Washing a hand down my face, I replied with a shrug, “I’d do that for any woman physically mistreated by a man. I have a moral compass, you see.”
“Well, at least you were raised as a decent person, even if I wasn’t the one to do that.”
“Oh, I am far from good. Ask any of my brothers.” I only just managed to keep the frog out of my throat, as I spoke about my family: those I considered myrealfamily, anyway.
Luna’s head lifted as she curiously peered across at me. “You have brothers?”
“Stop changing the subject. Tell me about my father.”
Releasing an elongated sigh, she explained, “No, it was never anything like that. Your father was an important man, and I, I was a mistake.” That prickle of guilt vanished at the self-pity in her tone.
“So?” I couldn’t keep the bite out of my voice.
“Please, just let me finish.”
I did, but continued to watch her with an unimpressed expression. So far, the woman had done little to earn anything else.
As Luna lowered her hands to her lap, she glanced away. “When he found out about the pregnancy, he wanted me to get a termination.”
That revelation almost forced me to my feet, but I remained sitting. My legs were shaking, and I didn’t want to give my weakness away. “Motherfucker,” I swore under my breath, dragging her focus back. My pulse pounded in my eardrums.
Mommy not-so-dearest darted another look towards the room’s main entrance. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t cuss in here.”
I smirked unpleasantly. “Oh no,Luna, you don’t get to tell me to watch my mouth. Not now.” I hissed, my nostrils flaring with disdain.
Tapping my fingers against the cushions of the couch, I tipped my chin, glaring at her. “So, I was the dirty little secret, and the man who had sired me didn’t want to face the consequences of his actions. At least you had something in common with the douche.”
We both shifted in our seats, mirroring our shared discomfort. “He was married, Phoenix. And his wife was already pregnant herself.” I could see how ashamed she felt by sharing that chestnut. “His wife was in a poor emotional state at thetime, and there was a chance she could have lost her baby.” Her voice cracked, backing up my theory that she was ashamed. Ashamed for fucking a man whose wife needed him to be there for her.
At that point, my disgust forbothmy mother and my father intensified. “Fuck me. It keeps getting better and better. You should be on TV on one of those reality shows.” I suggested nastily.
My temper was hanging on by a thread. I only managed to calm down by reminding myself that Harper was in the next room. I didn’t want to bring her into any more unnecessary drama. “Who was he then?”
Smoothing her hair back, my mother replied in a surprisingly firm voice. “It doesn’t matter. It’s in the past. He doesn’t even know you exist.” Her words could have been considered cruel, but she said them in such a matter-of-fact way, like she was discussing someone else’s car crash of a life.
“So, youliedto him?”
Luna pursed her lips. That earlier shame had gone, and my mother now looked almost proud of her decision not to terminate her pregnancy. “Yes. He paid me off with several thousand dollars, but I didn’t get the abortion. I couldn’t go through with it.”
“You don’t say,” I snarled beneath my breath.
My mother swallowed, clearly upset by my outburst. “I knew it would have been wrong.”
“You knew it would have been wrong?” I echoed, annoyed that she attempted to play the martyr card.
“Yes. So, I disappeared for a while, went off the grid to stop him from forcing me to get rid of my baby, of you. I was scared, lost, and alone, and pregnant. I had no family or friends to turn to.”
I leaned forward in my seat, not able to grasp what she was saying. “How the hell could he haveforcedyou?”
“As I said, the man who fathered you was a powerful man, Phoenix. He was capable of anything.”
“Was?” I questioned. If she lied to me that he was dead, I’d smash something.
“Yes. Was, is.” And there it was, the fucker was still alive.
I laughed; it wasn’t a nice sound.
When she didn’t embellish her answer, I stated in a dark voice. “Well, maybe I should pay him a little visit too, surprise him? Considering he wanted you tomurderme.”
