Page 55 of The Unplanned Wedding

She really is a good friend. Fighting back emotions, I gulp hard. “After Irene was laid off, I insisted on taking a job to help out.”

“I bet she wasn’t happy about that,” Zoey murmurs.

“No, she wasn’t.” I half smile in recollection. “She wanted me to go to university, but I told her I’d rather be working and earning, anyway. I wanted to do my bit to take care of us. She recovered, but her health has never been the same.”

As always, when I think of that time in our lives, my chest tightens. “She couldn’t work the long hours she used to. Initially, I worked retail jobs, then graduated to administrative roles. Irene worked part-time, but it wasn’t nearly enough to pay her rent. Luckily, I began to make enough to take care of us. It’s thanks to Irene, I carved out a future for myself. It’s thanks to her, I developed my identity. It’s why I’m determined to take care of her and to give Jillian and Ethan the opportunities I never had.”

“She’s an amazing woman. An extraordinarily strong woman.” Zoey smiles. "So are you."

I ignore her compliment; I don't come close to Irene. "You have no idea what she did for me.” I rub the back of my hand across my nose. “It’s because Irene fought with my school to ensure the teachers gave me the additional attention I needed to catch up with my grades, that I made it through high school. She was so patient with me. I owe her everything. The least I can do is to make sure she has a comfortable home of her own."

My throat constricts as I try to compose myself. She sees the agitation on my face, and her expression crumples.

"I’m so sorry June. I never meant to belittle everything Irene has done for you.”

“I sense a 'but' coming.” I sniffle.

“But I love you so much, and I’ve seen you struggle with your conscience over the years. I’ve seen you work yourself to the bone to take care of your family, and I’m so proud of you for that. But also, I wish you’d take some time out for yourself, for self-care as well, you know?"

I nod. "You’re a good friend, Zoey. You’ve worried about me over the years, and you’ve constantly pushed me to take care of myself, and I am grateful for that." I half smile. "And yes, I do realize that, like many adopted children, I carry this guilt around with me. Not to mention abandonment issues. And a part of me always feels like the people who love memost are the ones who will eventually give me up, like my birth mother did." I half laugh. "Can you tell I’ve been doing a lot of work on myself to figure things out?"

"Oh, sweetheart, I can only imagine what you’re going through. You are a tough, strong girl. You’re the one who rescued me from the mean girls in high school. Hell, you got into a cat fight with them?—”

"I was suspended for a week." I chuckle in recollection. I knew I’d get into trouble but that hadn’t stopped me from springing to my friend’s defense. "And when I told Irene why, she said I’d done the right thing."

"She did?" Zoey blinks. "You never told me that."

"My ma was, and is, seriously, the best mother." And Ireneismy ma, in every way, even if I do feel this need to search for my birth mother, to answer questions about my past. "She gave me enough space to work things out, while also drawing boundaries, know what I mean?"

Zoey nods. "It’s why I understand why you’re doing so much for your family. All I’m asking… No,beggingyou, is to also take the time to enjoy life." She has such a pleading look on her face that I have to nod.

"You’re right again. I admit, I can sometimes be very serious."

"Sometimes?" She scoffs.

"Okay, many times." I chuckle. "It’s why I like to hang with you. You’re my conscience when it comes to letting my hair down."

"Good." She nods. "Get dressed and meet me at the 7A Club in an hour."

20

Knox

"Whose bright idea was it to come to a nightclub?" I glare at the mass of heaving bodies on the floor of the 7A Club. The music is loud, and the laser lights threaten to give me a headache. The only reason I’m here is because my brothers decided we needed to do something different than meet up at the members’ club next door. We decided to give the recently opened nightclub a try and, so far, I'm regretting my decision.

"Better than you glowering at your team and keeping them late on a Sunday night. Which, might I remind you, is traditionally a rest day," Brody replies.

He used to be the most silent of my brothers, until Ryot decided to take the death of his wife to heart and stop talking unless absolutely essential.

Now, Ryot never joins us on a night out. And Brody? He seems to have stepped in to fill the gap. Connor, our youngest brother, left on one of his research trips right after lunch with Arthur. So, it’s Brody, Tyler, and me today.

"Since when did you become so considerate about your employees?" Tyler scoffs.

He nurses his mug of beer in his big, paw-like hands and surveys the scene in front of him with boredom in his eyes. Clearly, he isn’t finding the scene stimulating either.

"It’s called raising productivity levels." Brody flicks the matchstick he loves to chew on from one side of his mouth to the other. "Which, if you decided to join the business and help grow it, you’d know."

Tyler makes a noise of disgust deep in his throat. "The last thing I want to do is spend my days as a keyboard warrior."

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