Page 76 of Cruel Fate

He sips his drink. “Did she tell you before that she was adopted?”

“No. How do you know?”

“That’s why her last name sounded familiar. Mayfair. It’s not common. We had a Gwendolyn Mayfair apply for a grant through our foundation, over twenty years ago. Apparently, we helped her adopt a baby girl.”

“Her adoptive mother passed away? That’s how she ended up in foster care?”

“It seems that way. Gwendolyn Mayfair was diagnosed with breast cancer a year after Stella’s adoption went through. A year after that, she was dead.”

I don’t understand. “Why didn’t this Gwendolyn woman make arrangements for Stella’s care? It sounds like she had time.”

Ash shrugs. “It could be Gwendolyn was seeking treatment and hoped she’d go into remission. That’s all I know. I’m sorry I gave her a hard time. I didn’t know her background. The next time I see her, I’ll apologize. She hasn’t had it easy, and I admire her for getting through it.”

“Yeah, she really is remarkable.” An idea shoots through my brain. “Stella has biological parents out there.”

Shaking his head, he says, “No. Her biological mother was a teenaged girl, and one night she was driving drunk and died in a car crash not long after the adoption went through. I don’t know her name, if she had any family, and if she did, where they lived. A friend who works at the courthouse told me all she could. The records are sealed, and even I can’t open them.”

I slump in my seat. “I don’t know if Stella knows about her adoptive mother, or her biological one for that matter. I don’t suppose it makes a difference now.”

“No, I don’t think so, either. Mainly I dug around because I was curious. You don’t hear the Mayfair name very often. Thatmust be why it triggered something. Our foundation helps pay adoption fees and assists a few families a year. What are the chances you’d meet her?” he asks, thrumming his fingers against the tabletop.

“Maybe some things are just meant to be,” I murmur, but I rush on before Ash can call me a sentimental fool. He’s not one to believe in wishes and daydreams. “Stella’s going to meet Mina Forrester about declaring a charity to support. Perhaps she can work with your foundation.”

“That’s a good idea. We should talk about that soon.”

I come away from drinks feeling good but a little unsettled. The penthouse is empty without Zarah, but I don’t have the heart to tell her. If she wants to move into Ash’s apartment, I won’t stop her, but I feel like it’s too soon after the plane crash. Like I’ve lost not only Mom and Dad, but Zarah, too. And Stella getting caught going through Denton’s email shoves a wedge between us.

I wander around the penthouse. I should be working, get back the hours I wasted this afternoon, but why bother. I can’t do anything on my own. If Denton and Cramer hadn’t started their shit, I might have made some headway I could feel happy with. Instead, I’ve been wasting time fending them off. What I really should have done was ask for help sooner. They won’t listen to me. That’s fine. They’ll listen to Nigel.

The party’s in five days. The company will be okay until then.

I text Stella around nine o’clock and ask her what she’s doing. She replies she’s hanging up clothes—the ones she and Zarah bought were delivered.

I don’t want to be alone.

Can I bring some wine and dessert over?I text.

Of course. Are you okay?

Will be when I see u.

I hit every red light on the way to her apartment, and agitated and tense, I park in front of her building. I’m eager to see her, but Stella’s presence doesn’t give me the peace and joy it once did. In silence, we eat Lucille’s cake and sip on wine out of mismatched glasses she says she bought at a thrift store. They’re charming, just like she is.

We make love, and afterward, I hold her in my arms. I’m scared. I’m willing to overlook the things she’s done to keep her in my life. If I ask her about Denton’s email, I’m sure she would have a perfectly good explanation for it all, but she doesn’t offer to tell me on her own, and she falls asleep. I hug her, and she sighs, pressing herself closer. I’m so in love with her, she fills my every chasm, my every fissure.

Is this how Ash feels when he’s with my sister?

Like I could no longer live if Stella’s not with me.

I hope.

For Zarah’s sake.

As exhausted as I am, I listen to Stella breathe for a lot longer than I should.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Stella

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