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“I did the best I could, River,” she says after a moment of silence. “I know I messed up, and I never should have slept with Andrew in the first place. The first time it happened was before he and Victoria started seeing one another. Then they had a drunken night together and she got pregnant with Romeo. The second, and last time, we were together it was supposed to be closure. A goodbye. I was going to leave the MC life altogether. But I got pregnant with you, and then Robert showed his interest in me. I should have chosen a man better than Robert to raise you all. I’m so sorry. I took the coward’s way out.”
I lean over and hug her. There’s no point blaming her for anything—she did do her best, and she always loved us. Robert was a piece of shit who took advantage of a nice woman like my mother, and our lives are all better now that he’s gone.
“It’s okay,” I lie, not wanting her to be upset. “I wish you told me the truth, instead of hearing it from Aunty Victoria.”
“We both said we’d never speak of it,” she says, touching my face with her hand. “It did no one any good to know the truth.”
Probably not, but I deserve to know my truth. This has caused a complete identity crisis in me.
I leave her house feeling more confused than ever. But until I process my emotions, I’m going to keep this information to myself.
Chapter Eleven
Bella
Damon appears against the doorframe to my office. I do a double take when I see him, and remove my headphones, which are blasting Ed Sheeran’s latest album. “What did you say?”
“I asked what you know about Corey.”
I turn back to my laptop. “Hello to you too, Damon. Yes, I am well, thank you. What are you even doing here?”
It’s been a couple of nights since the party, so I’m surprised he’s obviously still thinking about that. I haven’t known Damon to overtly chase women. He kind of stays quiet, and I never really know what he does in his own time. Maybe he is a player? I have no idea. But I do know that he’s nice, friendly and has a trustworthy vibe about him. I’ve always liked him, and I know that Julianna feels the same, especially when he showed her loyalty when no one else would.
“Julianna wanted me to drop off some documents,” he explains, stepping inside and sitting down on my desk like he owns it. “She’s beautiful, don’t you think? That red hair. That body. Those hazel eyes.”
“Who?” I ask.
“Corey,” he says, frowning at my lack of focus. “Pay attention, Bella.”
I pause my typing and swivel on my chair to face him. “Yes, she is beautiful. And pretty young don’t you think? How about Echo? She has pretty red hair, too.” If that’s what he is going for. And yes, I know why I’m suggesting Echo.
He nods, running a hand through his hair. “Choices, choices. And how old is Corey, then?”
“I don’t know, but young. Twenty, maybe? She only just started college.”
“What else do you know about her?” he presses, gray eyes pinned on me waiting for my reply.
Just that he should leave her alone if he knows what’s good for him. Don’t get me wrong, Damon is badass in his own right.
But River?
I’m discovering that River is a whole different beast.
I roll my eyes. “I’m not your personal matchmaker, Damon. I saw you two talking—why didn’t you ask her these things yourself?”
“She’s not an open-book type of person,” he replies, sounding both disgruntled and amused. He has the sleeves of his black shirt folded up to his forearms, exposing a fancy-looking black watch. “She wasn’t too keen on answering any of my questions.”
My lip twitches. “Smart girl.”
“What do you mean? You don’t think I’m a catch?” he asks, placing his hand over his heart in mock sympathy. “I had Julianna’s back when shit went down. Don’t I get points for that?”
I purse my lips and decide to go with the truth. “You know she’s River’s sister, right?”
He stills.
Ha.
No, he did not.
