Page 70 of Lust & Lies

“It won’t take much for her to replace you in his heart over time,” Grandpa Park stated.

“I’ve told you over and over again that love is an illusion.

It’s not real. It’s a feeling that comes and goes depending on the situation and sometimes, even a person’s mood.

You can’t depend on love. But you can depend on power, on skills.

Focus on your skills and let Ellie focus on hers. ”

“I guess the skills you’re speaking of for me are my ability to complete a mission. What are Ellie’s skills? What makes her the perfect granddaughter-in-law candidate?”

“She’s obedient. You hate small talk, but she can work a room as the perfect hostess.

Aiden needs someone like that, since he’s like you and doesn’t enjoy being around too many people.

She can engage with the wives of his associates.

You find those wives to be clueless decorations for their men.

And you find their husbands to be hypocritical bastards who only think with their privates. Isn’t that what you called them?”

I swallowed, knowing he was referring to that one time I went to an event in place of Ellie. He’d told me to mingle with the guests. But one of the women saw her husband flirting with me and got upset with me, not him.

To embarrass me, she waited until he walked away, then she and her coven of brainless bitches approached me. The woman tried to pour her champagne on me after I told her that it was her husband flirting with me, not the other way around.

I hadn’t meant to break her wrist. It was a reflex. I swear it was. Yet, she’d acted like I’d damn near killed her. I’d had my wrist broken before, and I’d never cried that loud. My actions had only proven to Grandpa Park that I couldn’t handle being by Aiden’s side.

“I can learn to mingle with those people,” I said, knowing that I would hate every second of my life if I had to do that.

“No, you can’t because that isn’t you. And there’s more that you’d have to do.

The bottom line is that you’re just not the one for Aiden.

Ellie is. Under the right circumstances, Aiden could come to like Ellie.

I don’t expect him to love her. I don’t want his judgment to be clouded by fleeting emotions.

I just want him to have her by his side, to have a helpmate.

You saw the way he held her. It won’t be long before he accepts his fate. ”

“Never. Right now, he’s drunk and confused. He thinks it’s me. But if I called and told him it wasn’t me, he’d kick her out. Hell, he may even try to kill her for doing this.”

I rose from my seat, pulling my phone from my pocket. I needed to call him before he truly made a mistake.

“Make that call and you’ll regret it,” Grandpa Park told me.

“No, I won’t.”

“Noe, if you make that call, Aiden won’t be the only person you lose today.”

I froze, staring down at Aiden’s name in my phone. I had him listed under My Heart. Right now, my heart was breaking.

“What do you mean?” I murmured, unable to look away from those words.

My Heart.

“Sit down, Noah.”

“You know I no longer use that name,” I hissed.

“Sit down, Mist.”

“That’s not my name either,” I yelled.

Grandpa Park sighed. “You can never be Noelani Cartwright again. You know that. She died a long time ago. And that’s the main reason you can never be Aiden’s wife.

Under what secret identity would you use to marry him?

Even your driver’s license and your passport are under a name I allowed you to have once you were no longer able to pretend to be a boy.

Noa Pierce is a name I gifted you. And you used that name to try to run away from your obligations, away from the Watchdogs.

You want to use the identity I gave you to disobey me and marry my grandson.

I cannot allow that to happen. If his competitors were to do a background check on Noa Pierce, if they dug deep enough, eventually they’d find a flaw.

That flaw could ruin Aiden and our companies.

Ellie doesn’t have a flaw. She’s perfect for him. ”

“So, because of you, I’m supposed to live a life I don’t want?

Because of you, I can never be Noelani. Because of you, I had to be Noah until I was a teen who could no longer pretend to be a boy.

Then I was #325 of the Watchdog trainees.

Then I graduated to Mist. Now, I have to go by Noa Pierce, just so I can live as a woman.

But no matter who I am, no matter what name I use, I’m not good enough to be Mrs. Park, right? ”

“I never said you weren’t good enough...” he started.

“You say it every time you tell me Ellie would be perfect for him, and I wouldn’t.”

“We all have our roles to play,” he yelled.

“Yeah, in the story you’re crafting. I’m tired of having a role in your story. I want to write my own story, live my own truth.”

“You know who probably wished they could have a role in my story, or any story for that matter? Layla Hatfield.”

I took a step back, his words feeling like a dagger to my heart, to my soul.

“What?” I rasped. “Why would you say that? Why bring her into this?”

He knew that was a sore spot for me.

“She died simply because she was at your parents' house, wanting to play with the babies. Your favorite person, Gertrude, lost her daughter because of you.”

“Don’t say that!” I yelled, shaking my head. “What happened was horribly unfortunate. But it wasn’t my fault. How could it be? I was just a baby.”

But this bastard knew that I blamed myself. I always blamed myself when something went wrong. And though Gertrude and Sam never treated me like I was at fault, I often wondered if deep down, they felt that way.

I knew I couldn’t replace their daughter, and they couldn’t replace my parents, but I tried my best to always be there for them, to care for them, and treat them like family. Partly, because I felt guilty that Layla died at my house.

But also because they were like family to me. The only family I had. Grandpa Park knew of my feelings of guilt. He knew because he’d instilled that guilt in me and encouraged it over the years.

It was subtle, but as I got older, I began to see his actions for what they were. I began to realize that he was manipulating me. He often told me not to rely so much on the Hatfields, and to try not to be a constant reminder of what they’d lost.

And when I’d ask if I could wear a dress or something pink when I visited them, he’d disagree, claiming it could make them feel sad since their own daughter wasn’t around to help them out at the orchard.

Over time, I’d felt guilty almost every time I was around them. I’d shouldered the blame that wasn’t mine. If anyone was to blame, it was the man in front of me. The man who sent my sister to my fiancé’s bed. I was done with this... done with him.

“I want out of my contract,” I told him. “If you really think of me as family, you’d allow it. As for me and Aiden, that’s our business. Not yours.”

He sighed. “It pains me that you really think you have a choice. It hurts me to see you suffering because you won’t give in.”

I’d never wanted to stab him before. Not the way I wanted to right this minute.

“I’m done talking to you.”

I turned to leave. His next words stopped me.

“People will die if you don’t agree to let Aiden go. People you love. You nearly buckle under the guilt you carry for Layla every time I mention her. And she’s someone you've never met. Imagine how much heavier the burden would be if you caused the death of someone you know and love.”

Ice-cold fear flowed through my veins.

“Sit down, Noe. Let’s talk about Gertrude and Sam and how their lives are now in your hands.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. It was official. I hated this man. I hated Aiden’s grandfather.