Page 111 of Veil of Lies

I drained the last of my tequila and placed the empty glass on the counter.

“Dad lost all our money, so right now, Mom and my sisters are living with my grandmother. She’s agreed to pay my school fees and give me an allowance, but of course, it’s on her terms. I’m her investment. She plans for me to take over the family business when she’s ready to step back, which won’t be until she drops dead. In the meantime, she’s having fun playing puppet master.”

Quinn exhaled sharply.

“Why did you not tell us this?” Harley asked. I registered his hurt expression and sighed.

“Because…I needed time to process it all. It’s a lot, on top of everything.” My voice trailed off and I pondered pouring another large glass of tequila. Sharing my shit was a deeply uncomfortable experience for me; I was more accustomed to bottling it up.

“Oh Brax.” Stella slid closer to me on the sofa and took hold of my hand. “I’m so sorry," she said, her pretty turquoise eyes glistening with tears.

“It’s not your fault.”

“I know,” she agreed. “Doesn’t stop me from feeling shitty on your behalf.”

“Whatever happens, we have your back, bro,” Quinn told me. Harley nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, you’re our brother and we stick together.”

“What about me?” Stella asked, wiping a stray tear away.

“Well you’re definitely not our sister…” He thought a moment, then signed his own death warrant. “Plaything? Pet?”

Stella launched a cushion at him, and he ducked.

“Guess which room I’m not sleeping in tonight, asshole?” she snarled.

“Oh, come on, I was joking, sweetheart!”

“Too late, I’m sleeping in Quinn’s bed tonight while you think about how much being disrespected pisses me off.”

“Seriously? That’s not fair!” he moaned.

“Sounds fair to me,” Quinn interjected with a grin. He pulled Stella away from me and wrapped his arms around her. “It’s about time you started sharing her more.”

I snorted with amusement as they argued over who got to sleep with Stella. It was several minutes before I realized I wasn’t reaching for a drink, despite the pain of admitting how shit things were with my family. Then it occurred to me I was drinking a lot less lately. Not that I’d embraced sobriety completely, but I hadn’t been off my face drunk since the night Stella found me on the roof.

She made everything better. She made me better.

Chapter 85

Stella

The thought of attending a gallery opening night and meeting Brax’s family had me in a massive tailspin. First, I had fuck all to wear, and second, my hair was a mess. The vibrant red color had faded over the last few weeks. My pale roots were showing, and after listening to me moan over lunch, Tessa had dragged me back to her sister’s house, with Harley in tow, so Marie could work some magic all over again.

“Are you sure?” she asked, while examining the pitiful state of my hair. Months of dye jobs had turned it dry and brittle.

“Yeah. I’ve been outed so I may as well go back to looking like ‘me’ again.”

Marie smiled sympathetically. I saw no judgment in her face, for which I was grateful.

“OK, let’s get started. It will take a while but hopefully you won’t need more than one session.”

“Thanks, Marie,” I said, meaning it one hundred percent. Tessa’s sister was an angel. There was no way I could go to a regular salon; reporters would be on me like a harbor shark.

“You’re welcome, honey.” She patted my shoulder and smiled.

Two hours later, Marie finished styling my hair. The whole time she had worked on me I’d been banned from looking in the mirror. Despite some grumbling, Harley had been forced into the garden to play with Savannah and her dolls, although I guessed from the loud giggles and deep laughter floating through the open window, he didn’t mind all that much.

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