Page 55 of Enchant Me

“Abigail is the half-sister who raised him?”

Damien nods. “They also found a high school friend of his who still lived in the neighborhood. He said that Ashton had a famous father who didn’t want him, and that his mother was crazy.”

He looks at me. “They didn’t just keep him away from me. They went out of their way to make my son believe that I knew he existed but didn’t want him.”

“You’ll talk to him. You’ll tell him.” I draw a breath. “But, Damien, he scares me. He’s holding a grudge, and he’s going to expect you to try to pushback on this. To want revenge for what he did at the ceremony. His whole life he’s been raised to believe you’re the bad guy, and I don’t see that easily changing.”

“I have to try. He’s my blood, baby, and I’m not going to shirk this responsibility now that I know he exists.”

“I know. You’re not the kind of man who would. I know that even if he doesn’t. That’s part of why I love you. But I have to say this, even though you don’t want to hear it.”

I wait until his eyes are on mine, the amber one attentive, the dark one shadowed, as if it’s withholding judgment. “If he’s Sofia’s son, he’s unstable. The texts? The videos and threats? They came from him. Who else? For that matter, why now? What triggered all of this?”

I watch his brow furrow as he considers the question, but he doesn’t answer it.

“But I don’t think he’s the guy I saw at the wedding,” I continue, suddenly remembering. “Their faces are slightly different. But I might be wrong about that. Maybe if Ashton had a beard, they’d look exactly alike. Because, honestly, it makes sense it was him. That he’d snuck in to tape up that note.”

Damien nods slowly. “Okay. Good point. And I agree with you about the threats. But I don’t think he’s unstable. There was nothing wrong with Sofia’s mind. That girl was beyond brilliant. She was smart and funny and charming when she was clear. And she was always clear until it began. It was Richter who broke her. Who almost broke me.” He meets my eyes. “And he broke Ashton, too.”

“I know, and it makes my heart ache. But we have to protect our family. Our girls. Bradley.”

“We do,” he says, pulling me closer, so that I’m tight in the circle of his arms. “But you’re the one who said it earlier, remember? He’s family, too.”

I nod, my eyes damp with unshed tears as I wish for an easy answer. I’m all twisted up inside. This is like nothing we’ve ever faced before, and I don’t know how to handle the emotions. How to dial in a man who hates his father for all the wrong reasons.

But Damien’s right, he deserves the chance. How many chances did I give my mother? How many did we give Damien’s father, until finally their lies and obfuscations and tricks and treachery made us break it off?

Too many, but we haven’t given Ashton a chance at all. How could we have, when we just learned who he really is?

I look to Damien, ready to tell him that he’s right. That we need to figure out a way to convince Ashton that Damien is not the devil. But he speaks before I do. “How the hell could they keep this from me? Keep it a secret and then tell this kid that I never wanted to see him? Who does that?”

“He was evil, Damien. Richter was horrible. We’ve always known that’s the man he was.”

“But why didn’t Sofia tell me? After everything we went through together? How could she have kept this from me all these years?”

I examine my hands, certain he’s not going to like my theory, but he takes his finger and puts it under my chin, lifting it until I’m forced to look at him. “What is it?”

“I don’t think she knew.”

His eyes narrow. “I’ve seen you be pregnant twice. You were very aware.”

It’s the first slightly lighthearted thing he’s said, and I fight back a smile.

“Yes, but I knew what I was getting into. I wanted to be pregnant. And I wasn’t a thirteen-year-old girl. I think she blocked it out. Maybe she convinced herself she was sick. I’ve heard about it happening. Women in so much denial that they don’t realize they’re pregnant, then somehow block out the birth altogether.”

He says nothing, so I continue. “I may not believe that Sofia was the most stable person in the world, but I do know that she loved you. If she realized she had a child, she would have told you.”

He closes his eyes as if in pain. “Fucking Richter. I thought I was done with him. That night on the roof when I let him fall, I was so goddamn happy because I was finally going to be free of him. But I’ve never been free of him Nikki, I’ve never been free.”

“I know. I hate that for you.”

“He infected everything he touched. Me, Sofia, this boy who’s now a man.”

“Maybe he did, but you turned out okay. And Sofia really was getting her shit together. And from what I can tell, Ash is brilliant and focused and angry. But it’s not really you he’s angry with. He only thinks he is.”

His arms tighten around me, and he kisses my hair. “Oh, God, Nikki, baby, I have a son. A child who isn’t ours. A child I never knew existed, who I fathered when I was only a child myself. How the hell are we supposed to make this work?”

“I don’t know,” I say. “But I know I love you. And I know I believe in you. And I know that somehow it will all turn out fine.”