My thoughts spin as I question my reality. Our reality.
How the hell did we get here?
“Listen to me.” Elijah’s words pull me back into the present. “You have every right to know who your biological father is. I just wish you’d spoken to me. You scared me, princess. You going missing?—”
My niece throws herself at Elijah. The sound of her heaving sobs echoes around the room, and I pinch my lips together to keep them from trembling.
Elijah pulls Lottie onto his knee and cradles her against his chest, the same way he always has. Tears well up behind my eyelids, but I blink them away. My brother loves his daughter, irrespective of her biology. Lottie is a Frazer. No one will take her away from us, that I vow.
My eyes return to Zach, and our gazes lock.
He flinches and lowers his head. He closes his eyes before opening them again. The look he sends me has a knot forming in my stomach.
“I wanted to marry her,” Zach says suddenly, pushing off from the wall and stepping forward.
My heart rate slows at the sound of his voice.
Focus.
“As Darra said, I wasn’t good enough,” Zach says, stumbling slightly over his words. “Her father threatened Dad. He’d just moved jobs, told me he’d set him up, that he had the power to do it. Showed me footage of… I couldn’t.”
Zach’s eyes are overbright, his voice shaky, as he tries to justify his actions.
My skin crawls, and I fight the urge to scratch it.
Zach is the eldest of five much younger siblings. They’d often come to stay with us when we lived together. If his dad had losthis job, or worse, it would have had devastating consequences for the family. I should feel pity, but instead the bitter tang in my mouth leaves me cold.
His eyes lock on Lottie. “Then he told me if I interfered and warned you, there’d be no baby.”
My hands clench as heat rushes through my body.
No, you bastard, you don’t tell a child that!
Lottie buries her head in Elijah’s chest at his words.
He kisses the top of her head before tilting her chin up to look at him.
“I told you once before. You may not carry my blood, but you willalwaysbe the daughter of my heart. Wherever you come from, however you came into this world. You will always be mine. I love you, Lottie Frazer, and I will always be here for you, no matter what.”
Her arms fly around Elijah’s neck, and I inhale a ragged breath.
“Zach is her father,” Darra spits, her nostrils flaring, her lips pulled back. “He was my lover for years, even after you threw me aside.”
There’s a pounding in my ears as my eyes move back to Zach.
Whatever he sees in my expression has his hands going to the sides of his head, the heels of his palms pressing down hard. Adrenaline rushes through my body, making me grip the cushion tighter as my vision narrows.
Everyone is looking at me. The need to flee is becoming overwhelming.
“Never show your true feelings or insecurities, Kitty Kat. That way, they can’t be used against you.”
Words from the past hit me hard.
Dad.
Instead of running, I allow the coldness filling my chest to expand outwards, leaving me numb, empty.
My hand goes to the chain I wear around my neck. I grip the pendant tight, and it digs into my skin, the discomfort grounding me.
