene
CHAPTER 6
Laurene
My bedroom door slammed open with a loud bang.
“Honestly, Laurene.” Serena chucked letters at me, the papers strewing everywhere. “When did I become your personal assistant? I have a company to run.”
I lifted my chin, smoothed the sheets, and schooled my expression into ice on Serena. “And yet, here you are. Personally assisting.”
If Serena’s eyes were lasers, there would be a hole straight through me.
The door slammed open again, and I hear a loud squeal before a burst of colors flew past and onto my bed.
“Holy shit, Mama wasn’t lying. You’re home!” Gigi burst out.
Serena frowned. “And I see Sint Maarten got tired of your bullshit early.”
“What can I say? It wasn’t worth missing my big sister coming back home!”
At twenty-three, the youngest in the family, Gigi was a knockout. Her gorgeous deep brown skin shone. Her skirt was short, ass cheeks out, and her cropped shirt revealed a pierced belly button. Today, a long ombre blond wig flowed down her back .
“By the way, if we’re talking bachelorette parties? How about we go back to Sint Maarten? The men there are foooine as hell. I wanted to ask one if he had his passport and his shots.”
I heard a yelp as she plopped down her bag, and her miniature schnauzer, Walter, peeked his head out.
That made me gasp. “That dog is still alive?”
“Unfortunately, evil doesn’t die,” Serena muttered.
Walter’s fur used to be salt and pepper, but now it was mostly salt. He was half-blind and half-deaf at nearly twenty years old, his face framed by the classic schnauzer beard, though scruffier these days, adding to his old man charm.
“You’re just mad because he’s cuter than you,” Gigi said.
“Cute?” Serena gave Walter a wide berth as she crossed my room and leaned against my dresser. “That dog don’t even know where he at.”
“You’re such a fucking hater, Rena. Honestly.” Gigi narrowed her gaze. “Don’t be mad just because somebody loves Walter more than they’ll ever love you.”
I snorted, despite myself. Serena and Gigi glared at one another.
“Spill, Lulu!” Gigi demanded. “Mama is seriously forcing you to marry Reese Ashbourne? First of all, scandalous . You a freak, girl. Brothers? Eiffel Tower, huh? I’m sorry, that’s disrespectful. Rest in power, Conrad. But this is some reality TV shit!”
I shouldn’t have kissed him. I told myself it was because we had no choice, because appearances had to be kept. But deep down, I wanted to know if that spark still existed—if he still burned for me the way I sometimes, shamefully, burned for him.
“You sure you wanna know how I feel?” I asked, fingering my unraveling headscarf.
“Ooh, yes!” Gigi snapped her fingers at Serena. “Take notes, babe.”
“Hold up.” Serena folded her arms, her gaze slicing toward me. “I’m not doing a damn thing. Let’s not sit up here pretending everything’s fine. We need to address the fact Laurene is here like she didn’t fuck everything up.”
“Seriously?” Gigi muttered. “Why you gotta bring that up right now? She’s home. Our sister is back . ”
Serena turned to me. “How is it that you get to waltz back in, like nothing happened?”
“I didn’t exactly disappear for fun.” I frowned at her. “Nor do I really wanna be back.”
“What’s stopping you? The door is right there.” Serena pointed at it. “It’s always been about you, hasn’t it? You’re back and everything has to come to a halt since you’ve graced us with your presence again. Now I gotta make sure you get mail? We gotta make sure Laurene is comfortable.”
“Don’t be a hater ’cause Mama ain’t pick you to marry Conrad first, Rena,” Gigi said.
“Rena, be real. You’re not angry about me coming back. What is it?”
Gigi sighed. “Can we please just keep the conversation vibin’ and not do this?”
“You’re you —just blink, and people fall over themselves to do what you want. I’ve been here! Mama’s been relying on me, but she’s asking me to bring your fucking mail?”
“You know Mama likes to start stuff,” Gigi said.
“How long did you know you were coming back? Hmm? You planned this, right when I was about to make the biggest announcement of my career.” Serena glared at me.
I frowned. “Mama called me.”
“Really? I think you went broke or got tired being alone. Or you wanted more? What’s gonna be enough for you, Laurene?”
“I’m sorry I interrupted your plans, but this blindsided me like everyone else. Being here doesn’t evoke happy memories.”
“You mean the part where she told you to get out of her house and never come back? That you were a disappointment? I don’t get it, you’re back and her favorite again? That’s bullshit.” Serena’s eyes narrowed .
I ignored her. “You think I wanted that life?”
My fairy tale had once been to marry Reese, but from his reaction last night, that dream was dead, along with the girl I used to be.
“Oh, poor Laurene. I’ve been working my ass off here, and nobody gives a fuck! Gigi, can you back me up here?” Serena glanced at her.
“You’re on ten, and Imma need you to come down to a two.” Gigi lowered her hands.
We all had to bend to Mama’s will, and we handled that pressure in different ways. I had tried to please Mama. Erik knew how to placate her. Gigi…she just did whatever the hell she wanted. But for Serena, she desperately clung to Mama’s approval.
“No offense, Rena, but you always been a bit of a kiss ass for Mama?—”
“Shut the hell up!” Serena snapped at Gigi, who frowned.
“She’s right,” I said. “You’ve spent your whole life trying to be Mama’s favorite, and for what? You want my position that bad, have it. Newsflash, though: it’s not gonna make anything in your life any easier. In fact, you’ll fucking hate yourself for it.”
Serena’s chest rose and fell rapidly.
