"There's nothing more to say," Julian said, his voice hollow. "I was a stupid child, and I chose candy over my sisters' safety. I've lived with that choice every day since."
"I understand you're angry, Mr. Burke, but Julian was just a child when this happened. A child making a poor decision shouldn't carry the same weight as an adult making that same choice."
"Even a child should know the difference between right and wrong," Duncan said, his voice still carrying that terrible coldness. "Especially when it comes to his sisters' safety."
Julian felt tears burning behind his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. Not now. Not when he'd already shown himself to be weak and selfish.
"You're right," Julian said, his voice cracking. "I should have known better. I should have told you immediately."
"Do you have any idea what your sister went through because of your silence?" Duncan demanded, leaning forward in his chair. "Do you understand what you cost this family?"
Julian's throat tightened. Each accusation landed like a physical blow. The weight of his father's disappointment crushed him more thoroughly than any punch could have.
"I do," Julian managed to say. "I've imagined it every day since they disappeared."
"Imagined it?" Duncan's voice rose. "Angelica lived it! While you were enjoying your privileged life, your sister was being abused by those people. And for twenty-four years we thought—" His voice broke slightly. "We thought she was dead."
Julian couldn't meet his father's gaze anymore. The fury and pain there were too much to bear. He stared at his hands instead, noticing how they trembled despite his efforts to keep them still.
He said nothing because he realized, in that moment, there was nothing more to say. There were no words that would ease the weight of disappointment and anger his father had towards him.
Was this the end of his time in the family? Was this going to be the rejection he’d always feared?
“I need to go,” Duncan said, getting to his feet.
Julian didn’t move. He didn’t look up. He couldn’t bear to watch his father walk away from him, filled with anger and disappointment.
Dr. Carlisle followed Duncan out of the room, but he returned a minute later and took his seat behind his desk.
“I don’t think that could have gone much worse,” Julian murmured.
“It was a shock for your father,” Dr. Carlisle said. “With time, I’m sure he’ll calm down.”
Julian nodded, just because he didn’t want to talk about it anymore.
What he wanted more than anything was a drink. And then another one. And another one. Until he was drunk enough to numb the pain and wipe away the memory of this meeting so he could slip into the oblivion of sleep.
“How are you feeling?” Dr. Carlisle asked.
Julian mulled over his answer, mindful of their previous sessions. The man had an uncanny ability to sniff out untruths when it came to how a person said they were feeling.
“A little shocked,” he said. “I guess I was hoping for the best, which I should have realized was not the greatest approach.”
“I don’t think you were wrong to hope for the best,” Dr. Carlisle said.
Julian talked to him for a few minutes longer, then managed to end their session without revealing too much of how shattered he felt inside.
Hurrying back to his room, he was glad no one stopped him. He wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone right then, his thoughts too weighed down by his imagining how angry Angela was going to be when she learned the truth. And if Angela was angry and hurting because of him, as her sister’s protector, Kiara was sure to be furious with him.
The ache in his heart intensified, and all he wanted to do was walk out of the treatment center and find the nearest bar. The only thing that kept him from doing that was his son. If Kiara didn’t decide to keep him out of their son’s life because of all this, Julian knew he needed to have dealt with his past so he could be a good dad to him.
That had become extremely important to him.
CHAPTER TEN
Kiara smiled as she read her latest letter from Julian. He’d seemed happy about learning the gender of the baby. He’d even sent some name suggestions.
I’m partial to names like Tom or Jerry. Or even Fred or Barney.
