My heart drops into my stomach. My chest tightens.
Of course they had to interrupt me telling my husband that I love him.
It’s like everything is getting in the way of our relationship, and I’m tired of it.
My mother’s high-pitched, sugary-sweet voice washes over me, sending a chill down my back. “Holly, sweetie, it’s so good to see you.”
I’ve always hated that voice—her fake society voice she uses to seem more elegant and polished. Too bad I know it’s fake. I’ve heard her screaming while drunk, spewing curse words like a sailor.
I fold my arms and turn to face them head-on. Mateo’s hand drops to my lower back, and I savor the peace just his simple touch brings. He’s grounding me in the storm that is about to break loose, and I couldn’t love him more right now if I tried.
“Mother. Father." I keep my tone even and calm, even though a hurricanerages inside me. "What are you doing here?”
Mother titters and waves her hand in the air. “Oh, Axel invited us. We’ve been such good friends, so when we told him we were in town, he said we should come.”
My eyebrows draw together. “Who is Axel?”
Mother titters again, the noise grating on my nerves. “Oh, of course you probably know him as Rodney. We’ve called him Axel since your dad went to university with him. Now he goes by Rodney in the professional field.” She lets out a dramatic sigh, and it takes a herculean effort to hold in my eye roll.
Mother flips her hair before resuming talking, and the movement sends a wave of musky perfume over me. “But you can never forget your friendships from college. That’s why Axel Rodney Miles is the person we trusted to watch over you when you stopped answering our phone calls. He’s been keeping us updated and manipulating your clientele for us. He’s so very kind, unlike our own son and daughter.” Her words are laced with venom. Her eyes narrow at me as her façade drops.
I’m frozen, processing the atomic bomb worth of information she just casually threw out into my life.
Rodney is best friends with my father?
I look at my father, who’s sipping an amber liquid and not paying attention to the conversation.
My parents asked Rodney to look after me.
They asked Rodney to be my mentor, and he’s been a part of my life because ofthem.
Myparentshave been spying, meddling, and manipulating me through Rodney.
My hands shake and my knees wobble like they’re Jell-o.
An arm wraps around my waist, and I’m pulled back into Mateo’s chest. His warmth soaks into my back, thawing my shocked body and calming the anxiety racing through me.
I lean on his strength as my professional world collapses into my personal life.
I had tried to keep myself distant from my parents.
Turns out they never left me alone.
My throat hitches. I hold back tears even as my eyes burn. “Why?”
Mother takes a sip from her champagne glass. “When your brother decided to be independent and take charge of his own career, we didn’t think anything of it. It wouldn’t hurt for him to take care of you while we traveled and networked. Why do you think it was so easy for him to get custody of you when he turned eighteen?”
She laughs as if that decision hadn’t been traumatizing for a young teenage girl.
“When you turned eighteen, we realized we might have made a mistake. You didn’t listen to us anymore.” She rolls her eyes before smirking. “We asked Axel to pose as your mentor so we could feed him ideas and suggestions to help you grow in your field. Saying we’re connected to you, one of the best public relations reps out there, opened doors for us. We’ve been invested in your career ever since.”
I want to vomit right here on this granite floor all over my mother’s eight-hundred-dollar suede shoes.
Rodney’s betrayal is like a poison, knowledge forced down my throat and paralyzing me with its implications.
Mother continues talking and sipping her champagne, as if she hasn’t just shattered my reality.
“When Alex made it big in that dumb soccer movie, we noticed you started getting more attention. We’ve been picking out men you should marry and having Rodney set you up with them. Too bad you ruined it all by marrying this hillbilly. He does nothing for you, Holly. Divorce him and marry one of the men we’ve chosen. Jorge was my favorite choice, wasn’t he, darling husband?”
