Page 31

I didn’t often drive myself places, but I owned a car, a cherry red Range Rover, and I knew how to drive.

Besides, I needed the space to clear my head and the time to really organize my thoughts. I had to think this thing through logically.

I wished Shelly was coming, but she had important doctor stuff to do, and well, I was being a baby about this, anyway.

I’d been on the phone with my mother when the story broke about the billionaire heiress who’d been duped into marriage and was being played the fool by her husband.

She sent Dad right over, of course, since the building was blocked off by reporters all wanting a piece of me. I couldn’t handle that alone.

Being born with money meant you had to put up with certain invasions to your privacy and attacks on your moral character.

It wasn’t fair. And yes it happened to folks without money, too.

But from my point of view, it happened to people like me just a little bit more. Like we could afford the slander and vile insults so we might as well take them.

And no, I wasn’t crying poor little rich girl. But it still stung.

Liam had come rushing to the penthouse as I was leaving with Dad, but it was too late. I did not want to hear it. My heart was breaking for the world to see, and he was still in the clothes he’d worn the day before.

Liam swore he didn’t cheat. That it was all a lie. Days have passed since, and he hasn’t come home for more than a few hours at a time.

“It’s just work,” he said.

Yes. Liam was busy with work. and I was here, going to this party alone. Without my husband.

I knew Dad had talked to him, and likely, he’d threatened him. But whatever Liam said, Dad must have believed him.

He told me there was some leak of security footage and after looking closely, I could tell it had been doctored. I didn’t think he cheated, but even the lie hurt me. It also hurt that he stayed away.

Fuck this. It’s Christmas time.

I’d leave it to the men to figure out the security thing. And if my husband was more interested in work than me, I really shouldn’t be surprised. This marriage was a merger. It wasn’t real.

Now, if only I believed that.

“Okay, Micky, put on your big girl panties and figure it out,” I told myself and turned up the volume on the Top 50 Christmas Songs of All Time Countdown I was listening to.

As I left the city, flurries began to drift down, turning the winter landscape into a scene straight from a snow-globe. It was late, and maybe I should have had the driver take me, but I needed this quiet time to myself.

Beyond the busy streets, bustling with holiday travelers, the woods that bracketed the roads looked untouched and serene.

As if Mother Nature herself thought it might be a good idea to drop a bit of beauty where anyone could just gaze and take in the perfect stillness as they passed.

Uncle Josef and Aunt Meredith bought this estate because of Clementine’s love for horses. It was a grand old house with tons of history and plenty of space. The ballroom was beautiful with gleaming marble floors and an enormous hearth decorated with equine statues that depicted a team of gorgeous stallions driving the chariot of the sun god, Apollo, himself.

I looked forward to seeing my family, despite the strained relationship between me and my parents ever since I married Liam. I worried my lower lip between my teeth.

I’d almost forgotten. But I really missed them, and I’d hoped the season would make them more open to accepting the choices I’d made. Hoped to be able to convince them by showing up with Liam at my side that I’d made the right decision, even if I had to be less than honest about why I’d made it.

Shit.

When had everything gotten so complicated?

I sighed loudly and turned up the volume, singing along with the carols playing happily, blissfully unaware of my inner turmoil.

Everything will be okay , I tried to convince myself.

It just had to be.

I thought about my cousins, my sister, my whole family, and the fun we’ve always had at this annual shindig. Uncle Josef used to dress up as Santa when we were little, and some of the younger kids would be fooled. I knew it was him, but I liked to play along.

Of all the homes my family owned, this one always stood out because of the animals. Connected to the main house by a covered walkway was the equestrian wing, where the stables sat in perfect harmony with the rest of the property.

The stables themselves were as luxurious as the home, with polished wood beams and brick walls, each stall meticulously cared for. The interior was airy and spacious, with wide aisles and large, well-lit stalls, each one equipped with modern comforts for the horses.

I was a shit rider, but Clem was pretty great. She even competed for a little while. But I always thought her love for the animals stopped her from getting serious about it. She hated how some people were willing to neglect certain aspects of their animals’ care just to win. My cousin would never do that.

For me, I just liked watching the beautiful creatures as they pranced around their paddock. Sometimes feeding them carrots and apples by hand and petting their fuzzy, velvety muzzles.

I was still twenty minutes away when the snow started falling in earnest, and I wondered if it would be difficult getting up the hill that led to the house. Good thing I had four-wheel drive.

My phone buzzed, notifying me that a text had come in. I couldn’t check since I was driving, but I wondered if maybe my husband had seen the message I’d sent him before I left.

It was the first one I sent him since he’d walked out on me after I told him I loved him. God, I wished I could take that back so many times since then.

