Page 73 of A Devious Secret

Gemma’s chest rose and fell with each breath. “I do not wish to discuss my stepmother. She is not worthy of my time or notice.”

“Gemma…” he started.

“I will not have my stepmother ruin our time together, Stephen,” Gemma said, her chin shaking slightly.

Before he could think about the consequences of his actions, he pulled her into an embrace and held her tightly against him. Gemma didn’t hesitate to go into his arms, and she laid her head onto his chest. He marveled how perfectly she fit there, as if she had always belonged.

“You don’t have to say anything, but it pains me to see you this upset,” Stephen said. “I want to know how I can help you.”

“You can’t help me, no one can.”

“I can try.” He leaned back until he looked deep into her red-lined eyes. “But you must let me in.”

Gemma’s eyes held vulnerability as she whispered, “I want to, but I am scared, Stephen.”

“What could you possibly be scared of?” he asked.

Gemma hesitated before saying, “I am a coward.”

“Not from where I am standing.”

Tears came to Gemma’s eyes. “I have always run from my problems and just pretended that all is well until the storm passes.”

“There is no shame in that.”

Gemma wiped away a tear that was rolling down her cheek. “Do you want to know why my stepmother came today?” she asked.

“I do.”

“She wants me to make amends with my father and come live with him,” Gemma shared. “Can you imagine the audacity of her?”

“Why didn’t your father come himself?”

Gemma bobbed her head. “That is precisely what I said, and she started saying that our estrangement has taken a toll on him,” she replied. “It was utter nonsense. My father has never, and will never, care about anyone but himself.”

Stephen reached up and tucked an errant piece of hair behind her ear. “What if she is telling the truth?”

Gemma huffed. “My father does not love me. He never has so why the sudden change of heart?” she asked.

“I can’t answer that.”

“If my father wanted me to come home, then he should have the decency to come here himself so I could turn him down.”

Stephen could hear the anguish in her voice, and he knew that she was hurt more deeply than she was letting on.

Gemma laid her head back onto his chest and said, “I don’t want anything to do with my father. He has managed to disappoint me, time and time again, until that is all I have come to expect from him.”

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, not knowing what else he could say.

“What is worse is that my stepmother had the nerve to say she wanted a relationship with me,” Gemma shared.

“Would that be so wrong?”

Gemma stiffened in his arms. “My stepmother is awful,” she said. “She admitted to having an affair with my father while my mother was still alive.”

“That is terrible, but she sounded genuine in her affections when she was speaking to you.”

“Most likely out of guilt,” Gemma declared. “I assure you that there would be no good that would come from associating with that woman.”