Donovan’s brows pulled together. “You’re the one who sent the men after her and burned her penthouse up?”
She rolled her eyes. “Who else would even care about this girl to go to such lengths?”
Donovan smirked. “Well, I do own an empire, as well as my family, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a target on her back, but this changes things drastically.”
My world was spinning out of control, and there was nothing I could do about it. I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream. I hadn’t even met Donovan’s family yet and I needed to keep it cool, at least for a little while longer. “Why?” The broken word slipped past my lips, and the satisfaction written on my mother’s face was enough for me to wish I hadn’t said anything at all.
“Why? My husband of almost fifty years left almost everything toyou. The actual illegitimate one of all of the children. Jane? Jane is a Fairchild through and through. Yes,I cheated on your father, but only after his mistress gave birth toyou.”
My world was now on fire and tilting off of its axis. Donovan somehow looked more shocked than I was letting on. “Why are you doing this now?”
“Why not?” My mother—or rather Mrs. Fairchild— threw her head back and laughed like the villain she was. “Why not ruin my daughter’s life in the same manner she ruined mine? I don’t know how the prenup came about, but I hope you have one in place for this,” She threw her hand in my face. “She will wring you dry because she was even a golddigger to my husband, her own father. You never wondered why you weren’t named with aJname, but everyone else was? Because I didn’t birth you. A whore did.”
They both spun on their heels as if they’d gotten the upper hand, but all I did was smile through it. It didn’t matter what they had to say; tonight was never about them. It was about me and how I was going to win.
The floor felt like it had tilted thirty degrees—but my face didn’t show it. I kept the same poised, lethal smile glued in place as more people mulled forward, even more intrigued than before.
The bastard child of James Fairchild. I could hear their thoughts screaming at me.How had she managed to snag all of his fortune? How did she manage to also snag a Madden?
The first whisper hit me like a freight train. It was a man sipping a whiskey by the bar. “What is her pussy? Gold?”
“Good thing you’ll never find out,” I snapped. As I turned away with my drink in hand. Just aclub soda with a splash of cranberry and lime. I couldn’t risk the alcohol after everything I’d been through. I took a sip and closed my eyes. I wanted and needed alcohol desperately.
“Is it true?” Donovan’s voice was low as he tucked himself beside me.
I shrugged. “I have no idea, though I suppose it makes sense, though I don’t know why he would leave everything to me.”
Donovan’s lips twisted. “Maybe he really loved his mistress.”
“I don’t think this is the time or the place to unpack my parents’ issues.” I let out a breath. I really needed therapy. Why hadn’t I set that up yet?
He reached for my arm, smoothing a hand over the cape draped across my shoulder, thumb brushing my skin in a gesture that was supposed to be soothing. It wasn’t.
“Poppy… if your mother sent men after you, we will handle it.”
A chill slid through me. I didn’t want her harmed, even though she wanted me gone from this world. The best revenge I could serve was pretending like she didn’t exist because if I knew my mother—obviously not as much as I thought I did— I knew this would bother her more than anything.
“What can I do?”
The question was so far left field, I didn’t even know how to react to it. Was it the outfit signaling this kind of reaction from him or something else entirely?
“When do I get to meet your family?”
Donovan’s face pinched slightly. “I was wondering when you would notice their absence.”
Ah, so his comforting wasn’t because he cared about me and the drama my family brought in, no, it was because his family still wasn’t here, and my drama happened to overshadow that.
Interesting.
“Are they usually late?”
He made a face that told me this was certainly the norm. “Yes and no. They are always on time for my brothers and sisters.”
“So what have you done to warrant such a reaction?”
I didn’t really care, though I was curious. Donovan Madden hadn’t been human to me in a while. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for his humanity to come back or not. I knew it would make killing him more difficult, but I was a glutton for punishment, it seemed.
“I spent all of my inheritance on traveling, women, and booze. I didn’t contribute to the family’s massive fortune and instead, worried about myself and getting my dick wet in every country possible.”
