I rubbed my brow then dragged a hand down my face. “I have no fucking clue what to do.”
“You do. There are three choices.” At my frown, she added. “You tell Rayden. Sianna breaks it off with him, or you leave them alone. Send him to go live with her in another goddamn country for all I care, but you need to sort this shit out, or it’s only going to get worse.”
I knew she was right. Yet my heart wasn’t ready to accept the loss of my son—or Sia for that matter. Rising, I grabbed my jacket, slipped it on, and followed my sister.
Half an hour later, as everyone moved into the dining room and took their seats, Trent walked in. “You made it?” I shook his hand as he took the seat next to me.
“Yeah. Fortunately, the luncheon hadn’t gone later than three and the weather eased up. Gave me plenty of time to get back.” He’d had a private Christmas Eve booking and chose to be present to meet the family.
“Where’s Kyra?” I asked Tamara, seated on my other side.
“She’s at Cassie’s place?”
“I forgot.” I rubbed my brow, remembering my daughter was over at her best friend’s house. It was Cassie’s birthday. Those two never missed each other’s birthdays.
I looked up and frowned when Sia slid into a seat at the smaller table my mother had set up for Neha, Nicky, and a friend of the family’s seven-year-old daughter. I glanced around, noticing all the seats at the adult’s table were occupied, wondering how’d they miscounted. “Who did the table set-up?” I nudged Tamara’s elbow.
She glanced away from the woman she was chatting to. “Angela.”
My brow shot up. “Is that why Sianna doesn’t have a seat here?” my voice carried over the table. Rayden and his mother turned to look at me.
As if he’d noticed for the first time that his girlfriend was missing, he glanced behind him. “Babe?”
She looked up from an in-depth chat with Neha and the other little girl. “Yes.” Sia’s flushed cheeks warmed my body. But only if someone looked closely would they notice the red-rimmed eyes, courtesy of the tears I’d caused. I closed my eyes, wishing I could cross the room, pick her up, and promise her she’d never cry again.
“What are you doing there?” Rayden asked. I opened my eyes.
“Er...” She gave him a cheeky grin. “Having dinner with my friends.” She giggled with Neha.
God, what was it about that woman? She had my heart in a tailspin with just a smile. Her easy indifference toward etiquette I’d been raised to adhere to was refreshing. Yet, I didn’t doubt her class. Tamara squeezed my hand, and I shifted my gaze. Slowly, she shook her head. Were my emotions that easy to read? As if she read my mind, my sister nodded.
“No, babe, you need to sit with me.” Rayden’s laugh pulled my gaze.
“Where exactly would you like me to sit? Turkey on your lap?” Sia’s laugh was infectious. She had everyone laughing except Angela. I watched my ex-wife’s smile she’d bestowed to the gentleman next to her morph into a scowl.
Rayden glanced around the table then offered her an apologetic smile. “Oops, sorry, babe.” He scraped back his chair. “I’ll sit with you.” He’d just made me a proud father with that little gesture.
As he stood, though, Angela rolled her eyes. “Oh, come now, Rayden. I’m sure Sianna is used to sitting at the children’s table. She is, after all, just a child and would probably feel uncomfortable with the adults.” Her laugh grated on my nerves and my fingers tightened around my wine glass.
“It’s okay, Ray, I don’t mind,” Sia responded. I glanced over at her, amazed by her shrug after those scathing words.
Had it not been for her expression, she would’ve probably sold me on her nonchalance. I’d seen that look before. On the face of a beautiful woman who’d appeared weighed down by her dismal life while she sat in the middle of a terminal floor indifferent to the people that passed her or that she needed to get up and carry on living. My money would’ve made a difference to her lifestyle, but she chose not to take it, and now having gotten to know her better, I understood. Not only was she independent, she was a fighter, taking each day as it came, no matter what life threw her. Always picking herself up in the hopes it would change one day and her knight on a white horse would save her.
I shifted my gaze to Rayden, waiting for him to say something, to defend the girlfriend he loved, to his mother. He glanced up, his eyes meeting mine, and gave me a slight nod as if reading my mind.
He turned to look at his mother. “You know what, mom.” She frowned at him while the rest of the table watched on. “Since you’re a guest in this home, I think you owe my girlfriend an apology.” His mother opened her mouth to say something and Rayden’s hand shot up. “Not only for the comment about the dress, but your behavior right now. I think you should vacate your seat so that Sianna can take her rightful place. She is going to be the next queen of the Princeton kingdom, after grandma, that is. Since you didn’t fit the role.” He winked at his grandmother, earning a little chuckle from her.
Surprisingly, my father remained quiet throughout the entire fiasco. Maybe he was finally catching on to his ex daughter-in-law’s hysterics and she didn’t disappoint, drama queen that she was.
“How dare you?” Angela shot up from her seat, frowning at her son. “You bring a slut into this house—”
I had enough. “Apologies for disrupting dinner.” I stood. “If everyone will excuse me, I need a word with my ex-wife.” Surprised glances from everyone around the table followed me as I approached Angela. She jumped when I grabbed her by the arm and hauled her non-too gently away from the dining room. The woman was petrified, especially when I shoved her into the library. “What the fuck are you playing at, Angela?” I glared at her.
She took a step back, righted the sleeve of her dress that had slid down with my rough grip before her gaze flicked up to meet mine. “I want back in.”
My brow creased. “Back in? What the fuck does that mean?”
“Oh, come on, Drake, we were married for a fucking long time.” She inched closer, reaching out to run a finger along my arm. I cringed at the touch and shoved her hand aside. We hadn’t been intimate for more than ten years, I wasn’t about to start now. “You don’t just call it quits without feeling some sort of regret. I know I do. This separation has gone on long enough, it’s time for me to come back home.”
