Sianna
THE NEXT MORNING AFTERRayden left with his grandparents and Kyra for her friends, I poured myself a mug of coffee and sat down at the breakfast table, planning my day. Yet, I couldn’t help wondering if Drake would return home. If not for his birthday, then at least to spend Christmas with his family. Although the last three days had been tough on me, I felt awful that he stayed away from his family because of me. Caught up in my silent thoughts, I didn’t hear Tamara enter until she waved a hand in front of my face, snapping me out of it.
“Morning, Sianna. Lost in thought, or have you fallen asleep?” She laughed.
“Morning. Given my restless night, I’m surprised my head’s not down on this table.” I couldn’t stop the stain on my cheeks, thinking about the reason for my current agitation.
At Tamara’s pensive stare, I realized I would’ve done well to shut up. When she looked away to accept a mug of coffee from Helen, I dropped my gaze and buttered my toast with a lot more attention than it required. Even when Tamara took a seat opposite me, I kept my eyes downcast, unable to look at her for fear of what she’d read in my expression.
“You have feelings for him, don’t you?”
Unsure why the soft question sparked a thousand-volts through my system. My head snapped up. I gazed at her for a moment before swallowing the piece of bread stuck in my throat. “Yes. I’m in love with Rayden.”
“I’m not talking about Rayden.”
Startled, I choked on my coffee and coughed to ease the liquid down. I couldn’t decipher whether she was angry or teasing. Her impassive countenance had me stumped. Tamara seemed like a wise woman, and it worried me what she knew. Had she seen me leave Drake’s bedroom? I remained speechless. Aware only of the erratic coil of my nerves and the rapid beat of my heart.
“As untoward as your behavior might be, I cannot judge you, nor can I blame my brother.”
That simple word had me dropping my toast and clenching my fists. “H-how.” I couldn’t speak. My tongue resembled lead. The acidic taste of guilt rolled into betrayal, soured my mouth.
Slowly, she set her mug down and reached for the butter. “Appearances can be deceptive, Sianna. It’s easy to fall for a man like Drake even after just one meeting, yet very few can see his pain.”
“I-I—” I broke off. What did I say? “What pain?” I finally found my voice.
She chewed a bite of her toast thoughtfully. Maybe she was contemplating whether to share her family’s secrets with me. I might be Rayden’s girlfriend, but I was still an outsider.
“A pain that my father had a major part in administering.” She took a sip of her coffee. I waited for her to continue, my toast forgotten. “Angela’s father was on his deathbed, and fearing no one would marry his daughter, he begged my father to take care of her. A little indiscretion at age fifteen left Angela pregnant. She aborted the baby, but not before everyone in and around town got wind of it, hence her father’s fear. Her only other relative, his sister, wasn’t married at that time and too young to shoulder the responsibility of a misfit. To show her father just how deep his promise went, my father got her married to Drake in a quick church ceremony that her father could witness before his death, a week later.”
The divulgence was a little hard to swallow. My heart ached for Drake and the pain he must’ve suffered over time. “So, it wasn’t a love marriage,” I whispered more to myself, still wondering why she saw the need to share this with me. Yet, as her pointer finger ran the rim of her mug, I sensed a need in her to talk.
She looked up. “It happened three months before Drake’s nineteenth birthday, and nine months later, he was a young father.”
“Wow. That’s pretty young for marriage.”
“My grandfather always maintained that we should believe in our dreams and, as far as possible, try to make them a reality and live by it. Unfortunately for Drake, he never got to believe his dreams or make them a reality. He was forced into a marriage he didn’t want yet did it to make my father happy. When Rayden was born, Drake accepted his life, responsibilities and made a go of the marriage until Kyra’s birth. Angela was just twenty-three at the time and decided she’d had enough of playing a mother. She wanted to get out of the house and work. While no one can blame her for being ambitious, she neglected her kids. Something, Drake never did.”
“Is that why they’re closer to him than their mother?” I remembered Rayden telling me about his relationship with his parents and that he’d never do anything without discussing it with his father first.
Tamara nodded. She sipped her coffee and leaned back in her chair. “My father always had a sweet spot for Angela. He overlooked her negligence even when my mother complained, and it’s why Drake never divorced her, but he fell out of love with her. I tried on numerous occasions to get him interested in someone to no avail. And then you came along.” She smiled, and I tensed as, once again, embarrassment flushed my skin. “The ideal distraction—at least I thought so at first. I figured Drake fancied you because he was looking for an outlet then after your one-night stand.”
“How—?” The words stuck in my throat.
Uttering a low laugh, she lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “The advantages of being his sister, I guess. I cornered him into revealing the details. You left without a goodbye, and I know it crushed him.”
