Page 132 of All I Ask
“It felt like the only way to get out of this town before you marry him.”
“I know you hate her, and I get it, but—”
“She’s not that bad. We talked a lot the last few days when it went viral. Then there was no way to stop it. It just got more and more out of control.”
All of this has gotten out of control. “Can you remove it all?”
“Yes, I can delete the account, but can you read that one message please?”
I wipe my own tears, which fall silently. “This one?”
She nods quickly and opens it.
Dear RealPerspective,
I’m an art curator outside of Palm Beach, FL. I own one of the most prestigious galleries and your paintings have captured the eye of a few of my best clients. We’d like to speak with you further regarding having some pieces displayed and sold here. Please contact me at your earliest convenience.
Best,
Timothy Sterling
TS Fine Art Gallery
“I googled them,” she says quickly. “Their last painting sold for over one-hundred thousand dollars!”
My throat is dry while my chest tightens. I’m not ready for this. No one is going to pay that much for one of my paintings. “This is crazy.”
“Maybe, but isn’t it worth at least replying? This could change everything for us.”
That’s the problem, what if I don’t want everything to change now?
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Derek
Present
“How could you do this, Everly? How? You realize that this is a huge invasion of privacy? Do you realize what you two even did?” My temper is beyond reason. Once we got in the car, she confessed everything. I’m so disappointed in her.
I drove to my parents’ house in disbelief. We’re inside and we need to finish talking, now that I’m calm enough.
I know she’s capable of some devious things, but to plan a way to get rid of Teagan and Chastity is beyond my comprehension. This wasn’t something they did accidentally, there was a plot to this. They planned and continued on with it for weeks. All the while they were hiding under the pretense this was all for school.
“I thought it would get rid of her! I want to go back home! I want Mom to be alive and…”She starts to sob. “I just want Mom back!”
I pull her into my arms. As angry as I am, I can’t watch her cry like this. “I know you do.”
“But you don’t. You have Teagan now.”
Jesus. I can’t imagine the pain she must be in. On the other hand, she can’t do these things when she’s angry. “Just because I’m with Teagan, doesn’t mean that I wish your mother weren’t alive. I know that the relationship we had wasn’t great, and I’m sorry for that. I should’ve been stronger and left, but I couldn’t leave you.”
“I know I’ve been really awful, Dad.”
I hear my father’s words in my head and pray I can guide her the way he would’ve done with me. “What are you going to do about it? Because that’s what counts. I’ve made my share of stupid decisions, but it’s how you handle it that defines you.”
“Can I go apologize?”
I touch her cheek and give her a warm smile. “Yeah, I think we can do that.”
