Page 6 of Be My Traitor

“Romy’s in the kitchen with Amber,” I said as we went back downstairs. “He’s going to try and feed her something a little more nutritious than cookies.”

“Cookie?” Louis’s ears pricked up at the word.

“No cookies. Dinner,” Ivy said firmly. I admired how she was able to set boundaries with her son. I really needed to be more like Ivy in my parenting, especially since Louis didn’t seem all that upset to hear that he wouldn’t be getting a cookie right now.

When we entered the kitchen, I was pleased to see that Romy had managed to persuade Amber to help him put together some mac and cheese. As I watched, he tossed in some finely chopped broccoli, getting Amber to help him put each piece in the sauce. Maybe I should come round here for Friday dinners more often. He was easily sneaking in the vegetables Amber would never eat when it was just the two of us.

“Room for another little one?” Ivy asked, going over to the high chair by the kitchen table and strapping Louis in.

“Of course.” Romy came over and affectionately ruffled Louis’s hair before kissing Ivy. There was so much love between them. I always loved seeing them together. Anyone else and maybe I might have been jealous that they had three men to love them when I couldn’t even hold onto one, but Ivy deserved all the love in the world and more.

“Amber and I will be in my office if you need me,” Ivy said, as she crossed over to the wine rack and pulled out a bottle of red. She grabbed a couple of glasses from the cupboard and gestured with her head for me to follow her.

Ivy’s office was more like a cosy little nest than a place of business, but anyone who thought this meant she was soft would be making a serious mistake. Despite the plush sofas, comfy chairs, and brightly colour blocked walls, Ivy ran her international business empire with an iron fist. She knew exactly what was going on in every little aspect of her corporation. She always said that she did her best thinking when she was comfortable, so she’d wanted to create a space which made her feel relaxed. Now I was grateful for the soft seating as I sank down onto one of the couches, Ivy sitting next to me. She poured two generous glasses of wine, placing the bottle on a low coffee table before tucking her feet under herself, getting comfortable.

“So, do you want to tell me what’s wrong, Mills? Lucas is my ex, not yours. If you’re upset on my behalf, you don’t need to be. He’s the distant past and I’m happy with my life now.”

I took a large gulp of wine, needing all the Dutch courage I could muster before telling her the secret I’d kept for so long.

“Lucas and I hooked up once,” I revealed.

Ivy’s eyebrows shot up, but she pulled herself together before speaking. “Okay. I didn’t know that. I guess it must have been a fling if you didn’t tell me about it?”

“Just the one night,” I confirmed.

“Okay, but if it was just one night, why would you be upset about him coming back? Unless…” Ivy’s eyes widened as she put two and two together. “He’sAmber’s dad?”

“Yeah.” A tear rolled down my cheek and fell into my wine. “That’s why I didn’t tell you. I couldn’t.”

“Milly, you can tell me anything. You should know that.” Ivy put a hand on my knee to reassure me. “No judgement from me. Ever.”

“Thanks, Ivy.” I smiled sadly.

“So what happened between the two of you?”

“I always liked him,” I confessed. “I figured that after he’d been married to you there was no way he’d be interested in me.”

“Oh Milly.” Ivy sighed. “I wish you’d realise how gorgeous you are. You could have anyone you wanted. You just need a little more self-confidence.”

“You know me. It takes a couple of drinks before I can get up the nerve to talk to a man, let alone anything else,” I said. “That’s why, when I met him in a club, I was able to flirt with him. I thought it was harmless, but then Lucas kissed me…” A wistful smile spread over my face at the memory. “I figured what the hell? He wasn’t married to you anymore. A bit of harmless fun was all it was meant to be. He stayed the night at mine and it was amazing. I’ve never been with anyone who made me feel the way he did. We were up all night and what he did to me…” I bit my lip, not wanting to go into too much detail out of respect to my friend. “Anyway, the next morning, he stayed for breakfast and I really thought it was the start of something special, you know? Then Archer came over.”

“Wait – Archer knew about the two of you?” I frowned.

“Don’t be mad at him,” I begged. “I asked him not to tell you until Lucas and I were an official couple. I wanted our relationship to have a chance to develop without letting history complicate things. Only Lucas left later that day and never came back. I never heard from him, not an email, not a text, not a DM, nothing. I thought that was it, but then I missed my period. I hadn’t been with anyone else.”

“So, Lucas walked out on you, leaving you with the baby?” Ivy clenched her fist. “I’m going to kill him. Theboysare going to kill him.”

“You can’t. Lucas doesn’t know,” I told her, panicked by her strong reaction. “I thought about telling him, but I figured that if he couldn’t be bothered to get back in touch with me, he probably wouldn’t be interested in being a father.”

“You can’t know that though,” Ivy pointed out. “For all that he went along with my father’s plans, Lucas always seemed like he had certain standards. I’m sure he would have wanted to be involved with Amber if he’d known.”

“I did try to tell him,” I said. “I was about eight months pregnant and feeling hormonal, so I reached out to him, wanting to see if we could figure something out.”

“And?”

“And nothing. None of the contact details I had for him worked. Or if they did, he wasn’t answering. So, I took that as a sign that it wasn’t meant to be. Anyway, Amber and I don’t need him. Never have, never will.”

“He has a right to know, though,” Ivy said gently. “Maybe he won’t want to have anything to do with his daughter, but that’s his decision to make, not yours. And what about Amber? Don’t you think she should get to know her father?”

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