Page 13 of Inked Persuasion

I flinched but ignored the barb. I was an asshole, and I knew it. “I don’t understand,” I growled.

“You don’t need to understand it. My relationship with your parents and your brother has nothing to do with you.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. It has everything to do with me.”

“You’re acting like such an idiot,” she spat.

“I’m acting like a man who watched you parade around on TV after my brother died. I watched you in a pretty wedding dress, soaking up the limelight for apparent funds or whatever. Money my parents never mentioned to me. That is what I see when I look at you. I don’t see the good girl my parents apparently do. You can take this precious little fantasy of yours and shove it. I will not let you hurt my mom and dad.”

Annabelle stared at me, blinking slowly before quietly setting down the plate she held, her hands shaking. “Please tell your parents thank you for dinner. I need to go.”

I cursed under my breath. “Annabelle—”

“No. I think you’ve said enough.” Then she turned and walked out of the kitchen. I sighed.

“You’re going to want to come into the living room, son,” my father said, his voice stony.

I set down the plate I had been washing, shut off the water, and turned to see my father glaring from the other end of the kitchen, his hands fisted at his sides.

“Dad—” I began.

“No. You’re going to get your ass out into the living room, and we’re going to have a talk. Because if I don’t have a second to calm down as you walk in here, I’m going to beat your ass for the way you just talked to that young lady.”

“You don’t know what she’s done.”

“No, it seems thatyoudon’t. So, get your fucking ass into the living room.”

I hadn’t seen my dad with this much energy or spark in months. I blinked at him before exhaling, then turned on my heel and made my way to the living room as ordered.

My dad came the other way, his chest heaving as he worked through whatever the hell he was thinking. My mom glared at me, her mouth pressed into a thin line. “How could you?” she asked, her voice soft, cracking.

“What? What is it about her? You saw what the press did with her. She used it for personal gain. I don’t know what kind of game she was playing, maybe looking for sponsorship deals or money or speaking deals. I don’t know. But her face was plastered everywhere, the perfect little wife who gave up her innocence for my brother. It was a circus around here at the end. Don’t you remember?”

My mother swallowed hard. My dad paced behind her before gently putting his hands on her shoulders.

“Annabelle Montgomery is our daughter-in-law,” my dad bit out, and I let out a breath.

“Maybe legally, but not in any other way.”

“You do not get to put your titles on her.”

I looked at my mother as she spoke but didn’t say anything. I had a feeling if I did, I would only dig myself in deeper. I didn’t understand why they defended her like this or what I could be missing.

“I thought you knew everything, but it seems you were so blinded by grief or anger or whatever the hell you think she did, that you missed some key aspects of what happened in those final moments. So, we’re going to tell you,” my mother said.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked, uneasy.

My dad patted my mother’s shoulder and then leaned down. “You rest, I’ll explain,” Dad said. He looked up at me, grief weighing heavily on his face. “When we knew Jonah wouldn’t have long, when we knew we were nearing the end, he said that he wanted one last thing. A hail Mary, he called it. He wanted to marry his best friend, to call her his bride, something he would never be able to do thanks to the disease riding his body.”

“I know that part,” I whispered.

“But do you know that Annabelle didn’t want to marry him or have any part of it? That she was afraid it would be too much for him?”

I shook my head, frowning. “No, I thought she egged him on.”

“You’re such an idiot,” my dad said, and my head shot up.

“I know what I saw.”

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