“No,” I breathe, tears coming to my eyes.
With that, Fiona frowns.
“No? I could swear that I told him to be clear about the specifics. Maybe not about my involvement, but he informed you that this wasn’t a relationship, right? That there was no way of that happening? Oh my god, he didn’t? I’m so sorry that you had to find out this way, Cait, but it is what it is. You did well, and I’m sure Travis will give you some money to go away. You’ve fulfilled his sexual needs after all, and you deserve to be paid for that.”
With that, I collapse fully onto the floor, my hand covering my tummy. Because the truth is that I just found out that I’m pregnant with Travis’s child. I was going to tell him after we got back from the factory, but now that I know what really happened, what do I do? All that’s clear is that for the second time in a year, I’ll be homeless again. And this time, I’ll be pregnant too.
10
Travis
* * *
“Caitlin? What’s wrong?”
I’ve just come back from the office to pick up Cait for our meeting at Nova Arte. I have no doubt that they’ll want to do business with my beautiful girl, so imagine my surprise to see her sprawled on the floor with tears in her eyes. And what the fuck is Fiona doing here?
My beautiful girl stares at me for far too long, her eyes wide with shock. I take a step forward to try and console her, but she scuttles back on the marble.
“Don’t you dare touch me!”
“What happened? Why are you crying?”
“I can’t believe this is happening! I was nothing to you! You’ve been dating my stepmother this entire time!”
I blink. “What are you talking about?”
“I know everything!” Caitlin sobs. She bends her head, so distressed that she’s unable to get up from the floor. “You’ve been dating my stepmother this whole time!” she screams. “Does that make you feel good, having sex with a mother and a daughter at once? Are you some kind of fucking pervert?”
I hear a titter from the shadows and turn my head to see Fiona lurking there.
“What the fuck did you do?” I growl.
“Nothing!” she protests. “I just told her the truth. That you and I are in a sexual relationship, but that I had to step away for a bit. So I gave you permission to use my stepdaughter’s body to satisfy your physical needs. After all, a virile man like you can’t be celibate for too long. Sating yourself in my daughter was the best solution while I was unavailable.”
I stare at her, gaping. Where the fuck is this coming from? But at Fiona’s words, Cait lets out another wail, burying her head in her arms. I turn to the whippet-thin woman with fury in my eyes.
“No Fiona, that’s not true at all. We slept together once! That was ages ago! We’re nothing to one another!”
“Nothing?” Fiona pretends innocence. “Then why are you making a fifty thousand-dollar investment in my business? Where is that money coming from?”
“Fifty thousand dollars?” Cait whispers from my left. “Oh my god, you’ve been with her all this time? You believe in her business, and not in mine?”
With that, she collapses on the floor, and I rush over to pick up the curvy girl. After all, she’s been tossed into a bed of lies, and it’s time to make things right.
I place Cait gently on the sitting room couch where she slowly revives. Meanwhile, Fiona is scrutinizing my interior décor, frowning at a vase here while gently running her thumb and forefinger over the mantelpiece.
“There’s dust,” she says matter of factly. “I’ll have to speak with the housekeeper.”
I glare at her.
“I’ll speak with the housekeeper because I’m in charge. You don’t live here, Fiona. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Cait sits up a bit, still groggy from passing out.
“Oh,” she says in a low tone, pressing a hand to her head. “It hurts.”
“Caity,” I say, rushing over to take her hand in my own. “Don’t believe a word this woman says. Yes, I met Fiona a while back at some business event. Yes, we had a drunken interlude and I slept with her. It wasn’t my proudest moment, and I couldn’t even remember her name afterwards. It was only until she called me out of the blue, begging for an investment in her company that I sort of remembered who she was.”
Caity bows her head.
“But why does she think you’re her boyfriend?” is her agonized whisper.
I shake my head.
“For no reason! I’ve done nothing, absolutely nothing, to make her think that.”
“Except buy me this dress,” Fiona sings from over by the mantelpiece while fingering the pink material. I shoot her a harsh look.
“Fine. Your stepmother was attempting to blackmail me,” I say in a tight voice. “She was going to raise a ruckus about that night we spent together, and report me to my company’s board for mixing business with pleasure. But you know what? Fuck you, Fiona. You’re a grown woman. We weren’t on company time, and I owe you nothing. Your blackmail claims were bullshit, and always have been. I gave you that money to make you go away more than anything. But that stops now.”