“You think so?” I whisper brokenly. “You think they’ll thank you for how you treated Aiden? You think they’ll thank you for ruthlessly destroying their futures, taking away their ability to make their own decisions, you think they’ll thank you for that.”
“Please, they’re both young,” she says dismissively. “They don’t know what they want, which is why they need me to make the tough calls.”
“Julian and Liam have never needed you!” I cry out. “When they needed you, you were busy torturing and starving a sweet child with down syndrome who’s only fault was he was John’s love child. You didn’t matter to them then. You weren’t there for them! Julian raised his brothers. He took care of them, protected them. He never once asked you for anything, you self-involved, money hungry witch!” I can feel the tears running down my cheeks, but I’m too heartbroken and livid to care. “You’ve managed to disappoint him, hurt him and you’ve attempted to break him at every turn. And now, you’ve…” I trail off.
She’s succeeded.
“I did what had to be done.”
“Oh, I got that memo all right,” I whisper, quickly wiping away my tears. “But my God, Courtney, you didn’t have to make up all that stuff about rape, kidnapping and assault! Now, it’s going to stick to him, no matter what happens from this point on.”
Courtney just stares at me, not saying a word until my father clears his throat, stepping forward.
“My dear, princess,” my father says, stepping in now. “That’s the whole idea.”
“What?” I whisper. “What do you mean?”
Nathan steps forward again, a look of pure enjoyment on his face.
“You see, Mia, if one has a less than stellar rep-sheet, one is likely to stick to the… well, the guidelines, of what they should do and what they shouldn’t do. Isn’t that right, Court?”
“Court? So, you give each other nicknames in your Scorned Spouses Insufferables Club?” I mock. “Tell me, when are the meetings? Every Wednesday at five? Is that when you decided to control what Julian can and can’t do?”
“Well, if you want to find humor in that, maybe you should start with how you’ve been nothing but a puppet all your life before you go pointing fingers and me,” Courtney says.
My heart seems to stop beating. Courtney gives me a Cheshire grin and from the corner of my eye, I think my father grows still but I don’t look away from Courtney.
“What does that mean?” I question as dread sinks its sharp claws into me.
“Why don’t you come in dear,” Courtney says with a smile, opening the door wider. “We have much to discuss.”
I don’t move.
The wind picks up, like a storm brewing as if the Heavens will open up and drown the world. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind. If anything, I need to feel like I’m not the only one who’s feeling out of my depth right now, wallowing in pools of misery and deceit.
“Well?” Courtney prompts.
Uncertainty clouds my judgement. The truth is, I had no idea what to expect when I knocked on her door, but this wasn’t it.
Secrets breed lies and lies have brought us here. Everything hangs in the balance and we’re running out of time.
Nathan is watching me with turbulent eyes filled with dark amusement, obviously waiting for what I do next.
A cold shiver races down my spine. Unease and dread trickle in my veins the longer I look into his eyes and I swear, I can almost see the darkness brimming in those depths.
Unconscious of the danger hovering close, moved only by the sense of dread, I take an involuntary step back.
He smiles. An actual smile that makes the hairs at the back of my neck and on my arms stand up.
A strange sensation takes root in my gut. It’s more than dread or just fear, it’s something bigger that chills me to the core as I hold his gaze and for a moment, my flight-fight reaction kicks in.
What do I do? Do I stay and listen to what they have to say, or do I run and hope against hope that Julian finds out the truth somehow?
But more than that, who is this man? Is he really my father?
“It’s either you’re coming in or you’re going to run, Amy,” Nathan says, his voice as smooth as a psychotic mastermind, still watching me like one would an unworthy chess opponent. “Either way, princess, the power is in your hands.”
The power is in your hands.
A chilly shudder races through me as the meaning of his words sinks in. The smirk on his face tells me he knows the effect those words have on me. He’s perfectly aware of the havoc he’s wreaking on my mind, just as he knows I know what he means by those words.
The power is in your hands.
The power to make Julian’s future go down the drain is in my hands.
The power to end this game or to destroy more lives—the lives of those I love—is in my hands.
But more than that, the power of this very moment and how it will change lives, from this moment on, is in my hands. Either way, my actions right now, will determine what happens next. To everyone I love.
Julian.
Liam.
Nicky.
And suddenly, out of nowhere, anger floods my system.
“I’m not your princess and my name is not Amy!” I whisper menacingly, but my voice sounds hoarse, almost inaudible as I stare at Nathan. “Don’t ever call me that again.”
A low, humorless chuckle sounds in the sparsely furnished foyer. “My bad,” my father says. “We’ll go with your pretend name then, Mia.”
My pretend name? No, I’m not here for anything else but Julian.
“Julian,” I say, straightening up, rolling my shoulders back with as much confidence as I can muster with a broken heart inside my chest. “I came here for him.”
“As we knew you would.”
Silence.
Chilly tension and danger hover in the air.
I can’t back down now.
“I love him,” I say. I see Courtney’s eyes harden, a retort on her tongue but I hold up a hand. “He might not feel that way about me now, after what you just did. He blames me for… for everything.” Courtney’s facial features ease as a smirk makes its gleeful way on her beautiful plastic face. “But I want him acquitted. He doesn’t have to have his future destroyed because of me.”
Julian saved me when I couldn’t save my own life. He made me feel safe, cherished, protected and he validated my emotions and made it all right for me to go through the mess of emotions I couldn’t deal with.
Julian saw me, from the very first time we met, he saw me and no matter what happens here, I’ll protect him as best as I can. Trusting either of these two snakes it out of the question, so I need my own plan. A plan I’ll keep from them but first, I have to make it seem like I’m going along with what they have to say.
“I don’t think your foolish, childish love—” Courtney starts but I cut her off.
“Let me finish,” I whisper. “I know you don’t want me with your son. I know he’s set to marry someone else, someone of your choosing.” Though I still don’t know who that is and honestly, I don’t want to know. “I’ll stay away from him, this time for good. I just need all charges you made up against him dropped and his record cleared of any wrongdoing. He deserves better.”