30. Declan #2
I press my lips together, the reprimand hitting home. “You never told me why you gave me this job,” I say gruffly. “Or why would you even think of giving me another shot after everything I did to Lily.”
The silence stretches out between us. When I look back at him, his eyes are thoughtful.
“I don’t want you to think I’ve forgiven you just like that.
” He snaps his fingers, smiling wryly. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hold a lot of lingering anger over what you did to my daughter, or what you took from her.
She’ll never look at the world quite the same now, and I…
” he sighs heavily, eyes turning grim. “I hate that for her. It’s why I took such great pains to hide the truth of her own mother from her, though I now know that was the wrong decision.
” His eyes gleam as he says, “I guess that anger is a part of why I take such joy in giving you the most inane tasks and errands I can think of. Never considered myself a petty guy, but you bring it out in me.” I shake my head at him as he chuckles.
“After our…discussion the night you broke our deal, I could see you were genuinely remorseful, even if neither of us fully understood exactly what Donald had wrought on both our families.”
“Do you believe I never intended to harm Hi-Tech?” The question has been on the tip of my tongue for weeks.
Inwardly, I can guess it comes from my younger self—the child who was desperate for his father’s approval—even after learning it would never come.
During my relationship with Lily, Grant had become something of a father-figure to me, and knowing I’d hurt him had been as big a blow as what I’d done to Lily.
I’d reassured myself so many times that my intentions had been honorable, knowing I needed to protect them from Donald.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and all that.
I should’ve told my father to go fuck himself. I should’ve told Grant what he had planned. I should never have lied to Lily.
Should have, should have, should have.
“I would like to believe it, and that’s the most I can say on it,” Grant tells me now, his eyes almost apologetic. “But we’ll get there with time, Declan.” I nod, ignoring the pinch in my chest. It’s more than I deserve, but it only makes me want to work even harder to regain his trust.
“I’ll see you after lunch. ”
He nods, waving me out the door.
Mom stands up to hug me as I approach their table, pressing a quick kiss to my cheek. “Hello, Declan,” she murmurs. “It’s good to see you.”
I hug her back, inhaling her familiar perfume. She looks leaner than she did the last time I saw her. I shoot Darcy a concerned look, but she just shrugs, shaking her head.
“Mom. Darcy. No classes today?” I ask my sister as we sit down.
“It’s been a bit…” she trails off with a grimace, her eyes flicking to Mom and then back to me. “I’ve decided it would be better if I completed the rest of the semester online.”
“And your professors are all okay with that? Do you need me to?—?”
Donald’s accounts were all frozen, but money wasn’t an issue. I’d invested every cent of my trust fund as soon as I turned twenty-one, and I was using that now to continue to support my family, including keeping up with Darcy’s tuition payments.
“It’s all sorted, Dec,” she reassures me. “I’ve got it all handled.”
Mom smiles, picking up her water and sipping delicately. “It’s been nice having your sister around the house, keeping me company. I haven’t been out much lately, but I’ve been getting into reading.”
“Oh, what?—?”
“Don’t ask, Dec,” Darcy interrupts. “Unless you want to be traumatized, don’t ask.”
Mom leans forward, her eyes sparkling as she whispers one word, “ Werewolves .”
Not touching that one, I go for a subject change. “Where’s Nolan?”
“He’s at work,” Darcy says glibly. “He can’t just take long lunches whenever he feels like it.” Her smile brightens as she stares at me. “But I guess an intern doesn’t have that problem, right? It’s not like you have anything important to be doing.”
I meet her eyes impassively. “How long have you been waiting to say that?”
“Now, now,” Mom interrupts. “That’s enough of that. No bickering while we’re eating. ”
Darcy shoots her a look. “We haven’t even ordered our food yet.”
Mom acts like she didn’t speak, looking at me pointedly. “Now, I know the bare bones about your annulment.” Her expression falls into the same look of disappointment she’d had when I first told her everything. “How much of it is public record?”
“You can look up who filed for annulment, and the reason it was granted.”
“Fraud, right?” Darcy murmurs quietly, and I nod.
She leans forward, her eyes fierce. “So, why is Silvia, of all people, running around telling anyone who’ll listen that Lily faked a pregnancy to trap you into marriage?
” She was studying my expression and, almost before she finished talking, her eyes widened.
“You don’t seem surprised. Did you know about this? Declan?—”
I hold a hand up. “Before you rip into me, I only found out last night. Someone close to Lily told her what was happening, and she told me.”
