Page 24 of Inked Obsession

Maybe that was why I had fallen for Marshall so quickly. Because he was the first person who saw me for me and not as simply one of the Wilder siblings.

The only girl of seven, but I couldn’t imagine my life without my big brothers.

“What’s going on?” Eli asked in his usual gruff manner.

I sighed. “There’s a few things I need to tell you, and I could use some help. I need you to let me get through this first and go through exactly what I need from you before you get all growly and overprotective.”

“That intro doesn’t bode well,” Evan said softly.

“Just hear her out,” Elliot said after a moment.

I let out a breath. “It seems Marshall might have a daughter.”

They all burst out with curses, and I held up my hand. Thankfully, they understood, and I continued. I told them about the brunch with my in-laws, what I had heard so far, what little more I knew, and what Clarence and Beverly had asked for.

“So, they want money,” Elliot, my youngest brother, said.

I nodded. “They do, and I don’t know what I want to do.”

“You don’t have to do a damn thing,” East said.

“I know. I don’t even know if any of this is real. I don’t know that it’s not just a ploy for money, even though they have enough themselves. I don’t know anything. I want to know something. And that means I need your expertise.”

Eli nodded. “You know I have friends in the PI business, I can get that done.”

I bit my lip. “I just feel weird asking anybody else.”

“Do the Montgomerys know?” Evan asked.

I nodded, and then I froze. “Yes, but they aren’t in the know when it comes to ferreting out information like you guys.”

“I feel so special.” East snorted.

“You should feel special. In all reality, I just need my big brothers to listen to me and help me figure this out. Is the girl real? Is she Marshall’s? And what should I do if she is? If this child is Marshall’s, and my husband did indeed cheat on me for however long during our marriage, what do I do then?”

“You don’t have to do anything,” East added.

“I know I don’thaveto. What if I need to? Let’s say my husband did cheat on me. If he fathered a child outside of our marriage and told his family about it but lied to me for years of our marriage, what do I do? It’s not that little girl’s fault. I don’t know if I can look at the money in my account and not think of the betrayal. So, what do I do? Do I give it to this Natasha and Madison? Or do I walk away? Do I pretend none of this ever happened and try to move on with my life?”

Elijah leaned forward. “Do you think that Marshall’s parents would take legal action?”

“They threatened it, but I don’t know if they have a leg to stand on. It’s not like the government can take the money back.” At least, I didn’t think so.

“Okay, so now what? What do we do?” Elijah asked, his voice low.

“I don’t know, but I need your help. I guess the first step is figuring out if all of this is true. And if that’s the case, then I have to figure out what to do next.”

“You’re not sleeping,” Eli said out of the blue, and I frowned.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

All of my brothers began speaking at once, growling at me and each other. This was the norm for them, so I let them get it out of their systems.

“You need to take care of yourself. Damn it, we were just there,” Elliot said.

I shook my head. “I can take care of myself. I don’t need you guys hovering over me.”

“We do not hover,” Everett said, finally breaking the silence. “We may take over your life, but it’s out of love.”

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