Page 56 of Her Ex's Father
Bendefinitelydoesn’t know how far his son is willing to go.
I think about calling him. For one wild second, I almost do. But the memory of his voice at dinner—“You don’t know anything about Georgiana”—stops me. He won’t hear me. Not right now. There’s been a distance between us since that night, an arms-length approach despite the kindness of him bringing Stella here.
The door beeps, clicks, and opens.
My sister steps in, already frowning. “Everything okay?” she asks, eyes scanning the room, picking up on my panic.
“No,” I huff, “not really. I just… I just saw Derrick.”
Her brows pull together even closer. “Okay? Was he mean to you, about the whole inheritance thing?”
I shake my head, not even sure where to start. Stella sees my eyes watering with upset tears and takes my arm. “Oh, sis. Come on, sit down, and tell me what happened.”
She leads me out to the balcony, and it’s like a layover with the past: the two of us here right after I married Ben. Stella joking that I might as well take advantage of the wedding night.
She disappears into the room, coming back with a sparkling water. Oddly, it settles my stomach now; I’ve never liked it, but I guess the baby does.
I take a slow, shaky sip, and then try to gather my thoughts and explain. “He’s watching me.”
“Derrick? What do you mean ‘watching’ you?” Stella’s head snaps around, staring through the glass doors into the suite as if expecting to find cameras.
“I don’t really know. I came back and someone was in the room, going through my things, like they were looking for something.”
My sister’s face twists in disbelief. “What? What the hell could they be looking for? You’ve only been here since yesterday.”
“I have no idea. I think he expects to find some kind of dirt on me, to get his inheritance back. Stella, he insinuated that the baby isn’t Ben’s.”
“That’sinsane.”
“I know.”
“You didn’t want to detail all the ways you fucked his dad?” Stella smirks at the shocked expression on my face. Sometimes I have to remember that my little sister isn’t so little anymore.
“Oh, my God.No,I did not.” My cheeks heat at the fleeting memories of Ben’s muscled body, the rough feel of his chest hair against my breasts, the obscene sounds that filled the room every time we gave in to temptation.
I shake them off, focusing instead on the present problem.
“Stella, I think he actually thinks the baby might not be Ben’s. Which means he’s digging.”
Locking eyes with my sister, I try to communicate the silent dread that filled me the moment I realized that Derrick would do anything to take me down. Stella’s blue eyes widen as it hits her.
“Jack.” A hand covers her mouth. “Oh, Maddie. Damn. I mean, there’s only one thing to do…”
We both look at my cell, discarded on the outdoor loveseat next to my curled-up lap. I haven’t reached out to him in months—not since the night of my marriage to Benedict Bronson—but if anyone can save me from this disaster, it’s him.
Only if he agrees.
Only if he’s willing to let me call in the favor.
“I’ll leave you to it,” Stella says in a hushed voice, standing and gently moving my disheveled hair out of my face. She disappears into the suite, sliding the glass door shut to give me and my privacy.
My thumb scrolls to the contact, heart pounding with hope that he’ll pick up. It’s 11 a.m. here, which means it’ll be 1 p.m. there.
When he answers, I keep my voice low, steady, even as my heart slams against my ribs.
“We have a problem.”
Chapter 20
