Page 90 of Rival to the Billionaire

It's soft and wrinkled, but it feels real. It feels like my mom. I squeeze it just a touch and wait for her to wake up.

"Mom," I say, brushing a strand of hair from her forehead. "Mom, can you hear me?"

She doesn't move. She doesn't even twitch.

I exhale and rest my hands in my lap. Abby's leaning over my mom's bed, looking down at her with a shared grim expression.

"I don't know what to do," I say, looking at Abby. "Is there something I can do to help you?"

Abby shrugs and stands up. Her eyes are still filled with tears, but she's a little bit calmer than earlier. "Please, honey," she says. "I need you to do something for me."

Anticipation makes my chest squeeze tightly. "What is it, Abby?"

"Just stay here with her. I, uh, have got to get back when I can." She wrings her fingers, looking anywhere but at me. "Daryl's waiting for me at home."

I scoff, rolling my eyes. "Of course. Daryl calls, and you go running. What is it this time, he doesn't know how to operate the microwave? Wants you to wash his drawers? What menial task does your grown man-child of a husband need now with your own mother wasting away in the hospital?"

"I just need to go," she says, her eyes growing wide. "My husband is…"

"Busy cheating on you. I know, Abby. I know all about it. I know how he spends every dime you bring into the house, how he drinks too much and yells at you. I know everything."

She's looking at me, tears in her eyes again, but she's not crying. "He's just going through a tough phase right now."

"Oh yeah? Eight years of a tough phase? Jesus, Abby, you need to wake up. I've been taking care of you and that deadbeat husband of yours since I graduated college. I've given up everything to get you guys out of debt, and it's taken a toll on me. I haven't been able to save for myself. I can barely afford to pay your rent, Mom's rent, let alone have my own life. I need you to support me, Abby. I need your help."

Abby's nodding her head. "I know you do, Jenny."

"No," I say, holding my hand up. "I know you don't know. You think you know me, but you don't. You don't make the effort to see who I am now. You don't know what it means to have no one else to rely on." My voice rises, starting to echo in the empty room. "To be the one to clean up Mom's scrapes and bruises when Daddy got mad, to be the one to cover up those bruises when they started to show. You don't know what it means to watch the kitchen knives around your own mother, always fearing that the next time she attempts that it might be for real."

Tears start streaming down my face, but I don't care. I'm done hiding this. I'm done being afraid of what everyone might think about me.

"No," I keep going, "you were too busy running around and getting drunk with your boyfriend to worry about how your own family was doing. I was the one who had to put food on the table, clean and wash the clothes, tend to Mom's wounds. I didn't have time for friends or hobbies because it was all on me. Our dad was too busy drinking to help me, and you were too busy playing hooky with your friends to care about what was going on in this family."

I break down then, my legs shaking and tears burning my eyes. I can't contain it anymore. I can't hold it in anymore.

"You have no earthly idea about how it feels to have to be the superhero in everyone's lives. Everyone's but your own."

Abby sniffles and wipes at her face. "You're right," she says. "I don't."

I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand and look up at her, hoping to get a glimpse of understanding in her eyes. "You don't know how it feels to want things to go back to the way they were when I was a kid and knowing that I wouldn't get that chance." I exhale, finally giving the confession I'd been holding. "I abandoned Ryder. I abandoned my best friend. His mom and dad had died, and he was hurting. And I was so scared that my own mother would die if I didn't devote myself that I was willing to put my best friend on the back burner. I walked away and didn't even have the decency to tell him goodbye."

I snap to attention, feeling a pang of remorse through my entire body. "I don't know what I was thinking. I was so selfish and awful to him, and I can't stand that I've done that to him and his family."

"I'm sorry, Jenny." Abby reaches out to touch my face. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I'm sorry you had to walk away from Ryder, too."

I shake my head, tears still choking me. "It was all my fault. I caused it."

"No," she says. "It wasn't your fault. You did what you thought was best. You were young. And I'm sure if you told Ryder, he'd understand."

I lean into her hand, feeling comforted by her understanding, but my mind is racing.

"I need a moment to think," I say, standing up. "I'll be right back."

I leave the room and walk down the hallway outside to a bench by the restroom. I sit on it and take out my phone. I have a couple of missed calls from Derek, one missed call from Julian Sabado, but no voicemail.

Taking a breath, I dial Julian Sabado's number. He picks up after one ring.

"Jennifer Forde," he croons in his Cuban accent. "I've been waiting for your call. I've got good news for you."

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