26. Chapter Twenty-Six
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
WAR
I fucked up.
I thought I had more time to drop in the whole Sarah thing , but never once did I expect her to show up here. Our lawyers are the only ones who have had contact with each other, and since Sarah moved away years ago, I haven’t laid eyes on her. She looks the same as she always did, but I don’t feel anything when I look at her.
Ora sits on the edge of the bed, her elbows on her thighs, and her defeated stance makes me want to break something. Anything.
I sit next to her and swallow hard. “I was with Sarah for a year, and we got married just after I got arrested.”
I reach out to try and comfort her, but she pushes my hand away. The rejection hurts, but I know I haven’t been honest, and she has every reason to be furious at me right now.
“I married her mostly because I didn’t want her to have to testify against me if it went to trial because she knew too much. And yeah, at the time I thought we were in love,” I explain, not wanting to hurt her but wanting to give her the truth. “She was the daughter of a woman Prez was with, so she was around the club, and that’s how we met.”
Ora winces at that, wrapping her arms around herself in some sort of protective stance, and I feel it down in my bones.
“When I went to prison, she came to see me for the first few months, and then visits and contact became less and less. She said she was going to wait for me, but she didn’t. I found out that she found someone else straightaway and had him in my house, which I bought and paid for.”
Yeah, that was an ego hit. She showed her true colors, and I had to learn the hard way that you can’t always trust women.
“Prez went to my house and told her to get the fuck out ,” I continue, my eyes locked on Ora’s beautiful profile. “So she moved across the country to be with her new guy . And that was it. Legally, we are still married because she’s being difficult. But her name isn’t on anything I own. I’ll likely have to pay her out for my house, but I’ve put everything in my sister’s name, so she can’t touch it.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me this, War? You made me look stupid,” she says, looking down at her white-painted fingernails.
I want to tell her that’s how I felt when it came out she was Prez’s daughter, but I won’t throw that in her face. I don’t want to upset her any more than she already is.
“I was going to… I just…” I trail off, clenching my jaw. “I wanted to try and get the divorce sorted first. I had kind of let it go until I met you. After that first night I spent with you, I called Suit straightaway and told him to handle it.”
“Is that why she’s here?”
“I don’t know why she’s here,” I answer honestly and with a grimace. “When she walked up to me in the clubhouse, she said she wanted to talk, but like I said, I’ve had no communication with her, and I have no feelings for her. You’re the only woman I want.”
She nods slowly, lost in thoughts.
“Can I hold you now?” I ask in a low tone.
She throws me a look that’s a clear no . “So, is she staying at the clubhouse now or back at your house? The one I didn’t know you had and have never been to.”
“The house is for sale,” I explain, leaning back on the bed on my side, facing her. “I will buy us a new house. And I don’t know what her plans are, but she’s not fucking staying here.”
“I want to know why she’s here,” Ora murmurs, standing up and going to leave.
I quickly stand and follow her. She’s so tiny compared to me, but she holds all the power right now. “Where are you going?”
“I need a little time,” she replies, glancing up at me. “I don’t understand why you kept this from me, War. What else are you hiding?”
“Nothing,” I reply, unable to stop myself from reaching out and touching her face. “I didn’t want this and the prison time to scare you off. I know it was wrong, but I thought I could handle this?—”
“Without me finding out!” She shakes her head. “You’re an asshole, you know that? And now I have to go down there in the clubroom and have everyone look at me because they all now know I never knew you were married. And to make matters worse, they all know her !”
“And they all know she screwed me over. No one down there has any respect for Sarah, and she will never be an old lady,” I fire back.
Yes, I married her.
Yes, I was an idiot.
Prez encouraged us to tie the knot for the spousal privilege. She called herself my old lady, but I never put a property patch on her.
Not like the one I’ve already fucking ordered for Ora.
“No one will respect me if you keep making me look stupid.” She frowns.
“No one would dare to disrespect you,” I promise her, kissing her forehead. “And if they do, I will deal with them. You are the most important thing in my life, Ora.”
“I need a drink,” she grumbles, stepping outside the room.
Slamming my fist against the door, I take a few deep breaths before following her downstairs, where she stands at the bottom, watching Sarah chatting with Prez.
She rests her arm on Prez’s shoulder, the two of them looking very comfortable with each other. Not wanting Ora to feel like she doesn’t have all the information, I tell her, “Remember how Rome told you that his old lady, Kate, died?”
“Yeah?” Ora replies, her voice soft. Low. Broken.
“Sarah is her daughter. So for a while there, Rome was her father figure.”
“I missed you, Daddy!” Sarah says loudly, and I watch Ora’s face fall.
She doesn’t even call Rome dad yet.
Sarah always has, and she latched onto Prez as soon as Kate started dating him.
“This was a mistake,” Ora whispers, her eyes filling with tears.
I move to stand in front of her, covering her view of them. “Nothing about you being here is a mistake. I love you. Prez loves you. He loves you so much he doesn’t think his own VP is good enough for you…” I trail off.
He wouldn’t, would he?
Did Prez bring Sarah here? It makes no sense that she would suddenly show up like this out of nowhere.
“Well, you’ve fucked both his so-called daughters now,” she fires back, putting her hand on my chest and pushing me away. “I need a minute. Please leave me alone.” With that, she walks away, heading toward the kitchen. Even when she’s pissed at me, I can’t keep myself from looking at her juicy ass in those jeans that are painted on like a second skin.
I am not going to lose her.
I will fix this.
I look over at Sarah and Prez and cross my arms over my chest.
This is one giant fuckup.
And if he did do this, he must hate me more than he loves his own child.