59. Liv #2
At that, something in me broke. “That’s the difference between us, Dad.
To you, family’s an empire you constructed.
Something to place a number on or show off.
But really? Of all the people standing in this room, the only two related by blood are you and Theo.
He’s your family, as much as Mom and I are.
Somehow, you seem to have forgotten that. ”
My father jerked, startled. His gaze swung to Theo, who winked at him. “Hi, cuz,” he said, and lifted one hand in a sardonic wave.
I elbowed my boyfriend, and he smirked, unapologetic. “Sorry. Couldn’t resist.”
“Olivia is right,” my mother said, a sentence I wasn’t sure had ever left her lips. “The Dresslers are your blood, and you’ve treated them with nothing but disdain. So what is it that family means to you, exactly? What is it that I mean?”
“You’re my wife!” My father slammed his fist down on his desk, making me jump.
“And what is a wife to you, then?” my mother demanded, unfazed.
“A status symbol? Something to take to company parties and parade about on your arm? Because it’s certainly not a confidant.
” Her voice broke. “Did you think I was so shallow that I’d turn my back on you, if I knew the truth?
Or…” Pulling a tissue from a box on the bookshelf, she dabbed at her eyes.
“Did it have nothing to do with me at all? As usual, did you only think of yourself?”
“Now, Kate—”
“Don’t you ‘now, Kate’ me! You treat me like I’m foolish, Russell, like the only thing I’m good for is chairing charity balls and cutting the crusts off cucumber sandwiches. But you’re not the only one who can keep a secret.”
Locked in confrontation, the two of them seemed to have forgotten we were here, and for once, I was happy to be ignored. I turned my mother’s words over and over in my mind like a Rubik’s cube, trying to puzzle out what she’d meant, as Theo leaned in close.
“What is she talking about?” he muttered under his breath.
“I have no idea.” But one thing was for sure. She was being honest for once. Being real. And suddenly, I felt like crap.
I’d treated my mother like the enemy, belittling her obsession with appearances and her unwillingness to delve beneath the surface of things. But while I’d been raised by a narcissist, she’d been married to one. All this time, she’d been coping the only way she knew how.
Mom raised her chin. “Ella’s daughter,” she said. “What is her name?”
I’d been wondering the same thing. For my mother, of all people, to beat me to it, to want to dig up the unthinkable…was it possible I’d misjudged her all along?
“All right, Kate,” my father said, voice weighted with resignation. “All right.”
He strode to the closet and entered the combination to his safe.
It occurred to me that if Uncle Jamison had been half as careful with his paperwork as my father, perhaps we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
But my dad was the older, responsible brother, and Jamison had always been the charming rogue, infamous for his exploits and careless with his money.
What messes of his had my father cleaned up?
Did Krista know about them, or had that all been hushed up, too?
Secrets on top of secrets. Sooner or later, they all came out.
“Here,” my dad said, pulling a paper from the safe. “Her name is Bonnie—”
“Greene.” My mother finished his sentence, her voice shaking. “I found the paperwork years ago, Russ. I knew you’d gone to Kansas; you said it was for business. I thought—I thought it was another affair.”
“Oh, shit,” Theo said, just as I said, much too loudly, “Another what? Dad…?”
My father paid us no attention. “I promised you it would never happen again, Kate, and I meant it. I made a terrible mistake. It was…it was just the once, I swear.”
Holy crap. No wonder my mother had warned me off Gray. No wonder she’d been so distraught when I didn’t listen. She’d been trying to save me from her own pain.
Who had my dad cheated on her with? When? And why? With a pang, I remembered what I’d said to Tessa that first morning, when Theo and I had figured out who we were to each other: A family built on lies is like a house of cards; it’s only a matter of time until it crumbles.
Well, we were crumbling now.
“You give that paper to Olivia,” my mother said, her voice steady.
“You give her the choice of reaching out. You take back the threat of rescinding her inheritance. And then…” She folded her arms across her chest. “You and I have a lot to talk about, Russ, and we need privacy to do it. But first—Olivia, I owe you an apology. We both do.”
Her expression was pleading, and no matter what she’d put me through, I didn’t have the heart to reject her.
“You can keep the money,” I said, making sure to sound kind rather than cruel.
For years, I’d equated my inheritance with a sense of belonging—that if I was worthy enough to deserve their money, I was worthy of the Carter name. But now, I understood.
Families were made. Families were chosen. Families were fought for. As for me: I was a Carter. And a Brentwood. And a Gallagher, my bio mom’s last name. I had nothing to prove to anyone.
“Are you sure?” my mother asked, searching my face. “You’re our daughter, Liv. You deserve—”
“I know what I deserve. And I have it.” I squeezed Theo’s hand, then gave Mom a small, compassionate smile. “I’ll be here if you want to talk. And I accept your apology. But just yours,” I said, holding my hand out for the paper. “Dad will have to make his own.”
I was done excusing the men in my life for their misdeeds. I’d broken the cycle with Chloe, and Theo had done the same with his own family. We were building a new life together, based on honesty and doing hard things, one day at a time. We were healing, and we wouldn’t make our parents’ mistakes.
Dad handed me the slip of paper, and I glanced down at it. Bonnie Greene, the real Ella Carter’s daughter. A physical address. And a phone number.
“What are you going to do?” he said.
I hadn’t expected him to apologize. It wasn’t in the narcissist’s arsenal, not unless they saw a way that it would benefit them. But still, I couldn’t deny that his reaction hurt.
I shook my head. “I haven’t figured that out yet. And honestly? It’s not your business. You and Mom have things to discuss. And Theo and I are going to leave and let you do it.”
They would work it out, or they wouldn’t. That wasn’t up to me. I’d tell my grandmother and Krista the truth, and they could make their own choices. And if my mother took me up on my offer, I’d be here for her. We couldn’t erase the past, but we could build something new.
Theo and I turned and left the study, hand in hand. We didn’t speak; we didn’t have to. The reassuring pressure of our interwoven fingers said everything the other needed to know.
Step by step, we made our way down the dim hallway.
The wind gusted again, and the stained-glass window at the end of the hall rattled in its frame.
A wisp of air caressed my face, and when I blinked, I could’ve sworn that May, Elizabeth, Charles, and Ella stood in the shadows.
That my own mother walked beside me, and she was proud.
Maybe it was my imagination. Maybe it was a trick of the light.
Or maybe they were with us. Maybe they had been here, all along.