25. Lily
Lily
I step through the front door. “Dad? Julie?”
My voice echoes back, but there’s a quiet murmur to my right, just as Julie calls back. “Living room, Lily!”
I head towards her, feeling lighter than I have in weeks.
I’d returned to work a few days ago, finally facing the last hurdle to getting my life back to normal.
It had been just as humiliating as I’d imagined, with pointed questions and conversations halting as soon as I entered a room.
But it was over now, and it felt like a fog had lifted, letting me see clearly past all the pain for the first time in weeks.
It’s been thirteen days since my date. Declan has done just as I asked, backing right off. There have been no more surprise visits, no messages, and no more deliveries.
I appreciate that he’s respecting the boundary that I gave him. It’s a good thing, even if there’s a small part of me that’s annoyed at the way he’s just vanished. And then I get annoyed with myself, because how can I feel so angry and betrayed, but still miss him with every breath?
Dad’s sitting on the couch in the living room with Julie, their legs pressed together and hands entangled. I pull up short, immediately registering just how pale and drawn Dad looks.
“What’s going on?” I ask hesitantly .
Julie looks at my father when he doesn’t answer, before giving me a long look. “There’s been a bit of a…development, I guess.”
Dad laughs harshly. “It’s as good a word as any other.”
I sit down in the armchair beside them. “What development?”
They share a look and finally Julie just urges, “Get it over with, like ripping off a band-aid.”
“Yeah, a band-aid on an amputated limb,” he mumbles, before letting out a weary sigh. “Donald Masters was arrested.”
I frown. “I’m aware. It was pretty hard news to miss,” I add dryly.
“Right. He was also ordered to submit a DNA test.”
“That’s not usual, is it?”
Dad shakes his head. “It’s not standard practice.
Apparently, they received some information from a current inmate at a state penitentiary, and it was enough to have them concerned.
” He looks at Julia again, who gives him a tiny reassuring smile, and he clears his throat.
“Lily, when I told your mother to leave, I never could’ve imagined how seriously she would take me.
She—” His throat bobs on his swallow, his expression stricken.
“She wound up in some backwater town on the other side of the country, using a fake name and working for cash.”
“I don’t understand,” I say numbly, my chin wobbling, although I have no idea why. Julie shoots me a sympathetic look, her hand still clutching his. “You told me you didn’t know where she was. You said no one did.”
He stares back at me, eyes wide and devastated, and Julie leans forward, taking over.
“Lily, no one knew until now. What your dad is trying to say is that… Well, it seems like Donald Masters found your mother about three years after she disappeared.” Her mouth pinches tightly as my eyes bounce between the two of them.
“And?” I demand weakly. “What happened when he found her?”
Dad squeezes his eyes closed. “She’s dead, Lily.”
I shiver, feeling like ice water has just been injected into my veins. “She’s dead?” I ask brokenly. I hadn’t even realized until that moment, but I’d just assumed she was living her life somewhere, never thinking about the daughter she’d left behind when she’d escaped her own version of hell.
Dad nods, bowing his head until his chin touches his chest .
“We think,” Julie starts quietly, “that when he found out about the baby…” she shakes her head, eyes shining. “Who can really say why he’d do it? But her body was found ten years ago, and there was no way?—”
“He made sure they couldn’t work out who she was,” Dad interrupts quietly. “It was a cold case. No one knew who she really was or what happened to her.”
“And now?” I ask stiffly. “How did they…?”
“She was buried.” He lifts his head, meeting my eyes with pain-filled ones.
“Wrapped in a wool blanket. When they found her, they collected all the evidence they could to try to find out who she was or who had killed her. There was DNA on the blanket belonging to a male, but there were no hits on it back then.”
“Until now.”
He nods. “Once they took the DNA sample…” he lifts a shoulder, expression uneasy. “They told me that DNA on the, uh, blanket was preserved enough for them to say that even if he didn’t deal the killing blow, they’re certain he was there when she was buried.”
“What about the baby?”
Dad blows out a heavy breath. “The authorities have been trying to piece together everything that happened, but in that town…They said she was never seen pregnant or with a child.”
I sit back in the armchair for a long time, trying to process everything they’ve just told me, my mind overwhelmed with the new information.
Declan’s father wasn’t just an asshole. He was a murderer.
Later that evening, Dad and I are in his office, sitting in silence as we process the bomb that’s been dropped on us. He finally breaks the silence, asking, “Are you ready for tomorrow?”
“I think so,” I murmur, and he throws an unreadable look at me.
“If you’re having doubts, we can postpone. Today has been enough already. I wouldn’t blame you for wanting to take some time. Or if you wanted to reconsider your decision.”
I roll my lips inward. “No,” I say after a moment, my tone definite.
“This needs to happen. It’s not about erasing Declan from my life.
He’s stamped himself into every molecule of my being, and I don’t think there’s any getting him out.
” I smile dryly. “But this marriage will never feel real to me, not after the way it started. It’s a reminder that everything that came before was a lie, even if things changed for him.
If I give Declan another chance, I want to go into it with a clean slate. ”
He hums thoughtfully. “I think I understand. Just know, whatever your choice is going forward, we’ll be there for you.”
I lift my brows. “We?” I echo curiously, biting back a smile when his cheeks heat.
“You know what I meant,” he retorts grouchily. “Julie is family.”
“She is,” I agree sweetly, letting a hint of smugness shine through. He shoots me a dark look before clearing his throat. “Do you think I should forgive Declan?”
He’s quiet for a long moment, his expression contemplative. “I’m all for a bit of torture.” He flexes the fingers on his right hand, staring down at his knuckles with a strange look. “But not when you’re just torturing yourself.”
“You think that’s what I’m doing?” I ask, taken aback.
“Not on purpose,” he replies. “I loved your mother, and that love cost me more than I could ever imagine.” His eyes go distant, still locked on his hand.
“And her betrayal cost me even more. But if she’d come back…
if she hadn’t run…” He looks up at me, his expression softening. “I might have taken her back.”
“Really?”
His smile is small, and it doesn’t reach the heaviness in his eyes. “On the condition she finally cut ties with Donald.”
I lean over, resting my hand on his. “It’s time to stop torturing yourself, too,” I say gently. “And maybe this is the closure we both needed.”
“Maybe,” he murmurs, and we fall back into an easy silence.
After a while I get up and stretch. “I’d better go home,” I say. “Not sure I’ll get much sleep tonight, but tomorrow’s a big day.” I meet his eyes when he says nothing, and find him watching me with a gleam in his eyes. “What?”
“There’s something else I wanted to tell you. ”
I tense, frowning down at him. “Hasn’t there been enough surprises for one day?”
“Probably, but this isn’t a bad one.” I don’t blink and he adds, “I don’t think.” When I still don’t react, he shrugs, announcing, “I’m not selling Hi-Tech. It’s just not a good time, marketwise. And I have a new intern to train. It would be a waste to let this one’s potential go.”
“A new intern,” I repeat slowly, my brows dipping together. “Who is it?”
He doesn’t answer, giving me a long, meaningful look. “I think it’s better you figure that out for yourself.”