The gates open for a little familiar red Maserati as more snowflakes fall from the gravestone sky. The driver takes their time coming down the drive, revving from first gear to second, back down to first as it slows even further to park. The door opens and a very familiar, conventionally attractive American steps out of the vehicle, rounds the front of the car, and opens the passenger side to let out a very blonde, meticulously clean Matilda Barclay.
As the doorbell rings, another set of wise words from my earlier conversation with my grandfather narrows into a plan of action. “Take her to see him, Kanedrew. But watch the way she reacts. She isn’t here for you. She's here to save the beast from you.”
Well… I just can’t let that be.
If she’s here for him… then they can die together. At least I’ll finally be free of this maddening obsession.
ChapterTwenty-Six
Sabrina.
My stomach collapses through my arse and falls straight through the hardwood floors beneath me when I see not only my mother but also my Parker standing beside her. My pink parts grow warm and tingly at the sight of him. He looks like he hasn’t slept very well, and I probably look the same. His mismatched eyes connect with mine, and I swear my heart stutters and stops.
He swiftly lifts a brow and lets it drop, keeping his features neutral, and I understand exactly what he’s saying— “Don’t break, baby. Just a little more.”
My knees buckle a tad at the need to run to him; to jump on him and kiss him and cradle him to my chest and hear him tell me he loves me, that he’ll never leave. I will my legs to carry me further into the den. “Mum, what are you—”
“Matilda!” Mr. Ainsworth booms from the other entrance, with a smile on his face. He makes his way towards us and opens his arms in a welcoming hug. It feels like a Judas moment.
Mother leans into it. “Alfredrick.”
I swallow my snort, and my mother’s nostrils flare in my direction in that motherly way, telling me to behave just before they pull away.Alfredrickdrops his hands to his front and clasps one over the other. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Right. Well, you’ll have to forgive me, Alfredrick. I haven’t heard from my daughter in days, and well, that’s unusual for us. She and I are close. I had to come see her for myself.”
Mr. Ainsworth nods in understanding. “Well, as you can see, she’s perfectly safe here. No harm has come to pass to your daughter. As a matter of fact, it’s been such a… joy having her here.” They both deadpan my way, and I smile my most dazzling smile.
My mother arches a groomed brow. “Right. Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to speak to her privately.”
Alfredrick’s lips form a thin line before he so graciously agrees and leaves us.
I sit on the sofa, and Mum takes my lead, sitting beside me, her knees and body twisted toward me. She places her hand on my knee and squeezes ever so gently. “Tink?”
“Yes, Mum?”
Her green eyes shine as she looks me over, reaching over and pushes my hair away from my face as mothers do, wincing when she notices the flare of hives along my neck.
“Is it bad?”
She fixes my hair to hide it again and lies to me as expertly as she can, though the sadness in her eyes overflows. “Nothing a chamomile and oat milk bath won’t fix when you’re home.”
Home. The rudimentary word feels heavy and foreign in my mind. Granted, it’s only been but a few days since I’ve been at Barclay House, but it feels like years. It feels like eons since I’ve been in Maksim’s arms, and it feels even longer since I’ve been in Parker’s embrace. I can feel his eyes on me, but I know if I look up, I'll break. And I can't have that. Not now. Not when I'm so close. I lower my voice. “Please tell me there’s a plan because they’ve taken him back down to the facility he’s in, and I’m going to go in. The nurse that’s been in charge of helping him, Alice, is going to help me break in.”
Mum also lowers her voice. “And how do you know you can trust her?”
I lift a shoulder and let it drop. “Because she’s been helping Maksim and I… erm…” I flick my gaze to Parker and he smirks. There go my pink parts. “Get together.”
Mum lets out a soft laugh and pats my knee, leaning closer. “I hope you know I’m going to write this story, Tink. It's going to be an international bestseller. I can feel it in my bones.”
“Well, I have to survive it first. But this nurse. Her name is Alice. She says her mum was Sarah.”
Mum leans back, eyes wide. “Sarah?”
I nod. “You know her?”
She clears her throat. “Ah, yes. Well, you may not remember this; it was right before our last move from the States back to Kensington before your brother passed, you might have been nine…” She puts her fingers on her forehead as if trying to recall. “But do you remember when I called Kane’s mother a maid-stealing cow?”
“That was her?”
