Page 26 of My One-Night Heir

His eyes widen. ‘Sister?’

‘Yes.’

‘I didn’t know you had a sister.’

I shoot him a look. ‘Swapping life stories isn’t a favourite pastime for either of us.’

‘Right.’ He almost smiles again. ‘So she’s in debt?’

‘No. That’s the point. I don’t want her to be.’ I breathe in slowly, frustrated because I’m explaining this backwards. ‘She’s a student. This is for her fees, her flat, her food for the next few years. She’s in her second year of med school and she wants to specialise and—’

‘That’s a long expensive road ahead.’

‘Exactly. She can’t work while studying. She needs to concentrate fully. I don’t want her to worry—’

‘You’ve been supporting her for years,’ he interrupts. ‘Because neither of your parents help.’ He suddenly rises and grabs his phone from the table. ‘Give me her bank details.’

‘What?’

He flips my phone around and copies the account number for Ava. I just stare at him, too sluggish and sickened to believe what I’m seeing.

A few minutes later he flips the phone back towards me. ‘There’s quarter of a million in her account now.’

As well as the quarter million in mine.

‘Your bank lets you do that no problem?’ I stammer. ‘Twice?’

The man had access to half a million dollars just like that?

I feel even more nauseous. ‘Now I have to transfer all that back to you. But I have to go to the bank to—’

‘Leave it,’ he says shortly. ‘Doesn’t matter.’

‘You’re not buying me, Dain.’ Even though I’ve basically just asked him to.

‘Never dreamed that would be possible.’ He suddenly chuckles. ‘You’re the one who demanded payment before leaving.’

‘I’m not keeping that money in my account. Only the money for Ava and I’ll pay that back. Eventually.’

He sighs and rolls his eyes. ‘Whatever will help you sleep.’

But I feel worse.

‘You might want to phone her before she calls her bank thinking there’s been some sort of mistake and asks them to reverse it.’ He draws a breath. ‘You’ll want to see her before we leave the country. We can—’

‘No!’ I shake my head furiously and the truth spills out before I think to stop it. ‘She doesn’t know about Lukas.’

‘You haven’t told your sister you’ve had a baby?’ He frowns. ‘I thought you were close.’

‘We are.’ But I have to explain more. I want him to understand his money isn’t going to be wasted. ‘I didn’t want her dropping out to help me.’

‘Yet that’s what you did for her.’

‘I never dropped in. I always worked. I never...’ I shake my head, frustrated that I’m not explaining this well enough to wipe that frown off his face. ‘Ava’s amazing. Like really, really amazing. I didn’t want her jeopardising her future and that’s what she’d do if she knew—’

‘How much you’re struggling.’

I glare at him. ‘I’ve worked too hard for too long to get her into the position she’s in now.’

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