Page 82 of Three Stepbrothers Save Christmas

“Yeah, I do. She’s perfect for me, and I wouldn’t have her any other way,” Maximus agrees, as his mind obviously drifts to Jasmine, and I can see how much he really does love her.

Verity is yet to be a real brat for us. She has started playing up a few times, and I know she has that side to her; I can’t wait to explore it. But at the moment, things are so up in the air that whenever she starts to relax, and we see the true version of herself that’s been repressed over the years, something happens to remind her that she isn’t free of those who have controlled her for so long.

Last night was a prime example of that. She’d had such a good day and had a perfect evening with us. But then Dawn turned up and ruined it for her. Since then, she has been waiting for her father to be in touch, as I’ve been waiting for our mother to contact one or all of us. It’s bound to happen sooner than later, and I dread to think what damage it will do to all the progress we are making with Verity when it does.

“What are you guys going to do regarding your parents?”

I look at Maximus as we reach the lockers in the VIP changing rooms.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, how do you think they will take it when they find out about you all? It’ll be hard for Verity as she is close to her dad, isn’t she?” he asks, looking surprised when I shake my head.

“Not as close as you may think. He is a manipulative arsehole. I don’t give a shit what he thinks, and I think Verity is starting to see how toxic he has been as well.”

I quickly fill them in on the stuff that Christian hadn’t. I know Travis told him a lot, except for the self-harming and stuff, which I also leave out. By the time I finish, I can see how shocked and appalled they are by Henry’s behaviour.

“Fuck what he thinks, take her away and never let him near her again! I wish we’d done it with Jaz and her mother long before we did. Then maybe she wouldn’t have suffered the way she did, thanks to Carol.” I stare at Sean for a moment. He is the calm one of the twins. Maximus is more likely to fly off the handle and start swinging his fists, whereas Sean tends to talk him down and deal with the situations in a nonviolent and calm manner. But from the venom in his voice, I can only begin to imagine how Jaz was treated by her mother.

“What is it with sweet girls being mistreated by their parents? Neither of them deserved what they have been through,” I sigh as I retrieve my bag and pull out my phone to check for any messages.

My heart freezes when I see two missed calls from my mother, two from Verity and one from Travis and Ethan.

“Shit,” I mutter as I open the voicemail which Ethan has left. It's short and straight to the point. “Fuck.” I grab my bag and throw my stuff into it, not bothering to shower or change.

“Everything okay?” I hear Sean ask.

“Funny you should ask how our parents will take it. The shit has just well and truly hit the fan. I have to go.” I throw my bag over my shoulder as Maximus tells me to call if there is anything they can do to help. I shout thanks as I run for my car and rush towards the house.

Thankfully, the gym is only a ten-minute drive from home, giving me time to calm down and think rationally. I have no doubt Travis has gone into protective mode, especially if Verity is upset. But one of us needs to be the voice of reason, and I have no doubt that responsibility will land on my shoulders. Fucking great.

From what I could gather from the angry voicemail, Henry had called Verity to demand to know why we were still here and why Dawn was so upset. Knowing him, the arsehole probably wanted her to spend Christmas alone; it wouldn’t have even crossed his mind that we might have decided to stay to spend time with her. But why wouldn’t we? Even if things weren’t progressing the way they are with us, we would still want to be there for her if she was sad or alone. No one should spend Christmas alone in a big house like that.

My phone rings through the dashboard, and I connect the call.

“I got your message as soon as I was out of the ring. I’ll be there in two minutes,” I call out as I make the turning that leads to the tiny village where Verity’s family home is.

“Good, because it’s all going to hell here. Have you heard from Mother dearest?” Ethan asks.

“She called but didn’t leave a message. Fill me in when I get there. Is Verity okay?”

“No, not at all. Travis is with her.” I can hear the frustration in Ethan's voice. He will hate not being able to do anything. Ethans is the type who deals with everything head-on, face-to-face.

“I’m less than a minute away. See you in a sec.” I end the call and put my foot down as I speed towards the house. Of all the times not to have my phone on me, it’s when she needs me the most. I only started being her daddy two days ago, and I’ve let her down already.

Pulling in front of the house, I find Ethan waiting for me. If I didn’t think it was bad before, I do now.

“What the fuck happened?” I snap, jumping from the car and striding towards the front porch.

“I’ll tell you before you go in,” Ethan says quietly as we move away from the front door.

“Everything was fine; Verity was a little hung over but laughing and joking with us. Her mobile rang, and she went off to answer it. Before she had a chance to come back, Travis got a call from Mum demanding that he apologise for upsetting Dawn and wanting to know why we were still here. When he said it was none of her business, she started shouting, ‘If I find out any of you are fucking Henry’s daughter, I will disown you. You will ruin everything.’ Travis lost his shit and demanded to know what she meant by that, and there was nothing she could do about it if he were. Mum lost her shit, screaming so loud that I could hear her even though the phone wasn’t on loudspeaker.”

“Where was Verity when all this was going on?” I ask, looking towards the house, wondering where she is and how she’s doing.

“Turns out she was on the phone to Henry and heard Mum screaming; when Henry heard what was going on, he started screaming at Verity, which Travis heard and lost his shit further.”

“So, they know everything then?” I ask, but to my surprise, Ethan shakes his head.

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