“Couldn’t really miss it,” Toby said as Laura gently rubbed Star’s red cheek. “The adoption is watertight, Star, as you know. The Duprees can go to hell.”
They led Star back to the sitting room and sat down.
“But what if she’s right? What if Skylar would be better off with them?”
“No way!” Laura said. “They are cold and uncaring. Toby had a long chat with Christian one afternoon, and he told Toby that his childhood wascold and clinical– those were his words. He said how happy he is his daughter is surrounded by so much love. He couldn’t ask for anything better for her.”
Star relaxed; she hadn’t believed that this had come from Christian. Her mother’s society friends, yes, she could see it. Her mother wanted to be accepted, as she was still on the outskirts, so having a granddaughter with one of the other families would give her brownie points. Well, Skylar wasn’t going to be a part of her mother’s games; Star and Lily had suffered enough at her hands growing up.
She would still speak to Christian when he returned. They had a similar goal, to protect Skylar from their toxic parents.
∞∞∞
Christian returned with Skylar later that afternoon and must have realised something was amiss. Ushering Skylar inside, Star listened to her adventures with half an ear while making it clear to Christian that they needed to talk.
“What’s happened?” Christian asked when Laura had managed to convince Skylar to help her make some cookies. “Don’t say nothing because I’m getting to know you, Star, and something is bothering you.”
“Let’s go for a walk,” Star said, grabbing her coat. “I don’t want little ears listening.”
Christian followed Star out of the house in silence. They walked to the nearby park, where Star dropped onto the nearest bench.
“I had a visit from my mother,” Star said. “Seems like she’s been talking to your parents.”
A look that could only be described as horror passed over Christian’s face. He was obviously aware of his parents’ thoughts and Star felt her defences rise.
“So, it’s true then?”
“It depends on what you’re asking?” Christian said, looking at his feet. “Are my parents suddenly interested in Skylar? The answer is yes. Am I letting them near her? Not a chance! I think you’d better start from the beginning. I didn’t lie to you when I first came into Skylar’s life, and nothing has changed, Star. I am more than grateful you are giving me the time to get to know my daughter, even though I know it has cost you.”
It was the first time that Christian had acknowledged that he knew about Damian leaving and why. He placed a hand on her knee in comfort.
“My mother has said they are willing to compensate me if I hand over Skylar,” Star said.
Christian’s expression turned to thunder, a dark red spreading over his cheeks. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it,” he said. “Please forget you ever heard those words. They are the last people in the world I want raising my daughter.” Christian rubbed her leg and then pulled her in for a hug. “I promise I’ll deal with my father and mother.”
Star leaned into Christian’s warmth, absorbing his comfort. He wasn’t Damian, though, and the hole in her chest wasn’t fixed by his closeness.
She nodded and stood up. “My mother is toxic,” she said, “and I’ve kept her out of Skylar’s life for a reason. I don’t want to introduce anyone else to her who doesn’t have her best interests at heart.”
“I’m with you there. I’m no longer under their thumb. I promise you; Skylar is safe.”
∞∞∞
A few days later, Star received a phone call from her father letting her know that he’d spoken to her mother and set her straight on a few things. Her mother had even come onto the phone briefly and apologised for her behaviour before her father had taken the phone away and told Star she had nothing to worry about, that he would deal with Mr and Mrs Dupree.
Star had never seen her father stand up to her mother, but maybe like her, he knew he needed to choose his battles. She felt a shift in their relationship; maybe they could grow something out of the ashes. They had never had a chance before – her mother had always commandeered his time when they were little when he got away from his other family. She had never wanted to share him with his daughters, and he had been only too happy to oblige, but there was definitely an ember and he seemed to want to fan it, asking her to meet him for coffee later in the week. Star had agreed, wanting to see where their relationship could go.
The office was chaos when Star arrived on the Monday morning. Skylar’s class had been hosting assembly, so Star had promised her she would attend, which meant she was later into the office than usual.
Star called Mark over to her desk. “What’s going on?”
“We have a company meeting on the top floor in half an hour – apparently there is some big announcement. I would have assumed you knew something about it?” he said, but with no malice.
“Nope, this is news to me,” Star said, opening her computer and reading the email that had been sent company wide. Lucas was obviously in the building, as the invitation was from him and the rest of the board. Whatever it was they had to announce, it was obviously going to affect the whole company.
The office was alive with conspiracy theories by the time everyone had made their way upstairs. Lucas and the Board had positioned themselves on a platform at the end of the room. Everyone from the office was squashed into every corner. It looked as if the whole company, even those off-site, had returned for whatever was about to be announced.
“Thank you, everyone, for coming. We have an announcement to make, and felt that, to prevent rumours flying, it would be easier to have everyone together in one place,” said Brian Fitzpatrick, the Chief Financial Officer and the most staid of all the Board members, speaking into the mic that had obviously been rigged up for the occasion. “I’m going to hand you over to Lucas Hunt, our CEO, who is going to make the announcement.”