Page 93 of Power Move

“I cannot carry my bag. I am sorry,” Eva said. “I don’t even know what I packed and it’s heavy. I had to have help to get it out. I think your front desk guy hates me.”

“He doesn’t. He’s probably just worried about you. I’ll… I’ll sort the bag out in second,” I said. “The elevator actually goes up to the next floor with a special code.”

“Oh.” She looked down.

“Eva, I need to know what is going on. Are you okay? What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Eva sobbed, moving forward to wrap her arms around me. “I’m so broken.”

“Come on,” I said. “Let’s sit you down. Does a cup of tea sound good?”

“Sure,” Eva sniffled.

I tucked her into the living room couch and went to make a cuppa for us. All the while, the wheels turned. Was it something I did? What about my mother? Had she said something to Eva? Had her parents thrown her out for staying the night? Did they think it was 1066?

“Milk or sugar?” I called into the living room.

“Honey,” she said.

“I don’t have honey,” I laughed. “I was raised by a Scot!”

“Damn it,” Eva said. “Sugar—two.”

“Alright,” I dumped two cubes in her mug and carried it to her.

“What happened?” I asked as she swirled her tea bag.

“I left my parents’ house, and I don’t think I can ever return.”

“Eva, that’s not possible. They love you?—”

“Brooke called me a whore. She said there’s a reason I don’t stay pregnant. She said I couldn’t attend the baby sprinkle because I’d be an embarrassment to the family. She said you’dnever end up with me. And… she’d probably be right if I wasn’t having these babies and…”

Her words fell to the side as she shook her head, fighting tears.

“Eva, I love you. That’s not true,” I said. “None of that is true. I cannot imagine a world in which you—a high-ranking leader at an international firm with an Oxbridge education would ever be labelled an embarrassment. And as for being a whore… I won’t hear it.”

“I know I’m not… but she’s sure I’m your beard.”

I snickered. “That is a new one. If so, I have a beautiful beard.”

She shook her head. “Now’s not the time, David.”

“For what?”

“Don’t call me beautiful. I don’t feel beautiful. I don’t feel loved or protected or?—”

I stopped her. “Hey, you are wonderful. And I love you and will protect you. But I think your parents?—”

“They refused to say anything to her, David. Ian ripped my nephew out of my hands. He was sobbing. It was traumatic. He went from smiling at me and bopping around on my knee to seeing me as a monster. My parents didn’t say anything. They refused to hold her accountable. Davey, I cannot let our children grow up around that. I love my parents fiercely. I know they love me, but if they cannot hold her accountable, I can’t do it. You must think I’m being stupid but… I’m not.”

I shook my head. “No, baby, I don’t. I think you’re protecting yourself from someone toxic. Being family isn’t an excuse for abuse. She hurt you. She did it in front of her own child. That’s totally fucked up.”

“But there are no consequences!”

“I’m sorry, but there were. She lost you in that moment. That is awful, but it’s what she earned. I would never let someone talk that way to you. I’d have packed us up—same as you.”

“Davey, I’m scared.” Eva collapsed, curling in my lap.