Page 58 of The Royal Flame
“So why did you decide to pretend to be my real mother,” I blurt out, getting a twisted sense of satisfaction watching her be completely thrown off guard.
River is too, his brows elevating toward his hairline.
I wince at my impulsive decision to blurt it out, but hastily collect myself.
My ex-mother shifts in her seat. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Yeah, you do,” I say calmly. “I know my aunt Ellis is my birth mother, but I want to know why she thought it was better for you to raise me than her.”
“Did you ever consider the idea that maybe my darling sister,” her tone oozes with sarcasm. “Was just too unfit to be a mother?”
“No, because you’re unfit to be a mother,” I inform her, and she has the audacity to look shocked. “You’ve been awful to me for as far back as my memories go. Ellie was the only person who ever treated me kindly.”
“And yet she didn’t want to be your mother,” she states. “So perhaps you’re just unlovable.”
“Hey,” River warns, but I hold up my hand, stopping him.
“She’s trying to bait us,” I inform him then direct my attention back her. “Isn’t that right, insert her name? She’s doingthis to avoid answering my question because her uncomfortable, which is odd, since she’s a professional liar.” I rest my elbows on the table and smile as she glares at me. “What? You may have hated raising me, but you still raised me. And for years, I watched you lie, steal, and con people over and over again. I know you like the back of my fucking hand. I know when you’re lying. And I know what makes you tick. So, if you want that hundred dollars that you were promised in exchange for meeting me here, you’re gonna tell me everything you know about me and about Ellie.”
She taps her fingers against the table as she lets out a hollow laugh. “You think you’re so special because you’re dating a Royal now, but you’re wrong. Your mother thought that too, and look how it turned out for her. She got knocked and ditched by the man she believed loved her.”
It takes all of my strength not to react. “Why did she decide to let you raise me? And don’t feed me some shit about you being better fit to be a mother. I know that’s a lie.”
She considers this for an annoying amount of time. “I want five hundred dollars in cash or else I won’t tell you everything I know.”
“No,” I start at the same time River, says, “And how do we know if we pay you that you’ll tell us the truth?”
I blast him with a nasty look to which he reciprocates by place a hand on my leg from under the table. He smooths his thumb along the inside of my knee, in a soothing gesture. But honestly, it gets my heart soaring.
My ex-mother crosses her arms on the table, her haughty smirk infuriating. “You’ll have to give me the cash in person. I’ll give you the information then.”
“What if you lie?” River questions. “From what I understand, you do that a lot.”
“I won’t. In fact, I’ll be glad to hand over my sister’s secrets. Then people will realize just how imperfect she really is.” She flicks a glance at me. “You don’t know Ellie like you think you do, Maddy. You should consider yourself lucky that I raised you.”
“Yeah, I’m so lucky,” I say dryly. “My favorite part about you raising me is when I was five and you left me at the grocery store for hours. No, actually, it’s that time you made me walk to the gas station to buy you cigarettes when it was in the middle of the night, and I was seven. Or that time I saw you and your friends doing heroin in the kitchen. The best time ever, though, is when you stole my college fund.”
“Well, at least I didn’t sell you for money,” she retorts. “A lot of parents do that.”
“You’re such a bitch,” I mumble, aware River is unsettled by this conversation.
Her lips part with what I’m sure will be more remarks about her awesome parenting skills, but River intervenes.
“I’ll go get the cash,” he says. “And meet you tonight at the Royal City Park.”
She shakes her head. “I want to meet somewhere in northside.”
“No way in hell are we meeting you there,” I chime. “I’m not going to a place where you can lure us into your territory and jump us. You’ll meet us in the Royal City Park or the deal’s off. I’ll find another way to get anwers.” I stand up.
It’s for show, but it works.
“Fine,” she bites out. “But I’m going to eat first. I was promised a meal, and I’m going to get one.” She crosses her arms and raises her chin.
I bite down on my tongue, reminding myself that I’m doing this to find Ellie.
Dinner is a pain to get through. My mother chats about mundane things and she talks so loudly that people stare. By the time we leave and part ways, I’m beyond relieved. As we stand outside, waiting for the limo to pull around, I breathe in the fresh night air.
“Sorry, about my mom,” I apologize. “I hate that you had to deal with her.”
