“Yes,woman. How does that sit with you?” I ask, leaning in. “You took me as a teenager, had me in my early adult years. And now, I see you for everything you are. Do you really still want me since I’m not young anymore?”
“It’s only been two years, Adora.”
“It feels like a lifetime.”
It feels like forever.
I’m in my mid-twenties now and am not the naïve girl he once had.
And I’ve been married. Twice.
Once to the man in front of me, and once to a man I think I very much might love.
“Tell me, was it the sister that finally pushed you over the edge?”
“You know it was.”
“You did well hiding her, but it was you I wanted. Not her.”
“I’m sure it was,” I reply, then take a breath, but it does nothing to calm me. “How old was the nanny?” I bite back, picking up the glass of wine. “Eighteen?” His eyes narrow in on me as I take a sip. “And let me guess… you’ve had her since I was gone.”
His hands slam onto the table. “You left your child and ran off, Adora.”
“I knew you wouldn’t hurt him. He is a boy, after all.”
That was my only saving grace. Scott wanted a boy more than anything, and he loves our son. It shows by how much our son loves him. I hate that part and wish Jerome loathed him as I do. But I had to do something, even if it meant sacrificing myself by not seeing my beautiful boy. No matter what Abigail thought of me, I wasn’t going to let her live the life I was forced to.
“So that’s the reason. Would you have done the same if he was a girl?”
“No,” I answer immediately. I would not have done the same if I’d had a girl. I would have stayed in fear he would sell her off or worse. It’s easier to hide a grown person, not a baby. And I knew for sure if I took his child, he would hunt me down and kill me. On the other hand, if I left, I could devise a plan to get Jerome back.
And let’s be real, kill Scott in the process.
“Seems we have a visitor,” Scott says, glancing at his phone. I ignore him until he speaks again. “Your sister.”
And with those two words, I feel my heart drop out of my chest.
FOUR
JOEY
“Do you even have a plan?” Abigail asks as we get closer to the gate. As soon as the car comes to a stop, the front door opens, and a man steps out. “He’s always given me weird vibes,” she remarks, referring to the man. She goes to open the door, but I stop her.
“Who are we?” I ask her to reaffirm.
She gives me an eye roll. “My guards.” Then she climbs out of the car. Lucas and I follow as I slide on a hat, and Lucas pulls on a beanie. We both stand behind her as the man walks closer, his arms outstretching as she approaches. “I’m not hugging you. That’s gross.” He pauses mid-step. The smile he had in place for her drops, and he shakes his head.
“We’re basically family, Abigail.”
“Are we?” she questions.
“Your sister is inside. You can tell your men to go home now. You will be safe here.” Abigail looks over her shoulder and smiles.
“No, thanks. I’m fucking one of them, so I want them close for bedtime.”
“How you sound so much like your sister is beyond me.”
“Where is sister dearest?” I ask him. Scott eyes us cautiously, which makes Abigail snap her fingers in his face. “Sister. Where is she?”