Page 54 of Fallen Legacy

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We spendthe next two hours in the family flat above the chippy. Rebecca pulls out all the family albums and I’m thrilled to see she has a couple of photos of my mum and dad together. She tells me they met when my mum was covering a shift in the chippy for one of the girls. My dad had called in for some supper on his way home and then he’d kept coming back and asking for her. Rebecca laughed, and she said that my mum had played hard to get at first. She made him work for that first date, but that it had been inevitable. You could see the attraction between them. She shared that she knew they were planning to run away together. She’d let them store their bags with her and she’d met them at the train station the morning they left together. Rebecca was able to give me some more insight into my dad’s relationship with Wilbur. She said there had been little love there, just expectation and duty to the family. When Rebecca shared that my dad had never wanted to marry Archer’s mum, but he’d been pushed towards her by both their families, I felt Archer stiffen beside me. Neither of us has explained to Rebecca who Archer was.

Hearing my mum and dad’s love story was precious. Listening to Rebecca say how they fell in love, two people from very different worlds and how they fought to be together, walking away from everything. I can’t even imagine how hard it must have been for my mum to leave behind her family and never see them again. Rebecca sadly informs me that my grandparents, Stephanie’s mum and dad have sadly both passed away. Her mum, Susan, passed away when my mum was only fifteen and her dad, Geoff, passed away ten years ago from a heart attack. I had been hopeful they would still be alive, so I’m sad that I’ll never get to meet them, but Rebecca gives me some photos of them for me to keep.

“It’s getting late. We should go,” Archer suggests, and I nod my head in agreement.

“Thank you so much for spending this time with me,” I say to Rebecca as I get to my feet.

Rebecca reaches out and snags my hand in hers. “Anytime, we’re family. I wasn’t there for you back then,” she swallows, regret crosses her face, “but I’m here now.”

“It’s okay. I know what Wilbur can be like. Trust me,” I tell her, squeezing her hand in reassurance. This isn’t her fault, it’s his.

“Regardless. I’m truly sorry.” She pulls me in for another hug. “Come for tea next week.”

“That would be nice, thanks.”

Rebecca waves us off at the door, with her husband Lee behind her, as we walk back over to the car. Archer clicks his keys, and the doors open, but before he can walk to his side, I reach for his hand and stop him.

“Thank you,” I tell him softly. “You have no idea what tonight meant to me.”

Archer looks down at our joined hands. “I told you, Scar. I’m in your corner from now on.”

I stand on my tiptoes and press my lips to his and he hesitates, allowing me to set the pace and take the lead. “Maybe there is a heart in there after all.”

He offers me a half-smile. “I’m not sure about that.”

“Oh, I am. Come on, take me home. I’m shattered.”

“My home or yours?” he asks me as our eyes meet across the top of the car.

“I don’t really have a home,” I admit, because it’s truly how I feel. I haven’t felt at home anywhere since our parents died and they sold our family home.

“You have a home, Scarlet. It is with me,” he says, offering me a soft wink before climbing inside.

I think my heart just melts a little. Only a little.

* * *

I wake in the morning,in Archer’s bed. I’m surrounded by his signature scent and his warm arms wrapped around my waist. His face snuggled into my neck. Who knew Archer Savage was a snuggler. I don’t think that will go down well with his ruthless reputation.

We had sex last night. I know, I know. I am weak. I said I’d make him work for it and make him wait, but last night it felt right. It felt right to end such a perfect evening in his arms with his mouth on my body. I threw caution to the wind and just let myself be present in the moment. To forget all the bullshit and manipulation around us and just be a girl who needed a boy to help her feel again.

“Morning,” he mumbles sleepily into my hair, and I can’t fight the shit-eating cheesy grin that appears on my face at the sound of his voice.

“Morning, Savage,” I reply in a teasing tone.

“Oh, so it’s Savage, huh?” he asks me. I yelp in surprise when he grabs tighter at my waist and rolls us until I end up under him. I giggle as he tickles at my sides, but we both jump when there is a sharp rap at the door, and it opens to reveal his father.

“Do you mind?” Archer growls at him, ensuring the duvet is covering my nudity.

Phil looks me over once, before dismissing me as if I’m not there. “I’m flying to New York this morning; Edward would like to speak with you before you leave for school.”

“Business or pleasure?” Archer asks him dryly, running a hand through his bed hair.

“Both, actually.” He looks at me then. “So, this engagement is going ahead then? We’re going to play happy families?”

“We are,” Archer tells him firmly. “The past needs to stay in the past, where it belongs.”

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