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Idon’t hesitate to continue. I’ve committed. I’m telling this story my way before my father tells it his way.
“The baby wasn’t mine. It was my best friend, Mike’s baby.”
The blood drains from Abbie’s face. She swallows hard. “How did you find out?”
“Mike worked with us at my father’s firm. They were working late and they thought that I’d left for a meeting. I hadn’t. I went looking for Kendall to tell her it was cancelled and to take her to dinner. Instead, I overheard them talking. Mike had apparently made some bad financial decisions while she’d managed to forget to take a few pills and get pregnant. They knew it wasn’t mine, because it was timed during a trip I’d taken with a client out of the country. Atwo-month-longtrip to Japan. I listened as they decided that she’d go through with marrying me, even convince me to elope. Then she’d take a chunk of my money in a dirty divorce. They’d then raise the kid on my money.”
“Oh God. This all makes sense now. That’s why you—that’s why—”
“Yes. That’s why I got snipped. So no other woman could use my damn babymakers as a weapon against me.”
“I would never—”
“I know that, Abbie, but I didn’t plan on meeting you. I didn’t plan on wanting a woman beyond a fast fuck ever again.” I don’t give her time to ask questions. I go on. “And I know you know I’m not done yet. You know that’s not where the story ends.”
“You made her pay,” she assumes.
“I did what your ex did to people who crossed him, Abbie.”
She stiffens ever so slightly but she doesn’t pull away. “What does that mean?”
“I wanted revenge. I’m not proud of that, but I did.”
“You hurt them.”
“Yes.”
“How?” she presses.
“Do the details matter?”
“Yes,” she says. “I believe they do or—” Her brows dip. “Where is Kendall now?”
“I don’t know and I don’t care.”
“And the baby?” she asks.
“A teenager in a fancy prep school.”
“And Mike?”
“He’s dead, Abbie. My ex-best friend is dead.” I stand up and turn to face her. Dexter scoots closer to her, nudges her hand to pet him, letting her know that he’s there for her. The way I want to be there for her.
“Tell me,” she orders softly.
“I wanted revenge. I’m not proud of that but I did. I called the one person I knew would know how to make that happen.”
“Your father.”
“Yes, and I told him that I wanted Mike ruined. I didn’t give him limits.”
“Did you know what that meant with your father at the time?” she surprises me by asking.
“No. I didn’t know what that meant with my father at the time, but I damn sure do now.”
“What did he do?”
“It didn’t take much. I had no idea that Mike’s family was into some shady shit. My father made sure it went public. They lost everything and Mike killed himself.”
