Page 65 of Sugar Coated

She scoffed. “I highly doubt that.”

“Were the second round of kidnappers your friends too, or are we not going to count them?”

The look she gave me right then could kill, so it’s a good thing looks didn’t have that kind of power. “I don’t know what you mean.” Okay, that statement wasn’t so believable. It was spoken with such an attitude I wanted to reach across the table and punch her in the face.

“Oh, you don’t? Maybe I’m thinking of someone else, then, someone who hired a group of criminals to follow me and kidnap me when they failed to kill Kieran? You have some nerve. If you’re cold enough to have your brother killed, you should have enough balls to admit it.”

Tessa frowned, and then she glanced around us again, as if to make sure we were alone. Being in a new environment, she didn’t know what was out of place or what was new—something that worked in our favor.

She eventually said, “When someone who has always been loyal to you shows those loyalties waver, he becomes useless. Kieran stopped being my brother when he chose you over me.”

“So, what, the only logical answer to his disloyalty to you was to try to have him killed?”

“No, the only logical answer was to have him killed in front of cameras so it would be memorialized. If he would’ve given his life, then I wouldn’t have needed to do a thing to you.” When I only glared at her, she went on, “What? Aren’t we having a heart-to-heart here? I only needed a story. You were the best story for two years, so when you waltzed back into our lives, I needed a new plan.”

“And naturally that plan involved having your brother murdered?”

“After our mother left, our father preached loyalty to each other above all else. Loyalty, and doing whatever it takes to get things done. He worked eighty hours a week to try to give my brother and me a better life. Kieran should’ve known choosing you over me would only end in pain and misery.”

I couldn’t say anything to that. Damn, was she cold.

“So, yes, when you came back, my first thought was, how can I use this? It wasn’t too far-fetched to say that your kidnapper might still be after you, and it provided the perfect excuse to have Kieran killed in front of news cameras.”

“It really is all about the rise to power, huh? That’s really it?”

The way Tessa looked at me right then cut me to the bone. “It’s easy for you to say when you’ve never struggled. Even before your father got into politics, you were fine. You didn’t wonder where your next meal would come from. You don’t know what it’s like. You’ve always been a spoiled little princess.”

I took issue with that, but I let her go on.

“And it’s always the pretty ones that get national attention. You weren’t supposed to come back. Your disappearance would skyrocket your father’s political career. Be the gift that just kept giving. Book deals, documentaries. Whether or not your body was ever found, it wouldn’t matter. America loves the unknown,and they love it even more when the face of the unknown is a wide-eyed, pretty girl.”

Her words reminded me a bit of what Lola had said. This world only appreciated girls and women when they were young and beautiful; anyone who didn’t fit the mold simply didn’t matter as much.

It sucked. It really fucking sucked.

Tessa frowned. “But then my brother showed his true colors. It took two years, but it happened. I will not apologize for going after him. It’s the least he deserved for betraying me. I’m sure if you were in my position, you’d feel the same.”

I didn’t address her statement, but I did ask something else. “And what about my dad?”

“What about him?”

“Was it always the plan to marry him and ride his coattails all the way up?”

She shrugged. “Believe it or not, Kieran was the one who picked him out of all the possible candidates for me. He started to work for him, got in his good graces, and then introduced us—now I wonder if, even back then, he had a thing for you. If all of this was just Kieran’s plan to get to you.” A bitter chuckle came from her. “Maybe it was. I’m not the only devious one in my family, as you’ve seen.”

“So my dad doesn’t know about any of this?”

“No, of course not. Your father is just a means to an end. His career in politics would’ve floundered years ago if it wasn’t for me. I’m the reason he wants to campaign for senator next.” She sounded so proud of it, too, like she’d finally gotten what she’d always wanted.

My anger toward my dad really was misguided. I hated that Tessa was such a good liar, so good at setting the scene to the cameras, that I had no idea this whole time.

“Look, you and I, we’ll never be on the same page, so let me ask you this: what do you want? Tell me why you had me brought here under false pretenses, so we can get on with this.”

“What do I want?” I echoed faintly. For starters, a redo would be nice. Kieran might’ve saved my life, but I still lost two whole years I could’ve been out here, learning about myself and living my life. “I want you to stop scheming. In fact, I want you out of my life.”

She laughed. “I’m married to your father. I suppose I could play nice, but I will not just leave—”

“You should leave, if you don’t want to be the most hated woman in America. Leave quietly, divorce my dad, and you can keep your reputation intact.”

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