Chapter 58
CHAPTER 58
ELIJAH
E veryone is silent as we walk back into the main hub.
“Lottie.”
Her name is called in relief. She remains tucked under my shoulder, her arm locked around my waist, head down.
“Lottie? Darling,” Darra says.
“Mum?” Lottie says, her head coming up. “What are you doing here?”
“You expect me to ignore the fact you didn’t arrive on the plane you were supposed to?” Darra says, her voice actually catching. “I know you think I’m the world’s worst mother, but?—”
“I don’t think you’re the world’s worst mother,” she replies. “I sent you a message telling you I was staying here for my birthday,” Lottie says, looking around her and realising the living area of the apartment is full of police officers and family members. “You didn’t get it?”
“Clearly,” Darra says.
Lottie pulls her phone out of her coat pocket and holds up the message to her mother.
“Mr Frazer?”
I turn to the officer in question.
“As Miss Frazer has returned?”
“Yes, please,” I say.
We need no more of our dirty laundry aired in public.
“If you need a statement, I can bring her to the station later.”
He nods and motions for his colleagues to clear up and move out.
Everyone remains silent until they leave.
Pen steps forward and lets them out. I can hear her talking in the corridor by the door. Knowing Pen, she’ll find out what happens next. Always organised, forward-thinking.
“Hey, button,” Caleb comes up and gives Lottie a hug. “You had us scared.”
“I know, I’m sorry, Uncle Caleb. I should have checked my message was received.”
She turns and looks at the man standing silently inside the door, his hands deep in his pockets.
I’ve ignored his presence until now. Not wanting to think about what this means. To me, to my family.
Darra looks past me. I didn’t think she could go any paler, but I was wrong.
Everyone’s eyes follow her gaze.
“What the—” Gabriel hisses.
His eyes go to my sister sitting silently on the sofa, her eyes cold and hard, locked on the man in the doorway. The only outward signs she’s affected is the tightness of her expression and the rapid rise and fall of her chest.
“Zach?”
Caleb’s voice is incredulous as he says his name, breaking the spell.
Caleb’s eyes flick between Zach and my sister. Their relationship may have been over for the past three years, but they were together on and off for twelve. Casually at first, but they lived together for seven of those years.
Darra gets up and moves towards Zach. She touches his arm, but he shrugs her off.
“No,” is all he says.
She looks taken aback by his rebuke.
I would laugh at her expression if it wasn’t for the severity of the situation.
His eyes meet mine. They’re filled with acceptance but also an underlying strength.
Lottie’s eyes move between everyone. A sadness fills them. I give her a squeeze, my arm still around her shoulder.
She looks up at me. “I’m sorry, Dad,” she says. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
I turn her to face me, cupping her face.
“Listen to me. You have every right to know who your biological father is. I just wish you’d spoken to me. You scared me, princess. You going missing?—”
She throws herself forward and into my arms. Her heaving sobs, heavy against my heart.
I move us towards the sofa and sit down, pulling her onto my knee and cradling her against my chest as I did when she was a little girl. Whatever happens, she’ll always be my little girl. No one can take away our past.
I whisper soothing words until her tears subside.
Pen appears with a box of tissues. Handing them to Lottie, offering her a reassuring smile. I take her hand and give it a gentle squeeze in thanks.
“Didn’t take you long,” Darra hisses. “I should have guessed.”
The venom in her tone is unmistakable. Pen freezes but ignores her, instead offering Lottie another smile.
“You just couldn’t wait. As soon as I was out of the equation, you moved yourself in. You always wanted what wasn’t yours.”
Pen straightens and turns towards Darra.
“Elijah doesn’t belong to anyone. He’s an amazing man and father,” Pen says.
“He’s a broken workaholic. Good luck to you. You’re welcome to my sloppy seconds,” she spits.
Pen bites her lip, her eyes flicking to mine. I let her know it’s okay. Pen likes to fight her own battles, and somehow, I think this has been a long time coming.
“By all accounts, you broke your relationship, not Elijah. Why did you ever think a marriage based on a lie was going to work?”
Darra straightens her shoulders.
“It wasn’t supposed to be a lie. If it hadn’t been for you, Lottie would have been Elijah’s biological daughter, but he spurned me, broke our engagement.”
