“Right. So you and Daddy Dearest decided to help the Andersons out by helping yourselves in the process. You marry Brian, taking the stigma of having a homosexual son away from Sloane, get him off Brian’s back, and you and your daddy come out on top.”
Matt shook his head as he paused. Even though Kat knew what his train of thought was way off base, she stayed quiet and let him get it all out.
“Your father profits out the ass from the success of the business—thanks in large part to you jumping on board and becoming the lab’s star scientist—and you secure your financial future by becoming Brian’s sole beneficiary. Not to mention securing your professional success.” Matt shook his head and scoffed. “Now that I say all that shit out loud, I’m thinking maybe the authorities should open up your hubby’s case again. Make sure he didn’t havehelpwith his suicide.”
Kat saw red. She could handle him throwing the other shit in her face, but this? Past or not, she refused to stand by and let Matt accuse her of hurting Brian.
With more tears streaming down her heated cheeks, Kat opened her mouth and spilled it all.
“How dare you?” she yelled loudly. “You havenoidea what it was like for Brian. Or me, for that matter.”
He raised a smug brow and crossed his large arms at his chest. “Why don’t you enlighten me?”
The fact that he’d tossed back the same words she’d used before they’d had sex angered her even more.
Asshole.
“You’re right. Brian was gay. He was gay and in love with a man named—”
“Chad Winthrop. I know.”
“Good. Did you also know Brian’s dad threatened to disown him if he continued with his ‘shameful’ lifestyle? Or that Sloane told his only son if he didn’t find a woman to marry and carry on the family name, he’d not only remove his name from the will, but also use his contacts to force Brian out of the job he loved. The job he was made to do?”
Matt stared back at her but said nothing.
“Brian and I met through a friend during my second year of college. We became close, as friends only. One night over coffee he confided in me about all the horrible things his father was threatening to do. He was a couple years older than me, but he was still just a kid. A kid wanting nothing more than his father’s approval.”
Kat slapped her chest and continued on. “I knew what that was like because my own father was constantly browbeating me to find a good, wealthy man to marry. The longer Brian and I talked that night, the more we realized we could help each other out.”
She licked away another tear. God, this was embarrassing. And hard. So much harder than she’d ever thought it would be.
“Brian and I decided to get married,” she continued. “Not for money or power or any of that. Yes, our fathers went into business together, but that was only because they became friends once Brian and I started our dating charade. Brian was a good man.” Kat’s voice cracked as she wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “He was a wonderful friend. My only one, really. So yes…I agreed to help him out. In turn, he helped me.”
Still looking like he wanted to throttle her, Matt asked, “Why’d he off himself?”
Kat cringed at the crass way he’d described Brian’s death. “He tried. He really did, but the longer we went along with the fake marriage, the more unhappy Brian became. I did what I could to help him sneak around to be with Chad, but after a while, it wasn’t enough. The idea of not being himself, to not be with the one and only person he truly loved…it tore him up inside.”
She wiped at her damp cheeks again before describing the second worst day of her life.
“I came home from the lab early one afternoon. I wasn’t feeling well, and nothing seemed to be going right, so I decided to go home and rest. Recharge so I could start fresh the following day.”
Kat closed her eyes, sending a new trail of tears down over her skin. She could still see the heart wrenching scene as clearly as if it had just happened.
“I knew something was wrong the minute I stepped inside. The door had been left unlocked, and Brian’s keys were on the kitchen counter.” She looked back at Matt. “He loved his job almost as much as he loved Chad. He never missed a day.”
Kat drew in a deep breath before continuing. “I called out for him, worried that maybe he had the same bug I did, but he didn’t answer. I searched the house, my concern growing with each empty room I entered. I found him in the bathroom.” “He’d shot himself in the shower.” She released a watery laugh. “I know it was to make the…clean-up…easier for me.”
The anger behind Matt’s eyes began to ease. Still, he remained silent.
“What you said before was true. I was Brian’s sole beneficiary. But if you or Derek had bothered to look more closely at my financials, you would’ve seen I used that money to set up several investment accounts. All in Chad Winthrop’s name. That’s who Brian loved. That’s who deserved to get his money. Not me.”
Matt blinked, visibly taken aback by what she’d shared. “I didn’t realize.”
“No.” Kat shook her head. “You didn’t. Because you didn’t bother to ask. You simply assumed and made accusations.”
Defensive, he gave her a look. “Come on, Katherine. How the hell did you expect me to react? The entire time we were together, your father hounded you to find someone better. Someone wealthier. The bastard even tried paying me off once.”
Her mouth dropped, but she was too shocked to say anything.
