Page 78 of Toxic Kiss

“Did you talk about your issues,” Mom asks. She just can’t help herself. I look around the car, and all eyes are on me.

“What issues are you referring to?”

“You know what I’m talking about?”

“Mom. I’ve told you multiple times that I did not take anything. And I know that Dr. Stevens didn’t tell you that I was, so why are you bringing this up again?”

She presses her lips together and doesn’t say anything. She wants to, but I’m not so sure it’s a good idea. Fuck. Fine if she wants to have this out in front of everyone in here? Then we will.

“Is that what you really think? That I was doing drugs and overdosed?” I lock eyes with the woman who gave birth to me, but I can’t find a single maternal instinct in her.

“Well…it is obvious. Is it not? It’s just us in here, it’s time to come clean.”

I raise an eyebrow at her.

“You mean like how you confessed to Dad about your affair with Auguste right before he stormed out, got hit by a drunk driver, and died?”

The air is suddenly sucked out of the vehicle. No one moves as I glare at my mother. Words that I’ve never said aloud before have just been dropped like a grenade.

My guys go still. Declan stiffens. At least Mr. Gaillard has the decency to look ashamed.

My mother’s fingers grip her purse.

“That’s not fair,” she breaths out. For the first time in a long time, she doesn’t look so sure of herself.

I let her see the full weight of my anger and hurt. I let her see how a large part of me hates and blames her and Mr. Gaillard for what happened to my father. My dad may not have made millions, but he was a good father, and he loved my mother. She cast him aside the moment she saw an opportunity to move up in the world.

“Neither is being blamed for his death when it wasn’t my burden to carry. How many times have you told me that the fight you two had before he left that night was about my music career and moving to California? Huh? How many?”

Her face turns red, and she shifts nervously.

“You know?”

“Yes. I know. All this time, I let you believe that I wasn’t home, that I’d stayed the night at Mark’s house. I heard the fight that destroyed our family. I heard Dad cry as you ripped his heart out. And my heart broke when the door slammed, and he raced out of the driveway. You put my father’s death on me because you’re a coward so don’t you dare talk to me about truth or coming clean.”

She blinks, and her armor cracks for the first time.

“I was scared, and I…” She looks at Auguste. “I didn’t want to sully Auguste’s reputation. His wife was on death’s door, and I knew that his name would be dragged through the mud. You’ve seen what those piranhas can be like.”

“So, you let your twelve-year-old son believe that he was the reason for his father’s death? Wow, that is so much better. Thanks for the trauma and scars mom,” I snarl.

And just like that, the cracks are smoothed over as her expression changes. Once more, she is back to being cool and composed.

“You have such a flair for dramatics, Cyrus.”

“And you have a talent for pretending to care when the cameras are rolling. There are none in here, so cut the crap. You’re not worried about me, you’re worried that I’ll cost you millions.”

Her lips purse into a flat line, but she stays silent.

“Cyrus, that is no way to talk to your mother, none of us are perfect,” Mr. Gaillard says, and my angry stare lands on him.

I’ve spent so much time bottling this up for the sake of my career. Mr. Gaillard is my ticket to all I’ve ever dreamed. My father saved for over a year to buy me my first guitar, and I told him that I would make it one day.

But now…something in me has changed. I don’t care if I lose everything as long as I have Haven. I’ll give it all up. Every last fucking cent, the cameras, the popularity. It took a long, hard road for me to understand that there are things in this world worth fighting for, and kissing this man’s ass is no longer at the top of my list.

“Don’t start with me. I have thirteen years of anger begging to be released. I’m all too happy to fill the entire world in on how you were fucking while my father was away on business trips and your wife was in chemo. You two thought you were so clever.” I shake my head and then lean a little closer. “I have videos. I installed nanny cams that I borrowed from Mark’s house. And yes, I still have the footage.”

His face pales as my mother gasps.