Page 85 of Falling for You

“Not that. I want to know her side of this shit. Why her mother abandoned me until it was too late then Chloe decided she didn’t even want to consider knowing who I was.”

“And you?” I challenge him. “What about your side in this? You know damn good and well it’s not all on Chloe. Your dad knew how to get in touch with her so it’s not just on Chloe that you two didn’t connect. Own that like a fucking man and let it go.”

He knows I’m not wrong here. He can’t just blame everyone else around him for their actions, he needs to step up. “She said she didn’t want to meet me,” he reminds me.

“And clearly you didn’t care, either. So stop acting like a complete dick and just listen.”

Chloe fidgets next to me before sliding down onto the couch in Ethan’s office. “I was scared.”

“No shit.”

“Ethan,” I warn but he doesn’t take his eyes off my girl.

Olivia places a hand on his arm. “Babe, let her explain. Just listen, okay?”

“First of all, I need to ask you something.”

“Go on,” he encourages, voice softening.

“Do you always dress like a woman?”

His lips twitch and I fall a little harder for the woman sitting on my best friend’s couch who just had her world turned upside down. She mentioned that her mother told her something right before she died. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out this was the thing she told her.

“Only when the occasion calls for it.”

Olivia and I share a look and it feels like at least half the tension in the room slowly escapes. I can breathe a little easier and Ethan’s rigid stance relaxes enough that I can tell he’s not going to act like a monumental dick.

“I found out about you when Mom was dying, as you know. Your dad came to see her, they talked for a while, and all I could think the entire time was, you were going to hate me. I had my wonderful, sweet, incredible mother around me my entire life and you missed out on her. And there was no good reason for it, other than she was scared. She knew your dad was taking good care of you and I guess she didn’t want to shake up your life any more than she already had.”

Ethan scoffs, looks away from her but doesn’t say a word.

“I know everything about you, Ethan. Well, not everything, obviously, because I didn’t know you were the owner here. But I know that Paul’s parents did to him what Mom’s parents did to her.”

“What?”

Her tiny shoulder shrugs. “Yeah. Mom’s parents disowned her for getting pregnant not just a second time, but by another white guy. Apparently, they’re old school or something. I never understood it and neither did my mom.”

“Sounds familiar,” Ethan mutters.

“I know. When they found out Mom was sick, they called me up. I think they had it in their heads that because she left their impoverished community and came to the U.S. that she was wealthy. It was crazy. They didn’t give a shit that she was about to die. They wanted to see if she was leaving them anything.”

“Assholes,” Ethan growls.

“Yup. Which, she wasn’t. Wealthy,” she explains. “She managed but it’s not as if she was rolling in money. When I explained to them that she didn’t have what they were looking for and asked if they wanted to see her, or me, they all but hung up on me.” I move to the couch and sit down next to her. She blows out a breath and I take her hand in mine, squeezing lightly. “I never told Mom. I figured she didn’t need to know how big of jerks her family was. But the rejection by them all over again still stung. And I couldn’t bear to let it happen from you, too.”

“You shouldn’t have been the one to make that choice. How do you think it made me feel to not only find out my mother died but that she had raised a kid only a few hours away from me and that now she was living in the same town, but didn’t care to see me?”

I feel Chloe stiffen beside me. “Stop it.” Her voice is hard, angry, and she sits up, scooting to the edge of the couch like she’s ready for a fight.

“What?”

“Being such a dick. You’re acting as if I’m the only one at fault here. Last time I checked, phones went both ways. Yes, I started it. But you know what? If youreallywanted to meet me, you could have. Enough already, okay?”

“You want to know why I didn’t? I was terrified!Terrified,Chloe. I have no other excuse other than that. I almost lost the best thing that ever happened to me because of it, and what if I called you and you still wanted nothing to do with me.” he whips off the long blonde wig he’s wearing for his costume and tosses it onto his desk before spinning around and leaning over, breathing heavy.

“I know. I should have tried. Just like you should have. There were so many times that I picked up the phone to call your dad to take that step, but fear always won out. Always.” Chloe stands, takes a step toward him and he turns to look at her.

Half siblings who look so different yet so alike.

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