Page 94 of Devious Temptation
Will whips around and gets in his son’s face. “You fucking knew about this? Why am I not surprised? You’re a fucking pro at keeping shit from us.”
Hurt flashes across Liam’s face before a stony stare replaces it. “She’s an adult. She can make her own decisions.”
“This is jail time, Lawson. This is a serious fucking matter. Mychild’ssex tape with a man twice her age…” A visible shiver racks Bree’s body. “I’m going to ask this one time, and I swear I want the truth. Did something happen between you two?—"
“No.” Lucy’s grip on me tightens as if she’s afraid her parents really will physically tear us apart. “Nothing happened until he came back,” she lies, burying her face in my neck again. “It’s not their business,” she whispers against my skin, shielded from the intense gazes of everyone in the kitchen.
“It was Rhys who leaked the video,” I inform them, untangling myself from Lucy to stand at her side after she settles back in the chair. “He’s understandably upset.”
“I don’t give a fuck what he is, you don’t share a fucking sex tape!” Bree shrieks, near hysterics as her momma bear nature comes out in full force.
“Look, I know this situation is terrible. I had hoped to come to you under different circumstances about Lucy and me, but here we are. I love your daughter.” Bree and Will both scoff, shaking their heads in unison. “I know that I’m a lot older than she is, and trust me, I have grappled with the decision to pursue a romantic relationship with her. But I genuinely love her. I’m not asking you to understand, but I am asking that you don’t punish her for keeping it from you.”
“She isn’t the one who should be punished!” Bree jabs a finger in my direction. “You should have known better and not taken advantage of a child!” Her accusation sends ice-cold dread down my spine, affirming everything that’s sat in a compartment in my mind since the conference.
Lucy seems to know exactly how her mother’s comments would affect me because she reaches for my hand and threads her fingers with mine. “I’m not a child, though, Mom. I can make my own decisions. And I’m going to be with Lawson.”
“You realize we’re pressing charges?” Bree asks pointedly,glaring at me. “How does that make you feel, Lawson?”
When Lucy doesn’t correct her, I turn my gaze to the woman I love. She meets my stare, and her hazel eyes harden as she searches my face for something I can’t give her at this exact moment.
Inwardly, I begin to panic. “Lucy, I?—”
“He can’t get away with this.” My heart drops as she pulls her hand from mine. “I can’t go back to work. I’mhumiliated. I already gave my resignation.”
Fuck.
This is all spinning out of control faster than I can manage it.
“Can we just calm down and talk about it?” I know it’s the wrong thing to say by the way her eyes widen. “Lucy?—”
“He has to have some kind of consequence,” she says incredulously. “I understand he’s upset. But this…” Tears line her lashes again. “Lawson, this is going to ruin my life. How will I ever get another job? People at worksawthe video. How many do you think saved it and shared it to other platforms?”
“We’re working on it, Luce,” Charleigh calls soothingly from the kitchen. “M.I.G. has already called in Tailor Tech before Daphne could reach out to her contacts.”
I don’t pause to wonder why Daphne has contacts with Tailor Industries in New York, but I look back at Lucy. “Baby, I know this is awful.” I ignore Will’s sound of disgust. “Please, just let me find Rhys while they tackle the video. I don’t know what the answer is here, but… jail?”
I let the rest of my meaning fall silently between us. Never in my life did I think I would be here, between a rockand a hard place. It’s one thing to figure out how to navigate life moving forward without Rhys cutting me out entirely, but this is now a whole other mess that he’s put us in.
A heavy, tangible silence spreads throughout the room, and as it does, I can see Lucy withdrawing from me more with every passing second.
“It’s just a storm, rainbow…” I whisper, reaching for her. Lucy closes her eyes, tears falling down her cheeks as she turns away from me, and it feels like my heart implodes.
“Go. Find Rhys.” Her words are barely audible.
“Lucy…”
“I think you should go,” Bree echoes her daughter.
At a complete loss, I brush my fingers along Lucy’s. “We’ll talk later, rainbow.”
To my surprise, Liam walks me to the door. “Tensions are high right now. They’ll calm down. Especially once the video has been removed.”
“The last time we spoke, I wasn’t your favorite person.” I notice his scraped knuckles as he reaches up to scratch his short beard. “You seem awfully calm, considering the circumstances.”
“My sister loves you,” he states simply. “It’s up to you how the rest of this plays out.”
As I leave, I can’t help but feel the weight of the world sitting on my shoulders. And for once, I feel too weak to take it on.
