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She wanted to break things, to shake him, to throw an expensive vase against the wall. But her exterior remained still, the combination of shock and anger stiffening her muscles and preventing her from snapping. “Tell me. I deserve to know.”
“I went to Samantha’s penthouse, but I didn’t sleep with her nor have I ever done anything in that way.”
“Are you still sticking to the buying her duplex lie?”
“No.” He paced around, like he was a big animal in a cage just big enough for him to barely breathe. His nervous energy only heightened her inner turmoil. Should she be relieved that he didn’t sleep with Samantha? Did she believe him?
“There’s a reason why I want to be on her good side. Why I want her support.”
“What do you mean?” If it was so simple as doing business with Samantha, why didn’t he share it with her?
A darkness moved across his expression. “My dad isn’t the person you think he is. He abandoned my mom and me and my brother when we were little to go after a rich American he was having an affair with. The one he ended up marrying.”
“I’m sorry. He didn’t do right by you, but didn’t he think you both died shortly after his departure? I’m sure guilt ate him up inside,” she said. Heck, she would have, in his place. She would never have recovered.
Luc snarled, and his eyes had never looked more bitter. “That’s what he told the media once my existence was made public. He knew I was still alive. I was an inconvenience though, to his new woman and new life.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“I don’t need your pity,” he bit back. “That weekend when he left, he didn’t even say goodbye. He wrote a note, and my mom was left blindsided. She didn’t work outside the home, didn’t know much about the bills. She was rattled, and so shaken she didn’t notice the beginning of the fire that claimed my brother’s life. After that, we were homeless for a while, counting on kindness from distant family members to rebuild our life. That man never offered her a cent.”
She pulled the bar stool near the kitchen island, her fingers trembling. She meant to sit on it, but she was in such state of shock, she barely managed on leaning on it for support. What the hell did he just tell her? Little throbs filled with anxiety pulsed through her, stealing her oxygen for a moment. She wanted to show him empathy, to think of the young boy who’d lost his father, then his brother, and damn, the family he had. But did that justify the man he’d become? “Why did you move here then?” she asked, but as the thoughts flitted in her brain, a gasp left her mouth. “You’re here for revenge?”
“I’m here to take from my father what matters—this airline deal with Samantha.”
Surprise hit her with full force. Now it all made sense. The secretive meetings with Samantha. The sudden interest of Charles in Luc’s whereabouts. Obviously, Charles at least suspected it—the reason why he’d asked her to keep an eye on his son. The only one who hadn’t had a clue about what was happening was her. “I mean… I know your childhood was beyond messed up, but that’s a lot. How do you think you’ll pull it off?”
He stretched to his full height, his spine locked into place. A glint of defiance touched his eyes. “Why do you want to know? Would you tell him? I know why you’re here too, Kira. My father must have offered a lot for you to spy on me.”
Heat warmed her cheeks and neck. “Y-You knew? When?”
“The minute you woke me up when we first met.”
Realization dawned on her, her blood deep freezing in her veins. She wasn’t a saint, but she’d been an idiot to believe he wouldn’t catch on. “So you fooled me all this time when you already knew.”
“I couldn’t risk telling you, Kira. I didn’t know you back then.”
Had everything been a lie? Had he seduced her to get her on his good side? Bile crawled into her throat. She’d been a pawn in a game she didn’t know to what extent she was playing. “Is that why you were so flirty with me? Because you wanted to stay one step ahead?”
The contours of his face softened, and he let out a breath. “That crossed my mind, yes, but I can’t deny I was and am attracted to you. That has never been a lie.”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” she said, her spirits sinking lower. He’d lied to her too many times to know the difference. Sure, he had a reason, but she couldn’t support him in this pursuit of revenge.
He stepped toward her, but she lifted her hand, giving him the clear signal he should stay put, and he acquiesced. “Believe this—I love you, Kira. I do. The love we found is the one good thing about my revenge.”
His declaration rattled her inside, and she couldn’t decide if she believed him or not. “It doesn’t have to be, though. Look, what if your father changed? What if he’s not the man he was decades ago?” she said, offering him a new perspective.
He thinned his lips, his gaze darting around the kitchen for a moment, like he considered what she said. “That doesn’t erase what he’s done.”
“It doesn’t… but you can keep on trying to find a way to make it right.”
“Why not? Who are you to tell me that? You just told your family how you felt after a whole lifetime of being taken advantage by them.”
“That’s the reason why I’m saying it. You can’t bottle things up. Remember I told you my dog Harry got taken away because of Shelby’s newfound allergy? Well, my parents didn’t want me to suffer, so they did it without telling me. They meant well, but I never got a chance to say goodbye, and that only added to my frustration. Anyway… what I mean is… talk to your dad. I’m sure he needs it as much as you. I can tell he regrets his actions,” she said, remembering the exchange they shared.
He frowned. “You’ve talked to him about this?”
“We didn’t get deep into it, but I can just tell—”
