My mom was dead.
In a way, I was glad James’ call had come the afternoon after I’d taken Billie back to school. At leastthen, she didn’t have to witness me collapsing to the floor as grief so powerful plowed into me like a tsunami.
But she was the one person I wanted nothing more than to wrap my arms around, hold her tight to me, and never let go. I wanted to tell herthattherewasnothingshe could dothatwould make me abandon her, nor would there be anyone on this planetthatI would choose over her.
Unlike my mom, who didn’teventry to reach out to me after my dad ostracized me from the Carter family.
Since the call, I’d been in a daze, a flurry of emotions dominating my every waking thought. I’d always held onto hopethatone day, I’d reunite with my mom, and she would finally meet her granddaughter. Other times, I was so fucking angry at her for siding with my fatherthatI never wanted to see her again.
And now, I never would.
Alec had taken full advantage of my comatose state. He fucked me every night, and Ijust… lay there and let him. I didn’t have it in me to carethathe was touching me, nor did I have it in me to care what Jackson would do if he found out I’d had sex with Alec.
The only thing I cared about was not getting a chance to say goodbye to my mom.
Jackson hadn’t been near or by since the day I came home to find him playing poker with my daughter. The same day I was certain he’d felt long-forgotten feelings stir from the depths of his soul,justlike they had for me.
Until he bolted.
His silence followingthatnight was like an invisible knife to my already bleeding heart.
The pain of losing my mom was at its worst on the fifth day after learning of her passing. It was my mom’s funeral, and despite James’ best attempts to convince my father to allow me to attend, he had forbidden it.
I wasn’t sure how many more barbs piercing my heart I could handle.
The clock continued to tick as I stared at the bottle. The only time I’d drunk in the last week was at Jackson’s cottage, andeventhough Billie was back at school, part of me didn’t want to give in to the urge to drown my sorrows.
I didn’t want to turn into an alcoholic motherthatBillie was ashamed of.
Slumping back against the chair, a lone tear slid down my cheek. I didn’t bother brushing it away, knowing I had a flood of them waiting to fall. I’d been keepingthem in over the last few days after Alec pinned me against the wall by my throat and told me to stop being a whiny cunt.
Thankfully, he’d left for a business trip yesterday, and I could allow my tears to fall without risk of repercussions.
Tick. Tock.
Tick. Tock.
Tick. Tock.
Somewhere in the house, the faintest noise reached my ears. I didn’t tear my gaze away from the wine bottle, telling myselfthatI could havejustone glass andthenstop. But my body tensed when a thickness descended around me, and the scent of musk filled the air.
I gave in, reaching across to grab the bottle of wine and pouring myself a full glass. I couldn’t deal with Jackson and his twisted games. Not tonight.
For whatseemedlike an eternity, neither of us spoke, and although I hadn’t turned to look at him, I could sense his presence hovering in the doorway.
“I’m sorry about your mom,”he said, breaking the silence.
I gulped a large mouthful of wine, relishing the tang on my taste buds.“Did you go to the funeral?”
Shuffling from behind indicated Jackson had moved. He appeared next to the couch dressed in a black suit, the tie undone, and hanging loosely around the collar. He sat down, his bent elbows resting on his knees.
“I’ve been in Miami for the last few days. My flight home was delayed, so I missed the service, but I made it to the wake.”
I bobbed my head several times before finishing the remainder of my wine in one go. I guessedthatexplained why he hadn’t pestered me until now.“Was he upset?”
Jackson sighed as he tugged his tie free and tossed it onto the table.“What do you think?”he replied, knowing exactly who I was talking about.
Refilling my glass, I wiped the tear away.“I think my father is incapable of feeling anything. Andthatincludes toward the woman he was married to for thirty years.”
