Page 41 of Auctioned to her Stepbrothers

“What is this about? What’s going on?” Dad fidgets but doesn’t come closer.

“Go to your office,” Ky tells him with barely a glance. “This doesn’t concern you.”

“Actually, it does,” Honor says, raising her voice in a shaky mixture of nerves and determination. “Your father has filled your heads with lies about my mother, and I’m here to set things straight.”

The old man makes a dismissive grunt but stays where he is.

“He abused my mother. He hit her on multiple occasions.” Honor winces as she looks around at us. “She forgave him the first time because he made some excuse afterward, but when he did it again, she called the police. Unfortunately, the police department neglected to do anything about it because apparently money speaks much louder than a woman with black and blue marks.”

There's a sick feeling in my stomach at the thought of Dick hitting Victoria, or any woman. Nate’s eyes widen, and Ky's goes dark at the information. I imagine the news surprises them like it does me, while at the same time, it's right on brand for Dick-Ass. I'd always assumed he only had a heavy hand with us, but what Honor's saying isn't all that hard to imagine, unfortunately.

“She was able to file a police report, and I have a copy of that here.” Honor extracts a paper from her folder and hands it to me.

My eyes only register the title before I pass it along to Nate. I don’t need to read it to believe what she’s telling us, and I don’t want to know the details. After his own cursory glance, Nate hands the paper to Kylian, who skims the document, the scowl on his face growing deeper as he does.

“Of course she’d make up filthy lies,” Dick says. “She’s nothing but a conniving gold digger. A housekeeper with ideas above her station.”

Honor's jaw goes tight and her hand trembles as she pulls out another paper, this one folded. “The police took pictures,” she says. She hands the slip to me, but I pass it along to Nate without looking at it.

“We left with barely more than the clothes on our back,” Honor continues. “While working here, my mother had saved enough money to afford a deposit on a tiny one-room apartment. She got a job immediately after leaving here, and money was always tight.

“As for your idea that my mother selfishly abandoned you here,” she says, looking directly at Kylian, “that’s what hurts themost, because she loved you three, and she didn’t want to leave you behind.”

She produces a few more sheets of paper. “She met with two different lawyers. She wanted to take you with us when we left, but there was no legal path to doing so. As a last resort, she reported your father to Children and Family Services, but apparently, their oversight was no match for Dick’s money either.

“My mom cried when she left here, and I caught her crying many times in the months that followed, and you can believe none of her sorrow had anything to do with missing Dick.

“I’m sorry she wasn’t able to do better for you, but you should know that she tried. She really tried.” Honor dissolves into tears as she gets out the last few words, and I jump up to rub her back.

“Why are you here trying to paint your mother as some sort of saint?” Dad asks, sauntering over to the fireplace. “Why doesn’t she come here herself if she’s looking to rewrite history?”

“Victoria passed away last year,” Nate explains.

“Aww, that’s too bad.” Dad’s voice is an exaggerated mockery of pity. “Guess the bitch got what was coming to her.”

“Watch your fucking mouth!” I yell as Honor gasps.

Dick recoils, surprised by my outburst but still looking defiant.

Honor sits up taller and angles her body away from Dick and toward Nate and Kylian. Her voice is shaky but determined asshe says, “I wanted the three of you to know the truth, and I want you to know that life doesn’t need to be this way for you. You can’t change how you were raised, but you can choose something different going forward. You deserve better than what has passed as family inside this house.”

She looks up at me, and then at each of my brothers, who both have their eyes fixed on her. “You deserve love, and I want to be the person to show you that love. We’ve been apart for so many years, but it never felt right. I want you to be with me. I want us to be together again.”

Before any of us can say anything, Dick erupts, striding over to Honor, saying, “What the hell is going on? You think you can just come in here and—”

As his hand reaches for her arm, my vision goes red—Dad hitting Victoria. Dad hitting me and Nate when we were little. Making us cry, then berating us for being weak. Kylian stepping in to take the brunt. Dad beating his family like it was normal, like we deserved it, like we weren’t worthy of anything better.He will not lay a finger on Honor.

“No!” I lunge at him, shoving him away from her so hard that he stumbles against the side table and falls before quickly getting back up. “You will not touch her. You won’t hurt anyone ever again! You are nothing! Do you hear me?”

He tries to flee the room, but I grab his arm and turn him toward me, wanting him to look at my face, even though the sight of him disgusts me. “You are a despicable excuse for a man, and you’re about to get some of your own medicine.”

I draw back my arm, taking aim, but Nate’s on me then, holding me back. “Lyle! Leave him. He’s not worth it.”

Dad twists out of my grasp and backs up to a safe distance, but as Kylian moves closer, his hands balled into fists, Dad hurries to the doorway. “She’s a filthy little whore,” he says, sending back a parting shot as he exits the room. “Nothing more.”

I turn back to Honor. She’s shaken by Dick’s outbursts, but not as badly as I would have expected. Instead, she’s looking at the three of us, her expression wary.

“Don’t worry,” I say, reaching for her, “we won’t let him hurt you.”

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