Mum giggles, a sound I haven’t heard for a while. It makes her sound young and mischievous.
“I told himI’draised you to be a strong, independent woman, and if you wanted nothing to do with the deadbeat loser who had donated his sperm for your conception, that was up to you.”
“You didn’t!” I stare at her open-mouthed. “Good for you.” I grin. “I’m sorry now, I didn’t tell you.”
“I have to admit it was a shock seeing him after all those years. I did, however, wonder what I ever saw in him. He was so cool at school, two years older, handsome. All my friends were jealous that he wanted me. But that afternoon, when he turned up in an ill-fitting suit, whinging about how you’d asked him to leave... Instead of finding him attractive, I simply thought,how dare you? I realised my life, and yours, was so much better without him in it. You were the best gift to ever come out of that man. “
“It’s been quite the journey,” I say, thinking back to my life growing up. Glad I’ve been able to make her life easier.
“It has. But life is filled with ups and downs. It’s how we deal with them that counts. You have to decide now whether Elijah Frazer is worth fighting for. Whether your life is better served with him in it or not. It’s not just about what he wants.”
I know what I want. But whether what is currently broken can be neatly fixed, I don’t know.
The cracks are getting wider, and Elijah seems to have shut me out.
But is he worth fighting for?
Hell, yes.
CHAPTER 60
ELIJAH
Time has stood still. My head and body feel like I’ve been on the fast spin cycle, my thoughts tumbling and churning.
Concern for Lottie, and now Kat, trying to make sense of my life and how I’ve ended up where I am. Wondering what the hell I did to deserve this?
My phone rings, and Gabriel’s name pops up.
“Hey,” I say, connecting the call.
“Elijah, how are you? Caleb is here with me.”
“Hey,” Caleb’s voice comes over the phone. “We just wanted to check in and see how you’re doing?”
What he really means is, he’s called into Gabriel’s office on the way to work, and they’re sitting drinking coffee.
I sigh. I’m tired of telling everyone life is okay when it’s not. I can imagine them staring at each other as the sound comes over the phone.
“Have you spoken to Mum?” Gabriel asks.
My stomach tightens. “No,” I say, more sharply than I probably should.
“No judgement from us. What she and Dad did was wrong. We’ve told her as much. She knows that.”
“I’m not ready to go there yet,” I admit.
Her knowing about Lottie and not telling me.
Part of me understands her logic. It was, after all, the same as mine, but for years, I’ve carried the weight of that knowledge alone and been forced to navigate Darra’s blackmail by myself.
“How’s Lottie doing?” Caleb asks.
“She’s devastated. Blames herself, thinks she’s ruined everyone’s life, however much I tell her thesins of the father,although in this case, her mother. This could have been avoided if Darra was honest with her, with me.”
“Her tenacity makes it hard to believe she isn’t a Frazer. Did you ever get to the bottom of how she disabled her tracker?” he asks before adding. “It shows that environmental factors are as important as biological ones.”
He should know. April was raised in the foster system. Her foster parents have had an enormous impact on her life.
