Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 134830 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134830 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
All around the table, my siblings and their spouses are looking at me with a mix of shock, horror, and confusion. They can join the club because I feel the same way. I feel Dani’s hand land on my thigh. I’m not sure if she’s being supportive or telling me to be quiet too, and I can’t risk looking at her to find out because if I see pity in her eyes, I will lose the tenuous hold I’ve got on my temper.
“We can just ignore it the way we always do? Is that your grand plan?” I demand of Dad, throwing my fork and knife to my plate, where they land with a loud clatter.
Dad sets his utensils down gently, his jaw steel and his eyes cold. “Fine, you obviously have something to say to me. Go ahead. The floor is yours.” He waves his hands, like he’s officially allowing me to speak.
“Kyle,” Cameron grumbles, trying to stop the runaway train I’m on, and I’m not surprised he’s the one coming to Dad’s rescue. He’s always on Dad’s side, because of all of us, he’s the one most like Dad.
“I know you’re not my biological dad. I always wondered why you hated me so much.” I huff a humorless laugh. “Guess I know now.”
There’s a chorus of confusion and ‘what’s he talking about?’ around the table, but I keep my attention on Dad, wanting to see his reaction and judge for myself whether he’s known or not. But he has an excellent poker face and I’m still not sure.
Dad blinks, and then his brows bunch together low over a harsh glare. “What in the hell are you taking about?” he spits out. “Of course I’m your father. I might not be the one you like, and you might think I’m shitty at it, but I’m the only one you’ve got.”
“So you didn’t know? You just treated me like shit, truly thinking I was your son. That might even be more fucked up, Dad.” I sneer the name I’ve called him countless times before—in love, in need, in anger, in frustration, and now, in disdain.
“Stop! Both of you, stop,” Mom shouts, putting her hand on Dad’s arm. He covers her hand with his own, and Mom turns to me, wanting a sign that I’m listening too. I scoff, rolling my eyes because I’m not surprised she’s taking his side. “Kyle, of course Charles is your father. What are you talking about?”
“I heard you on the phone, Mom. Talking about how Dad was working all the time, traveling and never home to be an actual parent like he was with the other kids, so you had to hire help for Kayla and Cole. Anders was here, helping with them, and then… boom, here I come.” I emphasize the words so she knows I heard it all, including the implication that Anders is my dad.
Mom presses her lips together, tilting her head as she looks at me in disappointment.
“I was talking to Natalie, my friend whose daughter just had twins. She’s struggling so I suggested she hire help, like I did, because Anders was a godsend for our entire family.”
“It sounds like it,” I snipe.
“Kyle Harrington, are you suggesting that I cheated on my husband?” Mom shouts, tears in her eyes. “You think I went outside our marriage? What do you think that makes me?” She stands from the table, the napkin in her lap falling to the floor. “I would never, have never, and will never cheat on the man that I love, and for you to think me capable of such an awful betrayal breaks my heart.”
With that, she whirls and runs from the room.
I make a move to go after her, pushing back from the table and standing, but Dad snaps, “Don’t you fucking dare.” He stands too, coldly placing his napkin on the table as he glares at me. “Anders helped your mother through the hardest moments she’s ever had as a mother. Until tonight.” He pauses, letting that sink in. “She loved the twins” —he cuts his eyes to Cole and Kayla but quickly returns his attention to me— “but five kids was harder than she expected, especially when she was healing after a long pregnancy and rough delivery. She was depressed, exhausted, and trying to do everything for everyone the way she always does. Having Anders here to carry some of that load saved her, saved her sanity, and saved our marriage because it gave her a moment to find herself again. After a while, she was able to let me love her—emotionally, and eventually, physically. She got pregnant with you on our anniversary, and it felt like a turning point, like a sign that things were gonna be okay.”
His words are hitting me like bullets, shredding everything I thought I knew about my parents. In considering that Dad might not be my father, I hadn’t really grasped what that would say about Mom. My focus was on Dad and how he'd failed me, so I never put together that I was saying Mom betrayed him.