Page 98 of Sweet Little Thing

“When I found out Hilda was pregnant, I didn’t see any other option. In my father’s world, everything belongs to him. He always gets what he wants. If anyone tries to take something from him, his brutality has no bounds. If he found out his son had slept with his new wife before he had, I’d become a threat. Some fucked up form of competition. If he thought I was the father of his youngest son, it would be even worse.”

My stomach was in knots. I felt ill. I knew his father had hurt him, but neither he nor Geraldine had told me the extent of the abuse. How was Stone a functioning, successful adult after that childhood? Or was he? I didn’t know him that well. He’d hidden his son from me. He could be hiding more. Did he have more darkness inside that he covered up? I hated myself for thinking he was deceitful. But the fear was there. How could it not be?

“You still work for him. He’s raising your son.” I paused after saying that aloud. Facing it and accepting it were two different things.

Stone dipped his chin as if he needed a moment to regroup. When he raised his head, he looked like a man silently pleading and preparing for battle at the same time. “Do you think Wills is my son?”

It was a question I had thought I knew the answer to until he asked me. I held the proof in my hand. Wasn’t Wills’ paternity already established? He hadn’t denied anything. He had explained his relationship with his stepmother. I wasn’t sure why he was asking me this now. I thought he’d explain why and try to help me understand.

I held the photos up. “Yes.”

I wanted Stone to say something, but he didn’t. With that one word, his entire face shuttered closed. That bored, unavailable look I hated so much had returned.

He straightened and walked past me down the hallway. He didn’t stop or say a word. All I heard was his bedroom door as it closed behind him.

Chapter

Fifty-Nine

Beulah

I waited, unsure if I was capable of staying.

After ten minutes had passed and he hadn’t left his room, I decided I couldn’t stay with Stone. I knew he was hurting—Jasper had cut him deeply. But he’d left me alone when we needed to talk.

My room seemed so far away now. Everything I owned was still in there, although I had been sleeping in his room. I couldn’t even walk to my room. I needed to leave so I could curl up in private. I had to find a way to control the complete anguish that had overcome me. Doing that here, so close to Stone, made me feel vulnerable.

I had nowhere to go, but I had a car.

My purse was still sitting on the table by the entrance. My heart was heavy as I stood, weighing my options. I was fully aware that if I left, it could mean the end with Stone. I may never walk back into this apartment again. Even after learning his secret,the man down the hall still held my heart. It didn’t matter to me if Stone had more dark secrets to unveil. I closed my eyes tightly as they burned with tears. The realization that Stone could be hiding a twisted, ugly side to himself still didn’t diminish my love for him, which made me equally twisted.

Walking to the door, I picked up my purse and left. The weight of the door closing behind me held so much significance. Despair weighed on me, making it hard for me to go. Each step away from him, from the happiness I’d found there, tore at my heart. What I wanted and what was right were two different things.

I stopped at the top step and looked back. Memories, so many wonderful memories, were inside there. How did I leave them behind?

Finally, as I walked down the stairs, I found a way to breathe through the sorrow. It would be a constant thing that wouldn’t leave me easily—if ever.

When I reached the second floor, the door was open, and Fiona stood there. Her hip rested against the doorframe, and her arms crossed her chest. She was wearing one of her running outfits but didn’t seem to be leaving for a run. Her eyes were on me, watching me. Sympathy was there as if she knew.

“Where are you going?” she asked me.

“I’m not sure.” My car was the only place I had figured out so far.

She dropped her arms and stepped back to clear the path into her apartment. “Come inside.”

Fiona’s apartment was too close to Stone. I glanced up and thought for a moment that if I got far enough away, my heart might hurt less. I knew that wasn’t true. Nothing was going to ease this pain, but staying close to him may be easier.

It was hard to accept that he had chosen to be alone tonight when I knew he needed me.

“He may want me to leave the building.” As much as that hurt to say, I knew Stone could shut people out. He had walked away from me. The last time I looked at his face, it was so empty, as if I had become dead to him. The memories gone. Nothing remaining.

Fiona sighed. “Who do you think called me and told me to catch you before you could leave? I wasn’t standing here by accident as you were making your escape.”

The small sliver of hope that coursed through me wasn’t enough to ease my grief completely. But there was something. “Stone called you?” I needed confirmation.

She nodded. “Yes. He said you had nowhere to go and didn’t want you sleeping in your car. He asked me to intercept you. And if you still leave and refuse to stay, I need to call him. He needs to know.”

Because he wanted me safe. Tears welled up in my eyes again. I wanted to crumple to the floor and cry until the pain was gone or I went numb. Whatever came first.

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