Eyes turn to me.
“We were never engaged,” I point out.
“Only because of her,” Darra hisses. “He told me he couldn’t marry me, didn’t love me. But it was because he wanted you.” She points a manicured finger at Pen. “The freak from a single-parent family.” Darra shakes her head, staring at Pen. “How could he want you when he had me?”
Pen shakes her head, her expression sad.
“So you decided you’d take him, anyway.”
“It was that or be made homeless. Daddy dearest, you see, decided it was a Frazer he wanted as a son-in-law. No one else was good enough for his princess. He sent me to that university with strict instructions. I was to leave with a ring on my finger. If not, I was making my own way in the world.”
Pen looks green as she absorbs Darra’s words. She looks at me, but this is nothing new. I already knew the why she trapped me. It came out years ago when I confronted her.
“I wanted to marry her,” Zach says suddenly, stepping forward, his eyes locked on mine. “I went to see her dad when I found out about the baby.” He shakes his head sadly. “As Darra said, I wasn’t good enough. He threatened Dad. He’d just moved jobs, told me he’d set him up, that he had the power to do it. Showed me footage of… I couldn’t.”
He drops his gaze. Zach is the eldest of five. His siblings, like Harper, were much younger than him. If his dad had lost his job...
His eyes fly to Lottie. “Then he told me if I interfered and warned you, there’d be no baby.”
Pen draws in a sharp breath.
Fuck. I always knew my father-in-law was a bastard, but I didn’t realise he threatened the life of his unborn grandchild.
Lottie buries her head in my chest, and I’m not sure she needs to hear any more. None of this is her fault. How she came into the world, she shoulders no blame. She’s the innocent party in all this. I kiss her head and tilt her chin until she’s looking at me.
“I told you once before. You may not carry my blood, but you will always be the daughter of my heart. Wherever you come from, however, you came into this world. You will always be mine. I love you, Lottie Frazer, and I will always be here for you, no matter what.”
Her arms fly around my neck, and she squeezes me tightly.
“I love you too, Dad.”
“Always.”
Darra hisses and I shoot her a look that has her drawing herself upright.
“Zach is her father,” she says. “He was my lover for years even after you threw me aside.”
Zach’s hands go to the side of his head, pressing hard. His gaze darts to my sister, who’s sat still. Her eyes glazed.
Pen shoots me a worried glance.
“I never threw you aside. You lied to me. Until that point, I tried to be a good husband, make our marriage work.”
Darra laughs. “Is that what you call it? You never wanted me. You wanted her. It was always her. Pen this, Pen that! Does she even know you paid your lecturer to make her your partner?”
She points a perfectly manicured nail at Pen, her mouth twisting in malice.
My gaze moves to Pen’s, and she shrugs. “I knew. I met Mr Dunn a few years ago, he confessed all. I must admit, I was flattered.”
Pen winks at me, and Darra screeches and stamps her foot.
“With me, you went through the motions. What did she have that I didn’t?”
“She cared about me, about my well-being,” I say softly. My eyes not leaving Pen’s.
Darra turns to Zach, her hand grazing his chest.
“Zach was there for me. He didn’t spend all his time locked in an office or with our child. He was there for me .”
“While I was building a future for us,” I spit, tired of the same old story. Darra wanted to party, live what she deemed the life of a billionaire’s wife .
Zach steps away from Darra, clearly not wanting to get caught up in her theatrics.
When she reaches for him, he stops her.
“No, I’m not Lottie’s father. You took that option away when you refused to stand up to your dad. I would have given you the world, but it wasn’t enough. Lottie should have been mine, but she isn’t and never will be. Elijah is her dad. I’m only glad my best friend was the one to raise her, and I’ve watched him love her with every ounce of his being, even after he found out. You have used too many people, Darra. Both you and your family. Enough is enough. Own what you did. I beg you for your daughter’s sake.”
I choke.
Best friend?
He slept with my girlfriend or my newly ex. I’m not sure I want to know which way around it was. He then stood by and let Darra dupe me into thinking his baby was mine. Not much of a best friend.
My eyes flip to my sister, who is sitting stoically. Her face is a mask, shielding the turmoil she must be feeling. Shit, this is not just about me anymore. I never wanted this for my sister, and I wanted none of my family caught up in my mess. I’ve spent years trying to protect them.
