Page 64 of The Billionaire's Cinderella

“He loved her,” he says dully.

The familiar bewilderment and bitterness creep back into my mind, casting all the good stuff into shadow.

“We thought he did. Which was why his death was so hard. It was hard for me. I can’t imagine what my mother went through. Losing the love of her life and being kicked out of her apartment—it wasn’t hers hers, but you know what I mean—all within a couple of weeks.”

He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he makes a derisive sound. Maybe he’s choking on his own memories.

“Would you like to know how my parents were together?” he asks.

My gut reaction is a solid hell no. Not with that look on his face.

“You don’t have to—”

“Icy silences. Hostility. Like a fog hanging in the air all the time. Glares. Long absences. Stilted family dinners. Excruciating holidays and vacations. They hated each other, and I resented them for forgetting I was there. And for involving me in their petty bullshit.”

He lobs a challenging stare across the sofa at me, daring me to say the wrong thing.

There’s only one thing I can say:

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“My mother drank. She complained about him and his little girlfriend. I was her captive audience. I couldn’t wait to get away from both of them. I took off for college the first chance I got and never looked back.”

I nod. “I don’t blame you.”

My reaction seems to mollify him. He leans back and clasps his hands.

“I could never figure out why he never just divorced my mother and married your mother, since he clearly loved her and was miserable in his marriage. I assumed it was money. He didn’t want to split his fortune in half by giving my mother a settlement. My mother probably stuck around through the humiliation of him having a girlfriend because she didn’t want to disrupt her precious life with the other ladies who lunch on the Upper East Side.”

“I can’t argue with you,” I say sadly. “He had two families and he messed them both up, didn’t he?”

“Fuck yeah. I know he was only human, and maybe he stuck around because he thought it would be best for me, but one of the things that really gets me is that he was too cheap or chickenshit to make a decision. If he loved your mother so much and his life was so miserable without her, why didn’t he move heaven and earth to be with her? I always thought he was a coward for that. If you love someone, you can’t just let them go because things are hard. You can’t just live half of a life because you’re too paralyzed to try for what you want.”

I frown, the words striking an unexpected chord deep inside me.

You’ve got my entire life on hold.

You don’t get to let your pride and your fear ruin this between us.

According to Liam, my father lived half an authentic life. But isn’t that what I’m currently doing in my own life? Living in fear and paralysis because Ryker might decide I’m not good enough for him one day? His words and actions have always screamed that he’s crazy about me. Why am I discounting those in favor of something that could one day happen? What sense does that make? That’s like refusing to cuddle your new puppy because it might one day get hit by a car. There may be a grain of logic in there somewhere, if I squint hard enough, but is that any way to live?

“I always wondered if things would’ve been different if he’d lived,” Liam continues, jarring me out of my thoughts. “I think my mother was determined to be a martyr no matter what happened. That was her great role in life. I think her bitterness ate the hole in the stomach that killed her, if I’m being honest. But you and me… We’re siblings. Maybe we would’ve gotten to know each other. Spent some time together.”

I can’t help but laugh at that unlikely image. “Doubtful. You didn’t want anything to do with me the couple of times we met. Why would you? Your father’s kid with some other woman? A little girl who was ten years younger than you? Come on.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Rueful grin as he rubs his hands together. “Plus, my mother would never have forgiven me if I’d made one move in your direction back then. She was too busy eradicating you and your mother from our lives. As you know.”

“She didn’t want a reminder of her husband’s other family? God, what a bitch.”

We both laugh, and the mood suddenly shifts. To my complete astonishment, he hooks an arm around my shoulder and brings me in for a firm kiss on the cheek.

“You’re my sister. You were only a little kid back then. You didn’t deserve that.”

He quickly lets me go and returns to his own space, leaving me startled and suddenly misty. I’m not sure where all this is going, but I already feel as though I’ve won something. Maybe that’s enough, considering where we started from.

“Wow,” I say, feeling a bit dazed as I touch the spot on my cheek. “I’m not sure what’s happening to my life this week.”

“Brace yourself. There’s more. I’ve finally been going through my mother’s things. Trying to get things cleared out. Settle her estate. Anyway, I found something.”

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