Page 82 of Play It Sinful

“Sean, you can’t be in love with Ash, you can’t.”

“We don’t need to talk about it now. You need to relax.”

Closing his eyes, he shakes his head. “This can’t wait, Sean. You must understand. You and Ashley…” He licks his dry lips. “You have to end it at once.”

A punch to my stomach would hurt less. I knew he’d have a hard time with it, but I didn’t expect him to ask us to break up.

“I love her, Dad.”

His eyes turn frantic. “Youcan’tlove her! Not like that anyway.”

“Why not? Because she’s my stepsister?”

“She’s not your stepsister. She’s your half-sister.”

Every single cell in my body freezes, and I can’t get air into my lungs. “What?”

Dad closes his eyes. “Ashley is my biological daughter.”

Despair washes over me. I feel sick. “You cheated on Mom?”

“It’s not that simple, son. I’ve known Marnie since we were kids. She’s my best friend, but I’ve always known I wanted more than friendship from her. I was too much of a coward and let her slip through my fingers. She married someone else, and I married your mother. Years later, we reconnected. We were both miserable in our marriages.”

“Don’t you dare give me that excuse,” I grit out. “You’re unhappy, you get a divorce.”

“I wanted to, but your mother was already pregnant with you, and as you know, it was a difficult pregnancy. I couldn’t do that to her.”

“Oh, what you did was so much better.” Hot tears roll down my cheeks. “How certain are you that Ash is my…” God, I can’t even say it.

“One hundred percent certain. I did a paternity test.”

I’m shaking from head to toe, torn between anger and despair. “You should have told Kenzie and me the truth.”

“I know, Sean. I’m so sorry I didn’t. Please forgive me.”

I shuffle back, needing to put distance between myself and this person I no longer recognize. “How can you ask for forgiveness? I’m in love with my own sister thanks to all your lies!”

He winces, and the heart monitoring machine beeps in warning. The nurse rushes into the room. “What happened?”

Remorse eats at me. I shouldn’t have yelled at him while he’s recovering. “Is he having another heart attack?”

While the nurse checks on him, he holds my stare. “Please don’t tell Marnie, son. It’ll destroy her.”

I wipe the tears from my face. I want to say something, but the words get stuck in my throat. The doctor comes in, and I move into a corner. I want to get the hell out of here, but I can’t leave without knowing Dad is all right.

“Is he going to be okay?” I ask the doctor.

“He needs to rest. Please return to the waiting area.”

When I don’t move, the nurse steers me out of the room. I hold Dad’s stare for as long as I can until the nurse shuts the door in my face.

Alone in the hallway, the brunt of Dad’s confession hits me full force. A boulder seems to rest on my chest, caving it in. Ashley is my sister. I fell in love with mysister. My pulse is pounding in my ears, and the familiar darkness I haven’t felt in years returns with a vengeance.

I force my legs to move. I can’t stay here. But when I see the sign to the waiting area, I stop. I can’t go that way. Marnie will take one look at my face and realize something is wrong. As much as I hate Dad for withholding the truth, I’ll have to do the same now. Marnie is part of the deception, and I’m angry with her too, but if I tell her I know, she might confess to Ashley, and I can’t have that. I must protect Ash at all costs. I’d never want her to feel as horrible as I’m feeling right now.

My heart shatters as soon as I make the decision. Keeping the secret means I have to hurt Ashley in a different way. The darkness swirling in my chest becomes larger, just as the noise in my head gets louder. I want to run away… disappear.

I see the sign for the stairs and make a run for it. Once I hit the stairwell, I rush down the steps. By the time I reach the ground floor, my breaths are coming out in bursts, but I don’t slow down. I must look like a lunatic, running through the hospital like that. I stop only once I’m outside and belatedly remember Ashley and Kenzie took the car.

---