Luis stared at her. “What do you mean?”
“Tom?” Ari gave a huff. “His name isn’t Miller at all. He’s some guy named Tom Somerset. He flies planes and his mother is—”
“Marnie Somerset,” Luis finished for her, his mouth dropping open. “She’s old money, Ari. One of her relatives was a first-class passenger on the Titanic. The family knew the Rockefellers. Her mother’s family were practically French royalty at one point. Holy shit, Ari.”
“You’ve heard of them too?” Ari shook her head again at her own unworldliness. “Sebastian informs me that I’ve hit the sperm jackpot,” she added wryly.
Luis looked once again at Reine. “You gave birth to Marnie Somerset’s grandchild?” He gave a long exhale. “That’s unbelievable.”
Ari nodded. “Sebastian told me.” She gave another bitter laugh, reaching into her jacket pocket and pulling out a faded playing card. It was creased and lacklustre — finger-worn from where she had rubbed at it. Sighing, she passed it to Luis. “Tom gave me this. A treasure from France.”
“The queen of spades,” Luis muttered, turning the card over in his hand. “I’ve seen this in your hands more times than I count.”
“I like to hold it sometimes,” Ari admitted. “When everything becomes too much, or I’m missing him, or wanting him, or needing to remind myself that he was real, that we were real,” she clenched her hand, “when I wanted to think that Reine came from a place of love, and not from some shitty place of abandonment.”
Luis looked stung. “She isn’t from a shitty place of abandonment. I love her. Sebastian loves her. You love her.”
“Yes, I know. But he was supposed to find me. He was supposed to come for me. He told me we were forever.”
“Reine has only ever known love,” Luis said softly. “She doesn’t need her asshole father.”
Ari looked at him sadly. “I know. But I loved him, and I believed him when he said he loved me too. I believed him when he said we were forever. And I believed him when he said he would come for me. But it was all lies.”
“Ari, honey—”
“Lies,” she said again, plucking the queen of spades from Luis’s hand. “Lies that I believed, and all paid for with a cheap magician’s playing card.”
Before she could think twice, Ari viciously tore the queen in two, the rosebud lips on the regal face turning into an eternal scream as the card ripped in half. She crumpled the pieces in her hand before tossing them onto the table. Momentarily, regret rippled through her. She’d had that card for so long. Had loved it for so many years.
“Ari,” Luis exhaled. “Oh, Ari.”
But Ari shook her head, sitting taller and straightening her shirt. “He never loved me, he lied to me and he used me. That’s the truth. A truth I think I’ve known for a long time,” she paused, looking at Luis sadly, “I just didn’t want to believe it. But it doesn’t matter now. It doesn’t matter at all.”
“What are you going to do?” Luis asked her. He glanced once again at Reine. “I mean, if this Tom Somerset guy reallyisTom Miller, and you never know, he might not be—”
“He is,” Ari replied. “I feel it.”
“Okay, so, say he is, and say he knows he’s Reine’s...” Luis trailed off. “Well, if heknowsabout her, is he really just going to sit back and do nothing?”
“I don’t care about him,” Ari lied, “or what he wants. Reine is mine.”
Relief fluttered across Luis’s face, and once again Ari was forced to acknowledge the bond he had with her child. Luis had always been fiercely protective of Reine, loving her intensely. From the moment she’d been born, he’d looked out for her, helped to raise her and taken on a far greater role in her life than Ari had ever intended. Whenever she and Sebastian were out on the wedding circuit — a frequent occurrence — Luis stepped in to care for Reine. He’d designed wedding gowns with her by his side, he’d taken her to fashion weeks across the world, first inbaby carriers, then strollers, and finally with the child walking beside him and holding tight to his hand.
“She’s my little sunshine, and my protégée,” he’d once said in an interview, and Ari had felt a knot of worry at their closeness.What if Tom comes?she would ask herself.What if he comes to take them away and she has to leave Luis and Sebastian behind?
Not that it mattered now. Not now that Tom Miller’s —no, Tom Somerset, his name is Tom Somerset, Ari reminded herself — true colours had been revealed.
“He’s marrying Sasha,” Ari said, suddenly feeling overwhelmed and tired. “Miss Teen Rhode Island,” she added bitterly. “He won’t want a child hanging over that. He won’t want me around.”
“So, what will you do?” Luis asked again.
Ari chewed on her lip.
“Nothing,” she decided. “Carry on as normal. I’m going to bet that Tom... Tom won’t want anything getting in the way of his nuptials with Sasha. He won’t want Sasha finding out about his past infidelity. So, I’m going to return to that house and act as though everything is completely fine. I’ll plan his fucking wedding,” she added viciously, “and I’ll do an amazing fucking job of it too.”
Luis glanced at her in surprise. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I just need to get this job done so we can get the hell out of here,” Ari replied. “And then I can get on with the rest of my life. One that I won’t spend waiting for someone who’s not coming. One that I won’t spend wondering about him.”
