Page 4 of Forbidden Romeo

Which only made my mom’s words from before ring all the louder in my head.

“I love you, Holden,” Mom said, her voice raspy and hoarse. “I love you so much. But if you truly care about this girl, then you need to get rid of her before you ruin her like your father ruined me.” Her words stung, slapping me in the face. But it was the truth in them that hurt the most.

Meg’s sigh pulled me back to the present, as she continued. “Mom thinks that it’s all part of the game.”

“She thinks what my dad did was acceptable?”

She nodded her head. “Even though he crushed me, used me, she said that your dad was just ‘looking out for’ his son. And that he was right to do so.”

Even just hearing that again turned my stomach. “He was just looking out for his fucking Senate seat,” I sneered. “Don’t let anyone else convince you otherwise.”

Nevermind the fact that his little test of Meg’s loyalty involved fucking seducing her himself. Getting her an internship with one of the top chefs in town. Convincing her to cater a dinner for him and some friends. Then inviting her to have a drink afterwards when she was cleaning up and…

Well, the rest was history.

He succeeded.

As much as I hated to admit it, my dad is a charming man. And if I’m half as handsome as he is when I’m in my forties, I’ll consider myself lucky.

Meg fell for his shit hook, line, and sinker.

And Dad filmed it all for me to see. Showing me how she wasn’t up to the task of being a Dorsey if she can be that easily seduced.

But isn’t that the fucking pot calling the kettle black?

My mom wasn’t even innocent in all this. I’m not sure if she was in on it from the start, but when Dad played the video for me, she merely lifted the gin martini to her lips and said: See, Holden? Now, is this what you consider wife material?

Hell, Meg and I had only been dating a few months when he pulled that stunt. We were eighteen. Marriage wasn’t even on my fucking brain yet.

She’s a nice girl and all, but even now, standing here with her, I didn’t feel any zing in my heart. No flip of my chest at the sight of her. We’d never been in love.

“Holden,” Meg said, pulling my thoughts back to the present. “I need to talk to you. Privately. There’s things you don’t know about?—”

From down the hall, the doorbell rang.

Dammit. I knew my dad would want me there by his side when he answered it, but I needed to get this off my chest.

“Meg,” I started, whispering. “I’m so sorry. For everything. What my dad did, there’s no excuse–”

“You’re right,” she said, interrupting me. “But I know you had nothing to do with it. I tried to reach out to you after, but your dad?—”

“It wasn’t my dad,” I admitted. “I didn’t want to see you. I know it wasn’t entirely your fault, but you did cheat on me. With my father. I’m more over it now than I ever have been and I don’t want to hate you anymore.”

She pulls back like my words physically struck her. “Holden,” she whispered. Licking her lips, her eyes darted over my shoulder to where our parents milled about. “There’s more that followed that night?—”

I groaned. “I really don’t want to hear about how your affair with my dad continued after we broke up.”

“No, Holden, please?—”

The doorbell rang again and with a glance over my shoulder, I caught Dad’s angry gaze as he made his way down the hall toward the door. “Shit. I have to do the whole receiving line thing,” I said. “Can we talk after?”

Meg nodded, slowly, lifting her wet gaze to meet mine. “It just makes me wish we hadn’t given up so quickly...”

That’s not how I felt at all. Sure, I wish we hadn’t ended in the terrible way we had. But I knew Meg and I weren’t meant to be. I had no regrets that we had ended… only about how we ended.

My pulse slammed in my ears, blood coursing through my veins. From down the hall, I heard Duncan’s voice booming. “Mr. Dorsey!” Even at an event as solemn as a funeral, Duncan couldn’t seem to keep his voice low.

Megan brushed her hand down my arm. “Holden? Is there any chance for us in the future?”

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