Page 62 of Owned By a Billionaire

“I do. But Mary’s taken the children to a playdate.”

After he made the tea, we sat upstairs in a room with a windowed wall looking out to sea.

“Stunning room,” I said.

“We like it.” He smiled.

Still very handsome, if not even more so, Declan had become successful, mainly from his own efforts, which filled me with pride. That was something unusual among wealthy circles, whose offspring’s only great challenges often came from juggling a busy social calendar or trying to decide what to wear.

While we had the type of wealth that could allow a large family to enjoy an idle existence, there was something admirable about my children and their drive to contribute to society.

Taking a deep breath, I began, “About the Curtis farm.”

“What about it?” Declan’s brows gathered. “I’m about to expand Gaia’s dairy wing with Paul Curtis in charge of production.”

The tightness in my chest produced a sharp pain. “Reynard wants to take over the land.”

His frown deepened. “But he can’t. It’s our land. And over my dead body is it going to that snake.”

I knitted my fingers and focused out the window at the turbulent sea, an apt reflection of my emotions.

Declan stared at me. “What the hell has he got over you, Mother? This is crazy.”

Theadora entered and, before seeing me there, asked, “What’s crazy?” Then she stopped in her tracks, and wearing a surprised smile, my daughter-in-law greeted me with a wave.

He shook his head and rolled his eyes. “That wanker Crisp is at it again. He’s trying to grab more land.”

Lost to the noise in my head, I didn’t hear his wife’s response.

The question kept coming up: Should I tell him what really happened that night with Alice?

But then, Declan knew how fond of Alice Harry had been. He might think I orchestrated her death in order to marry his father.

I’d lost too much already. Without my children’s love and respect, I would fall apart. Family meant everything to me. It would kill me to become some sad, solitary figure.

Taking a deep breath, I kept my response as brief and manicured as possible. “He introduced me to your father, and in so doing, made me promise to pay him with land.”

Declan paced and rubbed his neck. “Then it won’t happen. There’s no contract. Fuck him off.”

“Language,” I said, as though he was still a young teenage boy who was already breaking some girl’s heart.

Meanwhile, Theadora had remained quiet, which was unlike her. She was always so talkative, and right then, I wouldn’t have minded a bit of mindless gossip. I would have done anything to go back a month and have us all sitting around the pool, Cary holding my hand as he always did while the wives chatted about the latest trends.

As silence gripped the air, Theadora turned to me. “Um… I saw Cary the other day.”

It took a moment for me to process her comment, then I pivoted sharply to face her. “Oh?”

“It was in London. I ran into him at the college where I’m volunteering. He’s teaching there, he told me.”

“Where? I mean, how was he?” My heart raced. I wanted to head straight to London in search of him.

But would he want that? He left me, I reminded myself.

“He looked a little drawn.”

“What did he say?”

“Not much. I think he wanted to get away quickly. He didn’t seem too happy to see me.” She chuckled. “I mean, he didn’t strike me as happy, and he’d lost a little weight.”

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