Mom. If this is true, that would mean his mom is my… I collapse onto the bench next to him as my mind starts spinning. Dad never talked about my mom.Never. The only thing he told me was that she left and never looked back and that we were better off without her. She wasn’t even listed on my birth certificate, like she knew from the start she wasn’t going to be in my life.
“Did you know?” I whisper. Is that why Derek came to my dad’s funeral? Because we’re half-brothers?
But he swallows and slowly shakes his head. “No. I knew she…” He swallows again. “I knew she cheated, but my dad took me and left her only a couple of months later, after I…after he found out. We wouldn’t have known if she was…”
“Pregnant,” I finish, clasping my hands around the back of my neck. I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all, and I feel like I’m going to pass out. “If this is true, it’s no wonder your dad hates mine. If he really…”
“Yeah.” He sounds breathy, like he’s as lightheaded as I am. “I suspected, when we met. The timing of things… But I had no way to know for sure.”
I swear under my breath. He’s been sitting on this for almost a year? I don’t blame him for keeping it to himself, but this is kind of a big deal. “What do we do?”
“Find out if it’s true, first of all. Then we figure out howHot Scooplearned about it.”
I look up when Derek’s voice grows stronger. He lookspissedas he starts typing on his phone, and if ever I thought he was just a spoiled celebrity, I’m not thinking that now. He looks like a guy who can get things done, and that calms my panic enough for me to let my thoughts settle a bit.
The brother thing might not be true. It might be a tabloid making a desperate attempt for attention, and that’s fine because we’re still cousins no matter what happens. And if itistrue? Then that means I have an older brother. One who protects people.
Like I do.
This doesn’t have to all be on him.
Taking a deep breath, I sit up straight. “What can I do?”
Derek doesn’t look up from his phone. “I’ve got it.”
“Derek.”
He pauses at my sharp tone, eyes rising to meet mine.
“What can I do?” I ask again. “This doesn’t affect just you, and we’re in this together.”
He seems confused. Like no one has ever stepped up when he’s facing a problem. That’s not true—he has multiple people in his employ—but has anyone who isn’t on his payroll ever helped him? Maybe he hasn’tletthem help. Besides, I meant it. If whatHot Scoopsaid is real, this isn’t just about him.
I might have abrother.
“Let me help,” I say when he still doesn’t respond.
Sighing, he glances at his phone before shaking his head. “Thanks, but this will be easier on my own. I need you to look after Freya. Keep her away from the internet until we figure this stuff out.”
At least he saidwe, but I don’t like that he’s shutting me out. “You might be able to push your friends away, but you can’t do that with me. If any of this is true, then you know I can be every bit as stubborn as you.”
Derek might be my brother.I’m still struggling to process that, and I’m pretty sure he is too. But he’s had his suspicions for almost a year, so why am I the one keeping a cool head now? If anyone deserves to freak out, it’s me.
On the wild chance thatHot Scoopisn’t completely blowing smoke, I have a mom. One I can actually find because she’s a half-brother away from me.
She also abandoned me, so there’s that too.
I haven’t wanted to find her before; would I really want to find her now? Derek hasn’t talked about his mom before today, and I’m getting the sense he’s not exactly close with the woman. I wonder if he’s even spoken to her since he and his dad went off on their own.
Right before I was born.
As my mind starts spiraling into existential crisis mode—so much for a cool head—my phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out to check if it’s Gregor or one of the twins. Only, it’s Freya’s phone that buzzed, and now I’m staring at a text from Markham Grimstad, who wants to go on a walk with the princess.
Swearing, I resist the urge to chuck the phone off the tower and instead stuff it back into my pocket.
Derek, who returned his attention to his phone while I got lost in thought, frowns at me. “Something wrong?”
“Everything’s wrong,” I grumble back. “I got shot three days ago, you might be the brother I’ve always wanted, and the woman I love is being pursued by a guy who’s perfect for her.”