“Wake up, Serena. Stand up to her now, before it’s too late like it was for me. You’re yelling at me, but I think you need to be having a conversation with Mama.”
“Look, just don’t, okay? You left your family— us— when we needed you. You try to act like Mama’s so bad, but she’s not. You’re just jealous you’re not the favorite anymore, and I did what you couldn’t.”
I sighed. “We all know Mama needed help after Grandpa died.” I pushed the comforter back, standing. “That’s why Mama started spiralling. But nobody in this family wants to admit that. She needs help. Her behavior now is coping.”
Our grandma died years ago, so Grandpa was Mama’s only parent. Grandpa Ben had been the glue of the family. Mama hadn’t always been this way. She had been caring—she was always strict, but not like this. Not so…manic. Mean.
Grandpa had been handling a deal, but his condition challenged his abilities, and we lost a lot of money. The moment he wasn’t that strong man anymore, Mama decided that appearances were more important. She had to fill in the holes of the sinking boat that was our family. His death broke her, and we all failed her by assuming she could handle it by herself.
I had some pity for her, but that wouldn’t stop me from sabotaging her.
Serena’s face hardened. “That’s not true.”
“He had dementia, not the plague!” I snapped. “She locked him away. I’m the only one that said something, and then suddenly I have to marry Conrad Ashbourne, and she’s taking over companies? That’s part of the reason she kicked me out, because I called her out.”
“Can we just stop?” Gigi’s voice was soft as her eyes darted between the two of us. “Why are we doing this? Why can’t we just talk ?”
I wanted Serena to hurt now.
“I saw you, you know.”
Serena blinked. “Saw me what?”
“I saw you and Miles sneaking away at my engagement party back then.”
Gigi gasped, and for a split second, Serena’s face cracked.
“Oh shit!” Gigi said. “You and Miles? Miles , Miles ? Does Erik know?”
I hummed, tilting my head. “Erik’s gonna be mad you’re sleeping with his ex–best friend. And Mama— whew . Mama explicitly said we don’t speak to the Whitmores anymore. That’s not favorite daughter behavior, is it?”
“Serena, please tell me you’re not…” Gigi looked at her. “After everything that happened? How can you risk this? ”
Serena’s throat bobbed. “I wasn’t— It wasn’t like…”
“What would Mama think if she knew?”
The silence that followed was thick, suffocating.
There was a knock at the door, and Mama walked in. “What’s going on in here?”
I straightened, crossing my arms tightly over my chest. Serena’s face was flushed, her jaw tight, and she turned away.
Gigi, still sitting on the bed, looked between us. “We’re discussing world peace?”
Mama stood there, waiting. Her eyes flicked between the three of us, and I knew she didn’t believe us. Serena sucked her teeth loudly, looking at Mama only.
“Excuse me, I’m late for a meeting.” Without another word, Serena spun on her heel and stormed out.
Gigi and I exchanged looks, and Mama watched Serena go before she glanced back at us. “Why are you still in bed, Laurene? You’ve got a job interview to get ready for.”
I blinked. “What? Where?”
“If you are gonna live in my house again, you work. I got you an interview at the art gallery downtown. Be thankful.”
Just then, Gigi jumped into action.
“I’ll help you get ready, Lulu. We can pick out an outfit together,” she offered, and she hopped up from the bed heading to the door. “Lemme go get my stuff.”
“You know, Gigi,” Mama said, her voice dripping with disdain, “you really should be looking for a real job.”
“I do have a job, Mama.”
“Oh really?” Mama arched a brow. “And what, exactly, is your job? Posting online for your followers?”
“There’s money that can be made online. People wanna hear what I got to say. I have, like, two million followers.” Gigi’s smile faltered. “I’m building something. It might not be what you want, but?—”
“You’ll never be taken seriously. You need to finish that college degree. You keep starting and stopping. C’mon, Georgiana, how long are we gonna do this?”
Gigi’s shoulders tensed, then deflated. There was no point in fighting it.
“Fine, just go.” Mama waved Gigi off, and she basically bolted from the room. Then Mama turned to me. “Remember what I said last night.”
“I wouldn’t dare forget.” My smile was dry.
She nodded curtly before leaving, the door clicking shut behind her.
I’d often thought about Grandpa when I was away. I sometimes wondered if he hadn’t ruined that deal, if we hadn’t lost millions of dollars, maybe Mama wouldn’t have partnered with Harold. Maybe I wouldn’t have been sold off to him, and maybe one day Reese and I could have been together for real.
I had to run my new plan by Noelle.
I had to get the hell out of this house.
Heading to my ensuite bathroom, I noticed the letters Serena brought earlier on the floor. Sighing, I bent to pick them up. I flipped through them again, getting ready to put them in the trash, but I noticed one with no return address, just my own name stamped on.
I hesitated, my thumb grazing the edge of the envelope before I ripped it open. Inside was a single sheet of paper, plain and simple, but when I read it, I felt the room shrink around me.
You know what you did. I spent six years miserable. Now it’s your turn. This time, there’s no escape, Murderer.
Photos fell from the paper. I stared, pulse racing, at the grainy but clear image .
Reese and me, stumbling out of the bathroom, disheveled, tangled in the aftershocks of a moment that should have never happened. His hand was on my arm, but the way he was looking at me—hungry, daring—made my pulse spike all over again.
And then, in the next photo, my engagement ring caught the light as Reese’s body pressed me against the wall, his lips just inches from mine.
Someone in Lush knew.