Chapter 17 #2
He nods. “I did. It’s an instinct, one I haven’t been able to shake for many years. The thing with me, Izzy, is that I loved my father more than anyone. I looked up to him more than I’ve ever looked up to anyone. And his voice is still with me, in my head all the time.”
“Really?” I ask.
“Not in an insane way… or maybe there’s more of that than I’d like to admit.” He laughs gruffly. Together, we look across the street at an employee preparing a café’s seating area. “But it’s not just that I hear his voice. It’s his presence, his memory. It never leaves me.”
“Okay…”
He sighs, running a hand through his hair.
“My father loved my mother. I have to believe that. I saw them together. They danced all the time. He could always make her laugh. Even when Sebastian Goodfellow came along, and things got tough, they always had each other. But as he was dying, he told me something. Something that shattered how I saw him. But I can’t hate him, even if I hate what he did. ”
I wait, my heart thundering, daring to believe there might be an explanation for this that won’t break me completely.
Dom turns to me, his expression bleak. “The woman you saw was my father’s mistress. The little boy, Liam, is his son.”
I gasp.
“On my father’s deathbed, he told me about Jennifer.
He told me she’d had his baby. He told me I could never, ever share this with anyone because it would break my mother’s heart.
And after Mom passed, I kept the secret.
Out of habit, maybe, or perhaps my father’s word goes far beyond the grave.
Jennifer hasn’t even told her current husband who the father is.
That’s the kind of power my father commanded. ”
“He’s your little brother,” I murmur.
Dom nods. “He’s a great kid. Funny, enthusiastic, happy. They have a great life. But every time I look at him… I hate what brought him into this world, cheating, Izzy. That’s one thing you’ll never have to worry about with me. No matter what, I’ll never cheat on you. I’d die before I did that.”
“You’re reminded of it,” I murmur, finishing his unfinished thought. “Every time you look at him.”
Dom sighs heavily. “Yeah, I am. And it’s sick, because it’s not his fault.”
“It’s okay,” I murmur. “If I’ve learned one thing as I’ve gotten older, it’s that life is never that simple.”
Dom takes my hand, bringing it to his mouth and kissing my knuckles softly.
“I’ve never told anyone about Liam,” he says.
“Not even Ethan. He’s completely separate from my life, a reminder of what my father did to my mother.
The way my father told it, he cheated on her for years.
I hate Jennifer, even, but she’s my brother’s mother. What am I supposed to do?”
“It’s complicated,” I say, squeezing his hand. Offering some comfort, I hope. “Sometimes people have good reasons for doing bad things.”
He tilts his head at me. “What good reason is there to cheat?”
“Well, not that,” I admit.
“What, then?” he asks.
This is my big moment. We’ve bonded. We’re closer than we have any right to be, considering the timeframe.
“Nothing,” I say, cowardly. I’m a fucking joke.
There’s a long pause, then I say, “Do you see him often?”
“I do right by them,” he says, as if convincing himself. “Liam has wanted for nothing because of me. Despite that, it doesn’t feel like enough. I don’t think I need to visit him every damn day to help, do I?”
“No,” I agree.
“Sometimes, it feels like that,” he says.
“Jennifer, she’s a good mom, but as a person?
” He shakes his head. “She can be demanding. Asking for more money, even if she’s married now.
Perhaps she thinks she’s got me fooled. Or maybe she knows that blood is thicker than water.
I know they don’t need the extra money. It’s for trips, renovations, and stuff for her other than my brother. But still, I pay.”
I rest my head against his arm, hugging him, offering what relief I can. “I’m sure you’re doing an excellent job,” I murmur.
He wraps his arm around me and kisses the top of my head. “Thank you. I’m doing my best. And I’m sorry for worrying you. I know you must’ve been wondering when you saw the FaceTime call…”
“I thought it might be a second family,” I admit.
“Not me, Izzy. My father, sure. But never me. I wouldn’t betray you like that.”
I cling tightly to him, his words bouncing painfully around my head.
No, sir, you would never betray me like that. But what about the other way around?
It’s halfway through the workday, and things are going well. Dom and I are doing a good job of pretending we don’t want to tear each other’s clothes off every chance we get. When I deliver some documents to his office during a meeting, I feel his eyes on me, burning, hungry, but only for a moment.
Back at my desk, my cell phone rings. It’s the hospital. What now?
I take the call in the hallway. “Hello? Is my grandmother okay?”
“I’m sorry, Miss Marlowe, but there’s been an issue with your most recent payment.”
My world begins to spin.
“Excuse me?” I practically screech. I walk deeper into the hallway, away from the main office. “Pike Construction should—”
“We received a call from Aaron Pike, miss, and he explained that he will be discontinuing your grandmother’s care. If the situation isn’t rectified, we’ll unfortunately have to move her to a state facility.”
I grit my teeth, feeling like I could scream.
“This is a misunderstanding,” I assure her and myself.
“I spoke to Mr. Pike myself.”
“It’s a misunderstanding,” I hiss. “Don’t do anything until I’ve spoken to him.”
“Very well. We’ll be eagerly awaiting your call.”
Is that sarcasm I hear in her voice? The damn medical system. They were my best friends when they were getting thousands of dollars a day from my grandma, but now that the money has dried up…
I call Aaron, pacing the corridor, biting the nails off my free hand.
“Ah, my sweet niece,” he says.
“Is this a joke?”
“You were seen with your lover boy at the hospital,” Aaron barks. “A pretty, precious scene between lovebugs. All while you’re supposed to be bringing me his fucking scalp. And you’re asking me if I’m the one playing a joke.”
I lean against the wall, my stomach in knots. Grandma sacrificed the peace of her latter years to raise me, and this prick won’t even let her die in peace.
“It’s do or die time,” Aaron snaps. “You give me something—today—or I swear, blood or no blood, she’ll be out on her ass come sunrise tomorrow. That’s all there is to it. I’ve been too lenient as it is.”
I groan. What am I supposed to do?
Tears slide down my cheeks, stinging. I should rush to Dom’s office and confess everything.
He won’t let Grandma suffer, will he? But why do I even think that?
We’re close, the sexual chemistry is unreal, but I lied to him and, well, we’re strangers.
It hurts to even think that, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s a fact.
“Stop sobbing, you stupid, weak-willed slut,” Aaron grunts. “You always were pathetic. That’s why I wanted no hand in raising you. But perhaps I was wrong. I could’ve toughened you up.”
“Please,” I whisper.
“We’re a long way past please,” he snaps. “Do you have something for me or not?”
“Yes,” I admit miserably, eyes blurry. “I’ve got pictures of accounts. Lots of them. Offshore. Like he’s splitting the money, trying to hide it.”
“Good girl,” he says, making my skin crawl. “When did you get your hands on these?”
“This morning,” I whisper. “I was going to call you.”
He snorts. “I won’t even ask if that’s true. I’ll send someone to the bar on the corner. You know, the one all your coworkers visit on Fridays. Be there in an hour, or I’ll drag that old bitch out myself.”
He hangs up, leaving me to run to the nearest bathroom, shut myself in a stall, and cry until my eyes hurt.