Page 202 of Soul Mates: Hercules Valentine and I

She inclines forward. “Because?”

I close my eyes to really connect with my feelings. “Because I’m not sure if being with Hercules will make me lose my family forever.” Tears fill my eyes as I turn to gaze off, unfocused. “No. That’s not it. I’ll never loss them. It’s my grandfather,” I whisper. “I don’t want to betray him.”

“What does that even mean?” Lake asks like she’s begging me to please make some sense.

I face her again. “It means our families are in a feud. The Valentines did something to my grandfather. I don’t know what that is. But if it’s bad, then I don’t want to be sleeping with the enemy.”

What I said seems to have propelled Lake back against the couch cushions. “Wow. Now that’s what you need to admit before you can get on the right track.”

“But what’s the right track?” I ask, my expression begging for the elusive answer.

Lake slowly unfolds from her sitting position. “Either love him or leave him.”

I sit up tall. Those two choices make me greatly uncomfortable. “But I need answers first.”

“Then get them, Paisley. And be honest with Hercules. Tell him what holds you back, because he’s not the one who’s not willing to go all the way. You are.”

Chapter Sixty-Eight

Quest for Love

Paisley Grove

2:42 a.m

Irub my weary eyes then squint at the time on the upper right of my screen. I snatch my head back slightly. I didn’t realize it was so late—or, in this case, so early in the morning. I would’ve turned my phone back on, but I’m certain Max hasn’t stopped calling—and my parents too. None of them will stop until someone reaches me.

I haven’t turned on the lights in my apartment yet. There isn’t a visible window in my guest bedroom. That’s why I set up my OutBook on the desk in that room and have spent hours trying to locate any old documents or records my grandfather may have left on old computers. If those items were ever stored, they’ve been wiped clean, and whoever performed the cleanse did an expert job.

I sit back in my chair and gaze at the screen. Admittedly, my brain is fried. I’m used to pushing through whenever I can’t think straight anymore, but I’m having so much difficulty.

I can’t stop thinking about Hercules. I’ve been wanting to call him for hours. I wonder if he’s tried to call me. I’m pretty sure Achilles threatened him after I left. Maybe my search for answers is futile.Has Achilles finally gotten through to Hercules?

“Our grandfathers,” I whisper. This whole silly feud between our families started with them.

I recall everything my grandfather told me about how he fought for the rights to NZNN light. He never sat me down and gave me story in one sitting. He would say a little here and there. Hercules’s grandfather lost to my grandfather in court. And yet, Hugo Thomas Valentine had more money. I’m sure as it is today, the one who can drag out the fight the longest by paying, wins.

“Why did Hugo concede?”

The focus of my search changes. I dig into New York State court documents. It doesn’t take me long to find them.

“They settled,” I whisper.

Grandfather never said they settled. His rendition of the court battle always ends with an appeals judge kicking out their case and warning Hugo to give up the fight or he would have to pay my grandfather’s legal bills.

Why would grandfather outright lie to me?

Volts of energy race through me, and I shoot to my feet. I can’t sit.

He’s not the one who’s not willing to go all the way. You are.

I hear Lake’s words coming back to haunt me. And now, I’m racing to the living room. I don’t stop moving until I have my cell phone in hand.

Hercules Valentine

3:11 a.m

I draw circles against my temples with fingertips. I can’t believe the day I’ve had. On the way back from Greenwich, I decided not to stop at Paisley’s. I needed to absorb what I learned from my mother.