“What was I?” Kat says quietly. Her eyes never leaving Zach’s face. “If you continued your affair with Darra, why did you need me?”
He turns to face her, his chin dipping to his chest, his body becoming unnaturally still.
“Kat,” he says, the apology in his tone.
“You were sleeping with her while you were living with me? You lied to me. You deceived me.”
A dark redness sweeps up his neck and across his face. A sheen of sweat breaks out on his forehead and upper lip.
“Kat,” he says again, although his voice is quieter this time. “I?—”
“You were convenient. Enabled him to stay near Lottie,” Darra says, her tone gleeful. “He should be thanking you.”
Zach’s face crumples. He cares about my sister. I know he does.
“You’re as frigid as your brother. Is it surprising he looked elsewhere?”
Zach spins on Darra.
“Shut up. Enough of your toxic lies.”
I stand up and pass Lottie to Pen, stalking towards Darra.
“Get out.”
Darra looks up at me, her face filled with hatred, but there’s also a hint of fear.
Caleb grabs my arm, not that I would touch her. He should know that. But I need her gone.
“Don’t give her the satisfaction,” he hisses, stepping in front of me, his hands on my chest.
He nods at me before turning around.
“Get your toxic ass out of my brother’s apartment.”
Darra sends Caleb a look of contempt.
“Do as he says,” I hiss. “Before I return us to court and remove everything I agreed to. Believe me, I have more than enough evidence to do it.”
Darra stares up at me over Caleb’s shoulder.
“Lottie, you’re coming back with me,” she says, looking around us at Lottie, who’s curled in on herself on the sofa.
Lottie jumps up and wraps her arms around Pen, shaking her head.
“No, no, no. I’m sorry. Don’t make me leave,” she pleads, her voice coming out in heart-wrenching sobs.
“She doesn’t have to go anywhere with you,” I tell her. “I’m now legally her father. Your threats no longer stand. If you know what’s good for you. You’ll turn around and leave. Now.”
She looks at me, weighing up, if I mean it. Whatever she sees in my expression has her turning on her heel.
“Zach?” she shrieks as she makes her way to the door.
Zach says nothing, his eyes still locked on my sister. When he doesn’t move, Darra harrumphs and storms out, the front door slamming shut behind her.
Gabriel and Caleb drop to their knees by Kat, but she stands up and shrugs them off. Instead, she walks to Lottie, taking my daughter’s face gently in her hands. She drops a kiss on her cheek.
“I’m sorry, Aunty Kat,” Lottie says, a fresh set of tears running freely down her cheeks.
Kat smiles at her sadly.
“You, my darling girl, have nothing to be sorry for. I’m sorry you got caught up in the games of adults. All you need to know is we all love you unconditionally. Whoever your father and mother are, you’re Lottie Brooke Frazer, and you always will be. I need to leave right now, but I want you to know that has nothing to do with you. I love you, sweet girl.”
Lottie lets go of Pen and hugs her aunt. “I love you too, Aunty Kat.”
“I need to go,” she tells Lottie as she pulls away. “But we will all get through this. Call me if you need me.”
Lottie nods.
Pen’s hand comes up and grips Kat’s arm, sending her a silent message.
Kat’s eyes meet Pen’s.
“I need time,” she says, earning herself another acknowledgment.
Kat hugs each one of us in turn, making her way to the door.
She passes Zach, who grabs her arm. She pauses, her eyes going to where his hand is encircling her bicep. She looks up and whatever he sees has him dropping his hand.
“We need to talk,” he says quietly.
“We do,” she says, her eyes now looking ahead. “But not now.”
He dips his chin in acknowledgement, and then she’s gone.
Harper and Mum disconnect.
“I’m going after Kat,” Gabriel says, earning himself a nod from Caleb and Pen.
Caleb follows our brother out, not even acknowledging Zach.
Everything I tried to protect my family from has not just exploded, but it’s taken out half the block with it.
Zach stands with his hands in his pockets, his eyes on our daughter.
“Lottie, if you ever want to talk, you know where to find me.”
He, too, turns and leaves without a backward glance.
My ears ring in the silence.