A call came through and I hit accept before I could talk myself out of it. Only, it wasn’t Liam’s voice that greeted me.

It was a strange man’s voice, lightly accented, but one I did not recognize.

“You think you’re doing him any favors by forcing him to stay married to you?”

“E-Excuse me? Who is this?”

“You think he can just walk away from his promises to my daughter?”

“I-I don’t know what you are talking about?—”

“Do not be foolish. Liam O’Doyle has obligations, promises he must keep. Leave him now, while he is still in one piece. This is the last warning I will give you.”

The line went dead as I pulled to a stop in front of my uncle’s home. Behind the line of cars that had arrived ahead of me.

A parking valet came and opened my door, but I remained frozen for another minute.

My thoughts were deafening. So loud, they drowned everything else out. My heart raced as my brain filled with doubt and uncertainties.

Oh, I had an idea of who was on that call, but as to what he was talking about, that part remained a mystery.

“Miss? Shall I bring your bags up to the house?”

“Yes? Oh, um, no thanks, it’s just the one. I can get it,” I grabbed my small rolling suitcase and pulled it behind me up the freshly shoveled path that led to the front door.

Clementine was already opening it, her face bright and vibrant with holiday cheer, and I suspected a few cups of her mother’s famous rum punch.

“Micky! Come on, get dressed in my room,” she said, pulling me with her.

This was a formal affair, and she looked stunning in a jade green ankle length gown that was covered in sparkles.

I was grateful for her chatter as she explained who had arrived already and what guests were staying for the weekend.

“Lucy and Aella are already here, but they went to the stables to see Gingerbread’s new foal. She’s so cute, wait till you—whoa. You’re white as a sheet, Micky. What’s wrong?” she asked, pushing me onto her bed.

I lifted my head, like I was seeing her for the first time even though I’d been there for a full ten minutes.

“What’s wrong? Oh well, I guess I should start by saying I’m a big fat liar,” I said, lips wobbling as tears pricked my eyes.

“Hey! You’re here!”

Aella and Lucy came busting into the bedroom with Andrea and a couple more of my cousins with them.

Seeing them all so happy and carefree was just the last straw. I started crying. Like full on bawling.

“Oh my God!”

“Mick, what is it?”

The door opened again. This time it was my aunts.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Is that my baby?” my mother came in next with my little sister Leanna.

Next thing I knew, it was a whole family reunion, and I was a sobbing, incoherent mess.

Just feeling my mother’s soft embrace holding me to her was exactly what I needed. It was like truth serum. In seconds, I was confessing everything.

I told them what happened to me in that nightclub all those years ago. I told them how Margaret O’Doyle kept my secret in exchange for a promise and how I paid her back by marrying her brother at her request.

I explained how I’d always had a crush on Liam O’Doyle. How marrying him had been the secret fulfillment of a teenaged fantasy. How I actually wound up falling in love for real after just a few weeks of pretending.

I told them about our work at ODI. How it was everything I ever wanted. I explained about Clint and how that jerk got exactly what he had coming to him.

Anger, sadness, and remorse filled me as I spoke. Mingled with that were sparks of hope and love. Little shots of joy when I recalled how happy he made me and how much I actually liked the man I married.

Last, I confessed to all my cousins, aunts, my sister, and my mother how, after I told Liam that I loved him, he’d basically walked out on me.

“He hasn’t come home since then?” Clem whispered her question.

“How long has it been, Micky?” Mom asked.

“I haven’t seen him anywhere but work in over a week. And when I do, he’s just been passing by,” I murmured weakly.

“I’ll kill him,” a familiar voice growls from the doorway,

“Dad?” I squeak, jumping up from my mother’s arms.

“For hurting you? He dies,” my father said, turning around abruptly.

“You can’t! Daddy, I love him!” I yelled and my cousins snickered.

I closed my eyes, hearing it a moment too late.

“Oh my God! She sounds like Ariel,” snorted Lucy.

“Makes sense since Liam looks like hot Prince Eric,” Leanna, my sister, agrees.

“Really?” I ask, wiping my face.

“Adrik! You better wait for me at the end of the hall! Okay,” my mother yelled, clapping her hands to catch everyone’s attention. “This is what’s going to happen. All you younger ladies are going to get ready for the party and meet us downstairs in twenty minutes. I am going to talk Adrik down before he does something crazy, like murders your husband with his bare hands, and then we are all going to have a calm discussion about how to proceed. Understood?”

Everyone nodded, not daring to go against Sofia Volkov in a mood. And my mother was definitely in a mood.

I wiped my face and nodded along with the rest of them.

“Good. You have nineteen minutes. Now, go. Get moving!”