Page 132 of Behind the Bars

I shook my head. “No. If I told him, he’d try to protect me. I know this is something I have to do withouthim.”

“Well, let’s do itthen.”

* * *

We waitedtwo weeks before getting on a plane to London. The whole flight my stomach was in knots. When we made it to the hotel the night before meeting Mama, I cried into Elliott’s shirt. My nerves were higher than they’d ever been. I wasn’t ready to face Mama, but Elliott held me through all thetears.

I was so thankful he was there forme.

It was a Saturday afternoon when we walked up the steps to Mama’s flat. When I knocked, Trevor answered the door, and Elliott placed a hand on my shoulder forcomfort.

“Hi, Jasmine,” he said coldly. His eyes moved to Elliott. “You got a bodyguardnow?”

“This is Elliott. My…” My words faded off as I turned toElliott.

“Boyfriend,” he said reaching out to shake Trevor’shand.

“Shit, that’s some grip,” Trevor said, pulling his hand away and shakingit.

“Sorry,” Elliott murmured. I smiled knowingly. That intense handshake was for me. I was glad he didn’t break it—that could’ve caused a little too muchtrouble.

“Come on in, Heather’s in the living room. We’ll talk there. I’m gonna be honest. I’m shocked it took you this long to come back to your senses,” Trevor said, shaking his head. He was wearing sunglasses inside.Who wears sunglasses inside?Trevor ofcourse.

He led us to the living room, and my heart leaped into my throat. Mama sat on a sofa with her legs crossed. Her posture was tall and stern. She hadn’t changed much from what I remembered. She didn’t stand to greet me. She didn’t even sayhello.

All I wanted to do was hold her, hug her, and tell her that even with her coldness, I still missedher.

“Sit,” Trevor order, gesturing toward the sofa across fromMama’s.

I sat beside Elliott, and Trevor sat down next to Mama. He finally slid off his sunglasses. His eyes were bloodshot red. He was probably high, drunk, or both, but I didn’t mention it. I wasn’t there forhim.

Trevor rubbed his hands together and cleared his throat. “I’m not gonna lie, Jasmine. You left us in a fucking mess. We were days away from celebrating the biggest deal, and you walked the fuck away. You screwed so many people over with that damn choice and getting back the same kind of deal is out of thequestion.”

“How are you?” I asked, my stare on Mama. She stared back at me, her brown eyes that matched mine. I leaned forward, clasping my hands together. “Did you get myemails?”

She didn’t say aword.

“Listen, this isn’t a family reunion,” Trevor cut in. “Just to be clear, this is allbusiness.”

“Is it, Mama?” I asked. “Has this always been justbusiness?”

“Heather, leave,” Trevor told her. She stood up like a robot, and turned to leave theroom.

I shot up. “Mama, did I ever matter to you?” She paused her footsteps. Tears formed in my eyes. “Did you evercare?”

She turned slowly to look my way, and tilted her head. “All you’ve ever done was let medown.”

“No,” I said. “I didn’t. All I ever did was try to make youproud.”

“Youfailed.”

My chest tightened at her words, but her blows didn’t sting as much as they used to—I was getting stronger. “Is that what your parents said toyou?”

“I beg yourpardon?”

“You never talk about grandma or grandpa. I’ve never even met them. Did you let them down? Did you fail them when you gotpregnant?”

“Shut up,” she warned, but I wouldn’t—Icouldn’t.

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