Page 87 of The Casualty of Us (Philosophies of the Heart Duet #1)

“Enough to know you’ve had people on payroll, darling,” my mother hums. “Now please answer your father’s question.”

So all of it then. Fuck.

“Well,” I drag out, shifting on my feet and trying not to wince from the pain.

Not that it’s not already very apparent what happened, but it doesn’t hurt to try and maintain some dignity.

“Hayes’s mom has been basically blackmailing him and—” I take a breath while deciding what to tell them.

“I didn’t like that. She’s not a good person and has never been a mother to him, and I wasn’t about to let her keep using him as a paycheck.

” Giving them all a nod, I cross my arms before dropping them just as quickly to add, “I did have to take a little under three hundred grand out of my trust but—” I hold up my hands as my mother’s eyes blow wide, and my father’s mouth falls open to join Ollie’s.

“I sold off a few of pieces of jewelry to cover the cost of everything after that.”

“What—” My father tries, face filling with censure as he recovers first. “How did you even access the trust?”

I purse my lips at the instant dread that fills me, eyes flicking to my mother before coming back to him with guilt lacing the confession.

“I pretended to be Mom’s PA and forged her signature, transferred the money to a separate account I opened, before paying whoever, uh, needed paying that month. ”

“ C’est le bordel! ” my mother hisses at me, making me take a step back in recognition of the spike of temper. Knowing she only falls back on the childhood curses her father used instead of the American versions when she’s truly pissed at one of us.

“I’m so sorry!” I beg, some part of me falling back into a five-year-old at the rare display. “I know it’s a lot, not compared to what’s in there but still—” Her single step has me hurrying. “I started selling jewelry after that.”

She takes a deep breath, and my eyes drift to find Ollie’s instinctually in search of help, barely meeting them before her voice brings me back. “What did you sell?”

“Uh.” My brows fall at the forced patience in her tone, everything about it suddenly a lot on top of the rest of my current trauma and the vulnerability lingering from last night.

“The vintage Tiffany diamond and pearl studs that I got for graduation, the sapphires you gave me when you finally let me pierce my ears, and the Cartier tennis bracelet that you gave me for my sixteenth birthday.” Her face falls with surprise, and I quickly make sure she knows.

“Nothing passed down through the family or anything, but yeah.” My lower lip starts up that stupid tremble and I breathe out sharply, “I couldn’t leave him there, Mommy.

” Her face fills with concern and I move my gaze over to my father to escape it. “I am sorry, though.”

Because if I look at her too long, I’m going to start blubbering about love and stalkers and virginities being given away.

My father stares at me for a long moment before sighing wearily. “Why didn’t you just come to us for help, Princess?”

“I wasn’t even sure what to look for at first, how to help myself.

” I shrug helplessly. “Whether there would be anything to find, and if there was, if it would even pan out.” His face fills with an unhappy look that has me admitting, “And it felt…wrong too.” Because I do understand where they’re coming from.

“Like I’d be betraying his trust somehow. ”

Silence fills the room following that, and I look between my father and mother as they share one that I can’t decipher before her eyes come back to me.

“I suppose it is your money at the end of the day, although it’s supposed to not be until you’re twenty-one.

” She lifts a brow, granting something between forgiveness and cursing in French.

“I will admit the cause wasn’t an entirely unworthy one, though. ”

“Thank you.” I breathe out in relief.

“Ophelia.” My father’s voice has me looking back at him and finding a serious expression on his face. “Do you really love this boy?”

The quiet words hold a weight that has me biting my bottom lip to stop the tremble before giving him a nod. “I do.”

Quickly glancing Ollie’s way to check on him, the acceptance there brings with it everything I need to settle any lingering worry inside of me. Knowing that as long as we’re okay and Hayes and I are okay too, then the rest can be worked out. Everything can be worked out then.

“Then we’ll figure the rest out later,” my father sighs, bringing my gaze back to him in time to see the wry look rising there. “After I unpack and take a nap.”

“One last thing,” I rush to add, looking back at the kitchen door to see Mia standing against it and smiling widely now.

Nosy nellies, all of them. “I’d like for him to have a place here—Hayes—the guestroom, maybe, and I’d like to go out and get him some things since he’ll be here for Christmas.

” Using the reminder of how much pain this trip is probably about to cost me to keep from stomping my foot at the smile that springs to life on my mother’s face.

“His mom sucked, and his dad was always gone, and I just want him to have a place that’s safe and a nice Christmas, so I’m going to take Mia and go do that now. ”

The crooked grin spreading on Ollie’s face by the end of my speech has me scowling while taking that first step and trying not to look like I’m in pain as Mia springs to life as well.

I pass by my parents’ amused faces before coming up to Ollie, seeing the obvious curiosity there as he tosses out, “Want some company?”

“No, you’ll be bored to tears.” I give him a quick shake of my head. “Would you mind filling Hayes in when he wakes up, though? Just tell him that his mom won’t be a problem anymore.” He gives me a nod and I lower my voice to a barely there whisper to add, “Drop some clothes for him too.”

His face turns all kinds of grumpy and he rolls his eyes at me. “Fine. Whatever.”

“Thanks, big brother.” A soft laugh leaves me as I step past him, meeting Talan’s stare from where he’s standing by the door, and the unsettled note to it has me frowning. “You okay?”

“What?” He clears his throat, giving his head a little shake like he’s coming out of a daze. “Yeah, yeah. Heading out now.”

I pause, cocking my head at him. “You sure?”

“Yeah.” His brows fall. “Merry Christmas, kid.”

He turns when I open my mouth to press the issue, walking to the front door and opening it as Mia sidles up next to me with a happy sigh. “Just so you know, this is my favorite job since my undercover work with Miami PD.”

I turn to look at her, genuinely surprised. “Really?”

“Oh yeah.” She nods with a grin. “Never a dull moment around here. Plus, Bobby and I have a running bet on who you’re going to end up with one day, Squirt. You’re practically family at this point.”

“Oh.” I nod because there’s really not much else to do in the face of that and let my hair out of the clip before pulling the hood of my sweatshirt up.

Hiding the mark on my neck with some hair too for good measure while heading for the door and waiting until it shuts behind us to add casually, “Hey, Mia, I’m going to need to walk slowly on this trip, okay? ”

Telling myself to be thankful it’s her and not Talan or Bobby or, God forbid, Jack.

She only laughs once before taking pity on me. “I gotcha.”

And even though every bump in the road has me shifting—the trip taking three hours longer than my original estimate due to some major retail therapy—there’s still a happy warmth wrapped around my heart all through it. Like he sealed himself there last night. Maybe by my acceptance.

Either way, it has a little smile playing at my lips from time to time, happy that I was able to slay at least one of our monsters.

If only my own turned out the same.