Page 65 of Whatever Will Be

My heart sinks. My suspicions were justified.

No, I definitely shouldn’t have confronted him alone.

Liam Cassini holds all the cards and he knows it.

But now that this moment has arrived the words need to be said. “You’re the twins’ father.”

He shrugs with indifference. “So I was told.”

Every nerve ending in my body bristles. “If that’s what you were told then it’s true. Jules wouldn’t have lied. Anyway, you know damn well it’s true. You wouldn’t have parted with a dime out of the goodness of your heart, although no one could accuse you of being supremely generous considering what you could have afforded to give them.”

He throws his head back and laughs. “Ah, so that’s why you’re here. To demand additional funds. How very Aaronson-like of you to expect handouts.”

“Handouts? Mara and Caitlin are your daughters! They’ve been growing up here right under your nose and you’ve never shown the slightest interest in them. Why?”

His eyes narrow. “Julianne made the decision to keep them. I was not involved.”

I glare at this disgusting man who fathered two beautiful children with my sister. “Clearly you were involved at some point.”

“Yes, clearly, but there was never a relationship. We fucked one night and that’s all.”

This time I do flinch over his vulgarity. “Jules would never have let you touch her. What the hell did you do to my sister?”

He rolls his eyes. “Look, I wasn’t planning to share this story with you but if you’re going to start making slanderous accusations then you leave me with no choice.”

He glances at his wife’s portrait, frowns, and then sighs.

“Julianne showed up here one night and sat down at the bar while I was making the rounds. She was alone. She said it was her twenty first birthday and she seemed a little weepy and pathetic so I gave her a drink. She asked to come home with me. Before you assume the worst, you should know that she was aware that I was about to be married. Whitney happened to be in the city that weekend. Yes, Gretchen, I took your sister home and fucked the living daylights out of her just like she begged me to. I’m guilty of that. But there were no promises made. Then Julianne comes to me a few months later with the news that she’s pregnant. What’s more, she wants money. I gave her money and I kept giving it to her. I’ve never had anything to do with those kids because that’s the way she wanted it. So there you have it. Your sister was after cash and a sperm donor and she schemed her way into getting them. Julianne got exactly what she wanted.”

During his horrid speech my hand moves to my mouth but this doesn’t extinguish the urge to vomit. This description of Jules isn’t one I can picture.

But Liam Cassini isn’t finished. He leans forward and drops his voice into something hideously sensual. “I will admit, your sister was one eager little wildcat. Fucking her was fun. I’ll bet you really enjoy opening those pretty legs of yours too. We could have had a good time, you and me, if only I were interested in sticking my dick into my little brother’s leftovers.”

He notes my horrified face and smiles with satisfaction. “Interesting. I wasn’t sure about that. You and Trent. I would have credited you with better taste and more sense.” Then he checks his watch. “I’ve got a real meeting in two minutes so I’m afraid we need to cut this short. But you tell my kid brother to come and see me real soon. He and I now have a lot to talk about.”

There’s nothing I can say right now that won’t make the situation even worse. Without another word, I bolt from Liam Cassini’s office, down the stairs and out to the parking lot before I take another breath.

For a moment, I need to lean on the hood of the minivan so that I don’t fall over. Then I realize he might be watching from a window so I straighten up, get behind the wheel and take the road back to town.

Despite the bright sunny day, I can see nothing but bleakness ahead.

Not only have I provoked Liam Cassini by exposing a truth he’s been hiding, but I’ve also given him ammunition to extort Trent.

And I have little doubt that’s what he has in mind. There was too much bad blood between them already and now they’re at war over the fate of the brewery. Liam is capable of terrible things and the twins are now caught in the crossfire.

The film of tears in my eyes gets angrily blinked away. This is not a time to fall apart.

The girls don’t need to be picked up from preschool for another three hours. Trent had conference calls scheduled for most of the day. He always works at his house and I know that’s where I’ll find him.

With my heart in pieces, I ring his doorbell and he answers quickly.

“Hey.” His smile disappears when he inspects my face. He reaches for me with alarm, pushing my hair away, cupping my chin. “Baby, what happened? What is it?”

I jump into his arms and sob on his shoulder as he holds me.

Then I tell him everything.

13

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