Page 77 of Fool Me Twice

“No.” She rubbed her lips together, avoiding my gaze. “I ended up working remotely until I picked Sebastián up. It felt like the right thing to do today.”

The right thing?

Because of our conversation the night before?

My suspicion that she’d been avoiding me grew.

“Thank you for picking him up.” Somehow, I got my heavy legs to move. Even though it took Herculean strength, I walked them all the way over to the table, where I sat down next to Georgia.

“You could have just told me.” Her words carried an air of finality, and deep down, in my very bones, I knew that she knew.

My exhale was ragged. “Georgia…”

“I looked you and Sebastián up. I know that he’s not your son.”

Her hard gaze cut into me, and I fought the urge to hang my head. I had done this to myself. It was time to pay the piper.

“He is my nephew,” I confessed.

“Your nephew,” she repeated.

“Yes.” I cleared my throat, but the lump there remained. “I wanted to tell you.”

“Then why didn’t you?” Eyebrows knit in confusion, she shook her head. “What’s wrong with him being your nephew? That’s not a dirty secret!”

Her voice rose with each word, but she reeled herself in just shy of shouting. Not that she needed to. I deserved every last ounce of anger in the world.

“He doesn’t know,” I said.

“Yes,” she said through tight teeth. “I’ve picked up on that. So. You were never married.”

“No.”

“Where is his mother?”

“She passed away almost nine years ago.”

Georgia blinked, this new information settling in. “And she was… your sister?”

“I don’t have a sister. You know that.”

Her laugh was bitter. “No, Rodrigo. I actually don’t know that. At this point the only thing I know is that I can’t trust you to tell me the truth.”

My chest ached, and I wanted to punch myself. Georgia was a shining gem, and I’d ruined our chances together. How could we ever come back from such a mistake?

“She was my sister-in-law,” I said. “My brother was Sebastián’s father.”

“Your brother,” she said slowly, “who died of an overdose? That was true?”

“Aside from my story years ago about my father being a billionaire mogul, I have never lied about my family.”

Her hand on the table curled into a fist. “Okay. I’ll choose to believe you about that. Not that it’s important. Sebastián is what’s important. You do see how this is harming him, right?”

“I know.” I sighed and scrubbed my face. “I should have told him from the beginning, but I didn’t want to hurt him. I couldn’t stand to see the look on his face when he found out.”

“And yet you’ve let this lie go on for so long that it has hurt him.”

“Yes.” I cringed. “Please understand that I never planned on keeping it a secret. I have been waiting for the right time to tell him.”

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