“Why don’t you explain, Meena?” Aria answered. She caught the deadly look her stepmother cast her way. Without a word, the woman sauntered off and sat down. She grabbed her drink and downed the contents greedily. Aria shook her head with a grimace. “She’s Prisha’s mother,” Aria announced in a pragmatic voice then burst out laughing. The look of utter shock on each woman’s face was priceless.
“Who’s the father?” Tiny recovered first.
“My wonderful husband.” Another burst of shocked gasps followed by bewildered countenances would win Aria the noble prize as the photographer of the year.Damn, no camera.
Reece enjoyed this divulgence a little too much. His hand on her waist gave a short squeeze of pleasure.
“Nonsense,” Neeta retaliated.
“Wanna bet?” Aria was through playing nice. “Heard of DNA testing? A simple procedure really, isn’t it, Meena.”
Her stepmother leaned her head against the backrest. She massaged her brow in an apparent headache.
“Is it true, Meena?” Tiny dropped into the seat next to her sister-in-law and shook her leg in exasperation. “How could you?”
Meena opened her eyes. She leveled Tiny with a frigid scowl. “Do you have any idea what I had to put up with?”
“Doesn’t give you the right to screw another woman’s husband. Not that it made much difference to me.” Aria arched a brow, strode away from Reece, and stopped in front of her stepmother. “What exactly did you put up with, Meena. My father gave you everything. You even took away his love for his only child. How do you repay him? Not with kindness. Tell me, did my father pick you up in a pub or a strip club? Is that where you met Jay. You know the saying about two peas in a pod and all—”
“Jay’s our aunt’s illegitimate son,” Rosie blurted out then slapped a hand to her mouth when she realized her blunder.
“What?” Stunned silly, Aria gawked at Rosie then looked at Meena.
“I’ll repeat this. You, woman, are a fucked-up piece of work.” Reece glared at her stepmother.
As though she wanted to clear her name, Rosie spilled more information. “Interested only in her beauty and men, his mother spent hours in front of the mirror while she got ready for her many dates. As a result, she neglected Jay. Meena helped to raise him. Only, he became troublesome. At age sixteen, he was sent to juvenile hall for two years after he’d attacked a girl he dated. He cut up her face because she spent more time in front of the mirror than on him—”
“Shut up,” Meena hissed, but Rosie ignored her sister.
“On his release, he returned a different person. He hated everyone, his mother more so.” Rosie avoided her cousin’s gaze as she explained. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry Meena made you marry him, Aria.”
The divulgence wasn’t as shocking as Aria expected. “So, he had mommy issues. It’s no wonder he took to disfiguring women. Isn’t that right, Meena? Guess you and his mother didn’t raise him right.” Her sarcastic tone drew her stepmother’s gaze. “Then again, sleeping with your nephew would make any man go psycho.”
“Enough.” Meena shot to her feet in anger. The flabbergasted action answered Aria’s questions. “I will not tolerate this insult in my house—”
“You mean my house.” Without thinking, Aria shoved at the woman’s chest. Meena fell back onto the couch with a cry. “You ruined our lives, bitch, and you’ll pay...” Tears blurred her eyes as Aria raised her hand, intent on slapping the woman. Meena cringed.
“It’s not worth it, babe,” Reece whispered in her ear. He took her raised hand in his and brought it to his lips.
When he turned Aria to look at him, she melted into his arms. The tears fell. He held her tight against his chest. Pent up frustration, anger, and fear forced resolute tears she’d held back for so long. He whispered words of comfort. The gentle reassurance of his arms firmly confirmed she belonged to a man who loved her dearly. It was real—he was real. Aria sighed as her tears slowed. God took away her father and replaced him with a caring man like Reece. His love, bold enough to make her forget all the wrong in her life.
“You should be ashamed to call yourself a mother,” Tiny’s stern voice scolded her stepmother. “Such disgusting behavior. And all this time, I believed you that Aria misbehaved,” her aunt’s angered voice made Aria turn.
She wiped at her wet face and reached for a document sitting snug in her jacket pocket. Papers, Betsy had found and given to Samantha’s father. She threw it at her stepmother. “Papa’s real Will. The one you hid and thought no one knew about.”
“I did no such thing—”
“Oh, cut the crap, Meena,” Tiny blasted. “After everything I’ve heard today, nothing you say makes me believe you’re not capable of hiding this.” Her father’s sister took the document from Meena’s lap and gave it a quick scan.
“What does it say, Tiny?” Rosie edged closer and peered over Tiny’s shoulder.
“My brother left everything to his daughter.” Tiny looked up. “Oh, God, I’m sorry I had no idea what pain you’d suffered. Please forgive me? I’ll go down on my knees if I have to,” she rushed on in anguish.
As she moved to squat, Aria stepped forward and grasped her aunt’s arms. “No. You believed a terrible liar.” She hugged her aunt tight.
Done, Aria eyeballed her stepmother. “I won’t stoop to your level of emotional destruction, Meena. You have exactly one hour to get your sorry ass off this property, and you’re only allowed to take your clothes.” Aria ignored her stepmother's gasp. “Samantha’s father applied for a restraining order against you. If you come anywhere near this house or me, you’ll face imprisonment without trial. Don’t bother arguing.” Aria held up a hand to stop the other woman from talking. “This is for your own good.” She handed Meena the restraining order.
Her stepmother took the sheaf of paper, scanned it, and stood. “What about Prisha?”
