Page 12 of Entwined
I sucked in a sharp breath, my heart pounding. “My mother?”
“He got to her first,” Colson admitted, his voice tinged with regret. “They had an intense love affair when they were seventeen. I’d been in love with her for years, but Logan—he got her first. I knew it wouldn’t last, though. Margaret didn’t come from Windmere Haven. She wasn’t part of the elite. She lived in Asterdale and worked at the bakery that’s now Jean Paul’s.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, holding on to Colson’s hand as if it were a lifeline. I knew this wasn’t the worst of it. My parents had kept too many secrets, and I had long since stopped asking about their past. But now, it was all coming out, and I wasn’t sure I could handle it.
“I found the pictures,” I said quietly, remembering how they had vanished without a trace. “They were gone.”
“They broke up because they had to,” Colson explained, his voice laced with bitterness. “Your father was matched to Poppy Hill.Her family owns a media empire, and she was the only daughter of Acton Hill.”
“You and my mother,” I murmured, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place. “I saw the picture at some party.”
Colson stroked my palm with his thumb, a small, comforting gesture. “I loved her.”
The revelation had me reeling. He had loved my mother. Did that mean I was just a surrogate? A way for him to relive the past? I looked so much like her, and the thought made my stomach churn.
“Colson…” I began, my voice trembling.
“No. Let me finish. Please,” he rasped, his grip tightening on my hand.
I wasn’t sure I could take any more, but I nodded, letting him continue.
“Albert Shaw—your grandfather—had been losing money for years,” Colson said, his voice taking on a grim tone. “He made some bad decisions when it came to investing, eroding the kingdom his father had built. My father tried to help, but Albert was strong-willed and frivolous. By the time he came to my father in desperation, it was too late. He was on the brink of bankruptcy.”
I swallowed hard, my throat tight. “But that’s not…”
“What you saw in the box was your grandfather’s stubbornness,” Colson interrupted, his voice firm. “My father tried to help him, but Albert thought he could get himself out of it. Ashworth Financial held several of his loans, and my father had no choicebut to call them in. It was business, and he waited as long as he could until Albert was deeply in default.”
“My grandfather…” I trailed off, the weight of it all pressing down on me.
“Made stupid financial decisions,” Colson finished for me, his voice harsh. “He bankrupted the Shaws - not the Ashworths.”
I could guess the rest. “And Poppy Hill ended her engagement once my father lost his money.”
“Her father, Acton, made sure of it,” Colson confirmed, his eyes narrowing. “My father lost Yale, too.”
“That was his choice,” he said. “My father offered to pay for his education, but he was too prideful, and he was angry… at me.”
Colson’s voice broke as he coughed, deep and bronchial. Despite everything he had told me, I didn’t hate him. He could be cruel, yes, but there was a part of me that still loved him, and that made this all the more difficult. I debated whether to tell him about our baby, about what I had no choice but to do. But I decided against it.
“Poppy?” I asked instead, needing to know more.
“My father would never have accepted Margaret,” Colson said, his voice heavy with regret. “As much as I wanted to make her my wife, my father jumped at the chance to match me with a Hill. But once she was free, she had Logan to comfort her.”
I bit down hard on my bottom lip, tasting blood. “What about me, Colson? Did you marry me because I look like my mother? Because you wanted to relive the past?” My voice cracked as the tears I had been holding back finally threatened to spill over.
With strength I didn’t know he still had, Colson dug his nails into my hand. “No! I thought you were beautiful and so full of grace. You reminded me of Poppy, not your mother. I wanted a wife again.”
“And the party a ruse,” I said, my voice shaky. “To make me think I was one of many?”
He nodded, a small, bitter smile on his lips. “I had to make the other ladies think they had a chance. Several of them pursued me, wanted me, but I only had eyes for you. Beautiful Josephine, with your mother’s looks and your father’s resolve.”
I couldn’t take it anymore. I pulled my hand from his grasp and wrapped my arms around my stomach, rocking back and forth in my chair. It was all too much, but there was still one detail he hadn’t touched on—the will.
“Joey, I love you,” Colson whispered, his voice filled with desperation.
I refused to look at him. “Colson, that doesn’t make what you told me any easier to accept.”
I watched Colson’s lips tremble as he spoke, his voice fragile, almost breaking. “Please,” he begged, his words laced with desperation. “I needed you to know.”
