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I only plan on doing this once in my life, so it needs to be fucking amazing.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Bella
A few weeks pass before I decide to rent out my house. It’s just sitting there, empty, and it makes no sense for me to keep it that way, so we pack it all up and I permanently move into the clubhouse. I know it’s a big step, because it means I have no backup plan, but I’m one hundred percent sure this is where I want to be. I love being with River every day, and not just him but also the rest of the MC. I am going to miss my garden, but River told me I’m welcome to plant whatever I want at the clubhouse.
My parents finally come back from their adventures and meet River, and although they don’t love the fact that I’m living in the clubhouse, they don’t really have a choice because this is what I’ve decided to do.
“You don’t have any privacy, though, Bella,” Mom comments, frowning. “Why don’t you both move into your house?”
“River needs to be at the clubhouse, so that’s where I want to be, too,” I say, glancing around my old, now-empty bedroom. “And I’ll get more income from the rent, too. It’s a win-win situation.”
My mother sighs heavily and goes into the kitchen to get some water, with me following behind her. “You’re unmarried and living with a Devils MC member. I don’t think this is how I thought your life would go.”
I purse my lips, and suddenly I’m unable to hold my tongue. “They are my family. You and Dad are barely around, and that’s fine, you can both go and enjoy your life. But don’t tell me how to live mine.”
She leaves unhappy, but I honestly don’t care. She can’t come out of nowhere and tell me how things should be. It just doesn’t work like that.
River isn’t home when I return to the clubhouse after dropping my keys off to the real estate agent. But I can tell you who is here.
“Oh, hello,” I say to Andrew, the old president of the Devils MC, and Romeo’s father.
And River’s father.
“Hello, Bella,” he says. “I was hoping to catch River, but looks like he just went out.”
Romeo walks out of the gym, still shirtless, and sees us both standing there. “Dad, when did you get back?”
“About an hour ago. Never let your mother plan such a long trip overseas again.”
“What are you doing here?”
I excuse myself and leave to go into my bedroom, but not before I hear some of their conversation. Okay, I end up waiting in the hallway and listening.
“I came to speak to River.”
“You let him grow up thinking that monster was his father,” Romeo says, and I can hear the gruffness in his tone. “Why didn’t you speak to Lisa and find out the truth?”
Silence for a few moments before Andrew replies. “I never knew for sure. It was complicated. Victoria was already pregnant with you, even though we hadn’t been dating long. Lisa was with Robert. But I’m here now, and I want to apologize to him and to you. I should have known, and I should have demanded the truth be known.”
“Yes, you should have,” Romeo snaps. “It would have caused a lot less trauma for River, who always thought he was just like his father.”
“He is—he’s more like me than that bastard.”
“With no thanks to you,” Romeo replies. “He carries around the guilt of what happened to Robert.”
“Well, he shouldn’t. Robert deserved what he got. In fact, we should have done something sooner, so that Lisa and the kids could have had a better life.”
“Why didn’t you come to speak to River sooner?” Romeo asks.
Andrew stretches his neck from side to side. “This wasn’t exactly a conversation to have on the phone, Romeo. I came here as soon as I could.”
I hear River’s voice as he walks inside. “Hey. What’s going on?”
I decide to leave and stop eavesdropping so he can have a private conversation with his father, and brother.
Okay, I leave just so I definitely don’t get caught listening.
