Page 52 of Tempting Fate

When I open my mouth to question her about this new revelation, Charlie shushes me with a pointed look. “I should’ve warned you about what the men in that family are capable of—I was born in Inadale. I’ve heard the stories about Alex. If anyone had the ability to see this coming, it was me.”

Lowering my gaze to my lap, twisting my fingers together as I mumble, “I wouldn’t have listened… not with Sander’s career at risk. I-I was blind to his evil—I thought I could handle him.”

Charlie chucks me under the chin with two dainty fingers to make me meet her eyes. I offer her a quick glance, then look away. “You were strong and smart. You ended your relationship with him the second you realised that he’d crossed boundaries. Some men don’t like to lose, and when they do it becomes a sickness, an obsession, it eats at them, until they do exactly what Alex did—they threaten your family and physically hurt you. They try everything they can think of to force you to stay with them. Willingly or not.”

A heart-wrenching sob fills the bedroom. I slant a look at Charlie. She’s crying, tears running down her face, even as she carries on speaking.

I have the feeling our experiences with the Kingsley men aren’t all that dissimilar.

“Now, having survived Alex’s abuse, tell me which part of that was your fault? What did you do that made him hurt you? Nothing! Not. A. Thing. You. Did. Made. Him. Hurt. You.” A whimper of grief bubbles out of me at the vehemence in her voice. “Just like his father, he’s a weak, spiteful man, a monster who won’t take no for an answer, because he believes that he shouldn’t have to.”

Wrapping both of her arms around me, Charlie squeezes me so hard that my ribs protest. Her face is in my hair as she continues, “I couldn’t love you more than I do, even if I’d birthed you. I take my job as your stepmother very seriously… and you know I’d be the first person to tell you if you’d caused this in any way. Please believe me when I tell you that the only person to blame for this is Alexander.”

“I’ll try...”

The betrayal I felt when Charlie chose my father’s side five years ago is tamped down by her openness now. I don’t fully believe her, because I was wrong to use Alex’s initial attraction to me to make Zeke jealous, but it does help to hear her lay things out like she did.

Alex doesn’t like losing.

To Sander.

To me.

“You are strong,” she tells me. “I expect you to do more than try.” With one final squeeze, Charlie puts enough space between us to allow our gazes to lock. In her eyes, I see the same resolve Zeke and Slash, and sometimes Toker and Nadia, have hit me with over the years. “The only thing more I can ask is for you to have faith that we, as a family, as a club, can get through this together… no more trying to fix everything yourself.”

“Fuckin’ oath,” Dad interjects.

Charlie and I both startle, turning to find that he’s watching us from the doorway along with Zeke and Fret. I have no idea how long they’ve been there. Long enough to hear some things I wish they hadn’t if the miserable expression on Zeke’s face is a sign.

“My woman is right,” Dad announces.

He walks over and sits next to Charlie, the mattress sways as he picks her up and plants her firmly in his lap. The shocked squeak she makes is cute but kind of sad at the same time. My father doesn’t often show Charlie the affection she deserves. He also refuses to listen when we point it out. I’m surprised he’s chosen a moment like this to lavish praise on her.

When I lock eyes with my brother, I see the same pondering on his face.

“I want you to come to me if anyone tries to threaten you.”

“Excuse me, but why would I do that? You are the reason?—”

My father shushes my objection with a snarl. “I could’ve protected you and Sander if you’d come to me with the truth about that little Kingsley prick.”

“Bullshit,” Zeke interjects from the doorway at the same time my brother says, “Fuckin’ hell, Dad, ease up.”

As fury ripples through my father and Zeke takes a step into our room with Fret hot on his heels, I motion for them all to stop. “I don’t want to get into this, not today.”

“Lily,” my fiancé cautions in a testy tone. “He doesn’t get to rewrite history. He, ’specially, doesn’t get to lay any fuckin’ blame on your head.”

Rather than respond to Zeke, I eyeball my father. He’s giving my brother and my fiancé hard looks that don’t make sense in the situation. Anger, I would understand. It’s Dad’s default. The naked hatred in his expression seems extreme, particularly when it’s directed at Fret. Seeing this dislike coming on the heels of his attempt to gaslight me makes my stomach churn. Not once in the years since his underhanded attempt to ally us with the Maddison clan was exposed has my dad tried to claim he could’ve stopped me from getting hurt.

He normally prefers to ignore the past entirely.

Right now, it’s clear that my father, a man I barely trust on a good day, is up to something.

Beside me, Charlie moves uncomfortably on Dad’s lap, seemingly as aware as I am that this is about to flare up into a full-blown argument if we don’t take the heat out of the situation.

“Why don’t we organise some lunch,” I offer softly.

“Good idea,” Charlie replies with a tight smile. She twists to catch my dad’s eye. “There’s some leftover barbeque from last night.”

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