Page 122 of Wicked Promises (Fallen Royals 3)

She frowned. “Never you mind them.”

“Why is he happy around her and not us?”

“Because she’s something new.” She rose to her feet. “And because she’s not his. Not yet, anyway.”

Present

The memory of witnessing Amberly and my father, then what my mother said about it, snaps to the forefront of my mind.

Not yet, anyway. What did that mean?

“Caleb?” Margo touches my arm. “You okay?”

I wince. It’s too bright in here, and my eyes sting.

“I do remember,” I say to Margo’s dad. It’s hard to look at him, but I force myself to meet his gaze. “I had just… forgotten.”

“You remember Lydia knowing?” Margo asks.

“I went downstairs because I heard a noise, and Mom pulled me away. She said he laughed around her because…”

Keith clenches his jaw. “Go on and say it, son. You won’t hurt my feelings.”

I let out a sigh. “Because she was new and not his. Not yet.”

He nods. “Your father always did like to have the best toys.”

“She said that? Not yet?” Margo asks, latching on to the important part.

I knew she would. She’s whip-smart when she wants to be.

“Right. Implying…”

“That she knew her husband,” her dad finishes sourly. “Shocker. I knew the bastard, too.”

“Dad!”

He presses his lips together. “I’m sorry. I know what you believe, and how long you’ve believed it. But I did not kill your father.”

He sounds sincere.

That’s the most dangerous part. He could be telling the truth or he could just be a fantastic liar.

“If you didn’t, who did?”

He drops his head into his hands. “I swore I wouldn’t speak of this, especially not to—”

Margo leans forward and yanks his hands away, trying to get him to look at her. “Dad. Please.”

“Okay.” He lets out a ragged breath. “Caleb… your mother orchestrated the whole thing.”

My stomach drops into my shoes.

I let out a laugh. “She what?”

“Time’s up!” the guard yells.

Around us, people rise and say their goodbyes. Margo and her dad do, too. She hugs him while I sit there dumbly.

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