Her expression brightens. “Lily told you? You were together?” She sounds so hopeful, and even Darcy looks curious.
“I’m not talking about that,” I say firmly. Her face falls, so I soften my tone, “Not yet. I’ll let you know when there’s something to know, okay?” She nods reluctantly. “I’m guessing Silvia is using her connection with our family, convincing people to believe her without checking the facts.”
“But they know Lily, right?”
Darcy grimaces, knowing as well as I do how unforgiving high society can be. “Mom, with everything that’s come out about Donald and her mother… the vultures are circling, looking to sink their teeth into anything they can.” My expression darkens. “Lily’s an easy target for them.”
“But I don’t understand why. Why is Silvia doing this to you and Lily?”
“Really, Mom?” Darcy bursts out, exasperated. “She was horrible to Lily. Her whole family was. Silvia was always bad-mouthing her as soon as Declan’s back was turned.” She rolls her eyes. “She thought she should be the one to marry Dec. ”
Mom’s eyes bounce between us, clearly taken aback. “Why would she think that?”
“I imagine it was something Donald and her father put into her head,” I murmur quietly. “I don’t know. I warned her off, and instead, she’s trying to ruin Lily’s name.”
“Do you think she still wants you?” Darcy asks.
I shrug. “I won’t presume to know how her mind works, because clearly she’s batshit crazy.” Mom makes a noise of protest, but it dies as quickly as it came. “I don’t know what she hopes to gain by trashing Lily’s name, but she’s fucked up.”
Darcy’s eyes flare with eagerness. “Do you have a plan? You sound like you have a plan.”
I moisten my lips, looking between the two of them. “I might. The Harbor of Hope gala is in two weeks. Are you both going?”
His mother stiffened almost imperceptibly. “I purchased our table months ago, and I won’t be chased away because of some scandal about your father.” She gives an elegant sniff. “Our family attends every year, and this one will be no different.”
Darcy snorts. “Maybe a little different,” she tells Mom. “It’ll be more fun without him.”
Mom’s mouth trembles, just slightly, like there’s a small smile trying to escape, but she doesn’t comment, asking me, “Why are you asking about the gala?”
For a long dramatic moment, I say nothing, waiting until Darcy starts huffing impatiently, before announcing, “Lily agreed to be my date.”
Mom’s mouth drops open. “You just said there was nothing to talk about,” she says almost accusingly.
Darcy looks at me. “She’s forgiven you?” Her eyes shine brightly.
“No,” I tell her, before turning to Mom. “There isn’t anything to talk about. She’s agreed to give me a second first date. It’s a chance, a foot in the door. But it’s not a promise of anything more.”
Mom touches the back of my hand with her fingers, her eyes glittering. “Sometimes a chance is all you need,” she whispers. “And whatever you need us to do, we’ll be there.”
My chest warms at her promise; words I wouldn’t have trusted not that long ago. We don’t speak again as we eat our meal, each of us lost to our own thoughts. By the time the plates are cleared, Mom eyes us both with trepidation.
“Now, there is something else I need to tell you both,” she says almost warily. She picks up her purse and pulls out three envelopes. “One is for Nolan,” she murmurs, “but I’ll give it to him later.” She hands them over, our names scrawled across the front in familiar block letters.
”Mom—” Darcy starts, looking uneasy.
“I know, I know. His lawyer got me in to see him last week. Don’t worry, I told him you were all firmly against seeing him.
He was—” She clears her throat, nose wrinkling.
“He was not pleased.” That was clearly an understatement.
“We came to a compromise. I said I would give you these,” she nods to the letter in my hand, “but I would not ask you to read them. If you want to throw them away, that’s your choice. ”
Darcy swallows thickly, her eyes darting to me, clearly looking for some guidance on what to do. This wasn’t a choice I could make for her, though. Instead, I just gave our mom a tight smile and folded the envelope into quarters, tucking it away into my pocket. “Thank you.”
Darcy’s brows draw down low, and she declares. “I’m not reading it. I don’t care what he has to say.”
Mom leans across the table, taking Darcy’s hand. “And that’s your decision,” she murmurs softly. “And that’s okay.”
“Just a couple of weeks ago, you were saying something completely different,” Darcy says hotly, her eyes flashing wildly.
Mom exhales, looking tired. “I know, but like you said, we’re learning. That includes me, too, Darcy.” She smiles, but it’s small and brittle. “And it turns out that maybe I don’t have a lot of forgiveness in me, either.”