Page 110 of When Hearts Ignite

My attention turns to Mother as our last interaction at the restaurant creeps to the forefront. My hands grip the table napkin in front of me as my heart thuds rapidly behind my rib cage in nervousness, excitement, and now…anger.

She wanted to buy Grace off.

She disrespected her and, by association, disrespected me in return.

The tsunami moves up my chest and I fist my hands.

Pushing my chair out, I stand up, watching Mother’s brows furrow in confusion.

“Steven?”

“Mother, Father, I’m here to tell you we won and TransAmerica is safe. But I also want to let you both know I found the love of my life. Her name is Grace Peyton, and she’s the most important person to me. We will be together with or without your consent. She’s it for me. The end game. My life is incomplete without her.”

Glaring at Mother, I continue, “If you dare disrespect her like you did at The Orchid, I will never come home again. Our children will not know their grandparents. I won’t let anyone hurt her again.”

Then, my gaze returns to my father, who looks shell-shocked at the turn of events. “If it weren’t for Grace, you’d have lost TransAmerica. She provided the contact to find the evidence against Voss. It’s because of her you get to keep your legacy intact.”

“G-Grace,” Father whispers, his voice haunted, and he clasps his chest.

Mother stands up and tosses her napkin on the table, a rare display of outright anger from someone who always cares most about poise and outward appearances. “You can’t do this, Steven. You just can’t—”

I turn away and storm out of the dining room, my legs carrying me down the hallway, through the foyer, and I wrench open the front door and slam it closed behind me with a resounding bang.

I’m done with her. With them. No one can separate Grace and me.

No one.

The door crashes open a minute later and Mother steps out behind me, her breathing frantic.

“Mother, I’m not going to listen to you—” I walk toward my car, desperate to get out of here and get back to New York where Grace is waiting for me. Where my home is.

“Steven!” She grabs my arm and pulls me to a stop, her heels dragging across the pavement.

“Steven, she’s your sister!”

My heart flatlines in a matter of milliseconds, her words echoing in my ears. My lungs seize and my legs almost give out from underneath me. The void in my chest is so visceral, my hands clutch my shirt in a trembling grip. Sister? What?

It can’t be.

“What?” I whirl around, finding Mother’s face pale, her eyes frantic and wild.

My pulse rams harshly in my ears and every sound is too shrill, every sensation too sharp. Heat and cold sweat coalesce, like my body’s barometer has shattered into pieces along with my sanity.

I shake my head. “Stop your lies, Mother. I’ve made my choice to be with her and it’s pathetic you’re resolving to this to stop me.”

She shakes her head vigorously, her face flushed, her perfectly combed hair falling out of the pins, but she doesn’t even appear to notice.

She hurls forward and grips my arm tighter, digging her fingers into my sleeve. “Steven, if she were a normal girl—even if she was poor and I didn’t like her background—knowing how you felt about her, I wouldn’t have stood in the way. Not after what I went through with Jess and Emily. I know how stubborn you kids are when it comes to love.”

Her eyes well up and she continues, “Your father had an affair when you were younger. He had a lot of business in New York then and would fly out and stay over there for weeks at a time. Over time, I realized he spent more time there than at home and he grew distant, even more so than before. It was then I hired someone to tail him, and I…”

Her body shakes as she takes in a ragged breath. “I found out he had this entire family out there. A woman and two girls. I saw photos of how he took them to the park, to Coney Island, how he held the woman’s hand as they walked down the streets and took the subway, like they were a happy, normal family. Then one day, the woman and one of their daughters showed up here unannounced, and I caught them. It was raining so hard and your father just stood there crying. He was going to leave us. I was sure of it.”

I freeze and hold my breath as the world stops spinning around me and I listen to her side of the story of that horrible night. Mother’s tears are streaming down her face now, her mascara running down her cheeks, but she doesn’t seem to care.

I’ve never seen her cry before. I’ve never seen her look so devastated.

Never in front of me.

---