AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Megan sniffed and stared down at her feet. “I don’t know if I can judge her for tricking you into giving her all your money for a kid that isn’t yours, Jake, when that’s exactly what I did to you. I can hate her for it, though.”
I sucked in a sharp breath and felt like my chest was caving in. She couldn’t be tricking us for money. She wasn’t that type. She was our angel.
“How much have y’all already given her? I know y’all think it’s love. I can see it in your faces. You love her. She’s lying to you, though. She’s not who she says she is. And if you don’t believe us, that’s okay. At least… At least wait until the baby comes and have the test done. Protect yourselves until then.” Twisting her hands together, Sara forced a smile and stood up. “We’ll go. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for once again being the person in your life to hurt you, Ry. I know you don’t believe me, but I still love you. I always will.”
Ryder’s head was hanging low as he rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward. He looked pale against the white of his shirt. “Just go.”
The doorbell rang and I looked out the front window to see Fiona standing at my front door. The look on her face was pinched, like she was annoyed. The first thing that came to my mind was the way the woman I’d dated after my divorce had looked at me with a version of that same look. My stomach finished its journey to my feet and I sank heavily onto the couch Sara had just left.
“Um. We’ll see ourselves out.” Megan wrapped her arm around Sara and they moved towards the door with what looked to be the weight of the world on their shoulders.
I was too upset to warn them it was Fiona on the other side of the door. I couldn’t say anything as I sat there and wondered if my life was going to suck until I just died at my desk. When I heard a light gasp and then three sets of footsteps heading back our way, I just sighed.
Bad feeling realized.
43
***Fiona***
The last two people I expected to find at Sebastian’s house were Megan and Sara. The twin looks of pure joy on their faces when they saw me sent my heart racing and for a second a part of me worried they’d just murdered the guys and buried them in the backyard. It freaked me out enough that I pushed past them and rushed into the living room where the guys were all sitting. They looked physically fine but something was wrong, I could tell.
“What’s going on?”
Sebastian lifted his eyes to meet mine and I felt like I was looking at a stranger. All the warmth in his gaze was gone. “Why don’t you tell us?”
I frowned. “Is this about me saying I needed space? I’m sorry. I realized as soon as I said it that I didn’t mean it but I was stubborn.”
From behind me, I heard Sara sniffle like she’d been crying. “It’s all over, Fiona. We told them everything.”
I raised my eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”
Megan wiped her eyes even though there were no tears in them. “Jake doesn’t deserve what you’re doing to him. He’s a good man who has been through too much already.”
I looked from Sebastian to Jake. He wouldn’t look at me. His eyes were on the ground and his hands were shoved deep into his pockets. Ryder was sitting on the couch, but his normal upright posture was gone. He was slouched into the couch and when he did lift his eyes to mine, they were blank.
“We spoke with your ex, Fiona. We know everything.”
I didn’t take my eyes off of Ryder’s as I answered his ex-wife. “What do you think you know?”
“We know your con. You sleep with a wealthy man, or three, and then convince them you’re pregnant. Too bad you can’t do the paternity test when you’re pregnant with twins. Right? Just like you were the first time around?” Megan moved around the room and put herself in front of Jake, like she was going to protect him from me.
“I wasn’t pregnant with twins before. Just Avery.” I shook my head and held up my hands. “I’m sorry. What is this about?”
“Are you really pregnant with twins, Fiona?” Sebastian’s voice was full of skepticism and something darker as he spoke. When I met his eyes, he stood up and inched closer. “Why is your ex saying that you did this to him, too?”
“Matt? Matt said I did something to him?” I shook my head and held up my hands. “Wait. I’m confused. You don’t think I’m pregnant with twins? You were there. You saw the scans.”
“So did Matt.” He licked his lips and looked away. “Is it about the money? Really?”
I made a sound that was the embodiment of my heart cracking. Pressing my fist to my chest, I sucked in a sharp breath and found myself laughing. It was a bitter, broken sound that reminded me of a wounded animal. “This is serious. The three of you think I’m lying.”
Something panicked flashed in his eyes but Sara moved around me to grip his arm. She looked up at him and patted his chest with her other hand before looking back at me. “You’ve done enough damage, don’t you think?”
I wrapped my arms around myself and stared down at the floor. “None of this makes sense. But I don’t even need to know what all I’ve been accused of to have the information I need to move forward. The silence and the way you guys are looking at me is all the answer I need.”
Ryder’s voice was flat as he spoke. “Say it’s all lies. Have another scan with our doctor.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and felt my lip quiver. I wasn’t going to cry in front of them again. At least, I was going to try not to. Pain radiated out from my chest but I fought to hang on to the anger while I was still standing in front of their exes. “Fuck you.”
