Page 119 of Worth Every Risk

It’s what I would be doing if I could. But here I am, dressed in a fucking tailored suit, drinking champagne with my ex-wife and pretending everything’s all right on Charlie your-son-is-a-wreck’s seventeenth birthday.

“Delicious cake,” Seb mumbles as he stuffs another forkful into his mouth and chews it down. “Bloody good chef you’ve got.”

I nod, but I don’t care. I don’t give a fuck about anything Seb says right now.

“She was home-schooled, you know,” I say, although I don’t know why.

Seb pauses, fork midway between his mouth and the plate. “Who was? What are you talking about?”

“Aries. Her mother educated her. On the road, mostly.”

“No shit. That sounds like a hell of a lot of work.” He stuffs another lump of cake in his mouth and swallows it down. “Maybe you should sack off the business and do it for Lucie.” He chortles like the idea of me giving up my work to dedicate my life to Lucie is ridiculous. I suppose it is, and at the thought, pain pokes the inside of my chest like nails being hammered through my heart. I’ll never be the type of parent that Mrs McClennon was to Aries. But Aries… she could be like that. She’s devoted to my little girl, but leaving me means leaving Lucie too…

Shit. When Aries leaves, the heartbreak is going to resonate through my entire family…

Across the room, Charlie picks crumbs off his plate, popping them into his mouth one by one. He’s chatting to a friend and his mother. Thank God he’s at least engaging with people. That’s got to be a good sign.

I glance back over at the door, where Aries was standing with Lucie only moments ago, but she’s gone. It’s seven thirty. Lucie’s bedtime.

I’m a jangle of nerves. Aries is here, still inside my house, upstairs, putting my daughter to bed. But then she’ll be gone. Whisked away north of the border to live a life without me in it. And I have to stand here and ignore the fact that it feels like myheart is falling out of me in a bloodied mess that no one else can see.

Hugo Charlton is moving across the room, glass of champagne in hand. He stops at Charlie, exchanges a few words, slaps him on the back and hands him the glass. Then he saunters off, looking delighted.What the hell is he looked so chuffed about?A sinking sensation tugs at my gut.

Fuck.Aries has made me paranoid. I know I didn’t see the bruises on Charlie’s torso, but if the twins would do that to Charlie, how can anything they do be well meaning? Did they really bake him a fucking cake out of the goodness of their hearts? I doubt it. But there’s no evidence to the contrary, and my explosion earlier made me look like the bad guy.

I grip the stem of my champagne glass and stride towards Charlie, leaving Seb sucking icing off his fork.

I step right into the middle of Charlie’s conversation, not caring that I’m interrupting. My manners have gone to shit, if I ever had any in the first place. “Give me your glass,” I order, taking Charlie’s before he can object.

The friend and his mother are standing there, staring at me like I’m the jerk who has stood up and blocked the screen in the middle of the cinema.

“What the fuck, Dad?” Charlie hisses. This is as much as I’ve got out of him since I smashed the birthday cake, but I wasn’t expecting more.

“Have mine,” I say, swapping them over. “And don’t drink more than one.”

Then, without a word of apology or explanation, I take the drink and walk out of the room. Seb, still licking icing off his fork, calls after me, but I don’t respond.

I pace down to the kitchen, setting the champagne glass on the granite-topped island. I place my palms flat either side of theglass and stare at it. Bubbles rise, non-stop streams, oblivious patterns. Meaningless.

Maybe I have gone mad. Lost the plot.What the hell am I doing with Charlie’s champagne? What do I think Hugo Charlton did to it?Damn Aries and her panic. It’s infected me. I’m itchy all over with it.

“You all right?”

I turn to find Jack Lansen standing at the bottom of the stairs. Kate’s brother. Nico’s best friend. Handsome fucker. His girlfriend hovers behind him, golden curls free-falling over her shoulders, and for a painful second I’m reminded of Aries.

I was so swept up in my own thoughts that I didn’t know anyone had followed me. Nico and Kate are behind, and the four of them peer at me.

“Charlie told us what happened with the cake the Charlton twins made,” Jack says.

I nod, focusing on the bubbles in the glass. My skin is beginning to heat up, knowing there are multiple pairs of worried eyes on me, wondering if I’m in the middle of some kind of crisis. Maybe I am.

“There’s probably some left somewhere. If you want to try it,” I say. “I didn’t smash the whole thing. I’m sure what’s left is perfectly edible.”

They’re silent, but I swear I can hear the rustle of their clothing, like they don’t know whether to stay or go.

“You drinking that champagne?” Nico says, stepping around Jack and coming towards me.

“I think it’s poisoned.” My voice is emotionless, like I’m dead inside. I know, without looking over, that the four of them are sharing looks like I’m insane.

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