Page 59 of Forbidden Desires

“When I got to her, she was bleeding real bad from a cut on her forehead, she looked so poorly. Then the car caught on fire, and I screamed to the others for help, desperate to do anything I could. Elliot and Parker helped me drag her out of there, off to safety, or so we thought. We tried to stop the bleeding while we waited for the ambulance, but there was nothing we could do. When they arrived, they pronounced her dead.” Tears scroll down my face, I can't stop them. “You have to believe me, Em, I did everything I could, but she died in my arms.”

“Brody.” She cries, wrapping her arm around me, and I hug her back, letting the tears I have been holding in for so long fall freely. We stay like this just holding each other for a while. And I know after tonight our relationship will change. She will see me differently, but hopefully, in time, we can grow closer because of it. Because Gisele is right, she is my only family left now. And I want her to be a big part of my life.

“You kept this all to yourself for so long,” she whispers through her sobs.

“Dad knew,” I admit.

She looks at me, reality dawning. “That’s why you hate him so much. If he hadn’t been cheating on her with some floozy, none of that would have ever happened. We would still have our mama and you wouldn’t have left me.” She sobs, her chest heaving.

I nod. The way she says I left her makes my heart ache. I never meant to leave her. I was running away from my own feelings and our father, not her.

She swipes away her tears, and her face grows more serious. “From now on, no more secrets, Brody. We’re family, we’re in this together. And if we survive this year, we will be business partners for life. I need to know I can trust you.”

“No more, I promise.” She hugs me again. I don’t know if everything is going to be alright at The Alexander tomorrow, but I know one thing for sure— I don’t have to carry around the pain of my father's affairs anymore. And maybe Em and I can actually have the kind of relationship I know she’s always wanted. The relationship I need.

Chapter 28

Gisele

Igroan when I hear my phone ringing. I was having such a wonderful dream. I snatch it up from the side table and glance down to see my father’s number lighting up my phone screen.Instantly panic courses through my veins, and I sit up straight. I haven’t heard from either him or my mother since he cut me off on my first day here, but that was what I expected. I went against what he wanted, and them giving me the silent treatment was his way of telling me as much. I consider not taking the call. I’m sure if he has bothered to take the time to call me it’s because he wants something, but then I worry that something could be wrong. I might be upset with them, but they are still my parents and I love them. “Hello,” I answer tentatively.

“Gigi, my girl. I have arranged an audition for you on Friday,” he says, all business. No how are you or I hope your trip away has been everything you expected like a normal parent would say.

Still half asleep, I run a hand through my hair and try to process his words. “Dad, I have work. I can’t just drop everything and come audition for some new show you’re working on.”

“Quit playing around, Gigi,” he says, his tone growing more serious. “Your mother and I have humored your identity crisis long enough. We let you have your fun, now it’s time to come home and do what you were born to do. This role is the perfect one for you.”

Sickness fills me. I knew this call was coming, I wanted to go about living in my happy bubble here, but he’s deadly serious. He expects me to drop everything and be a good little girl and do as I’m told. “Who says performing is my calling? I’m actually really good at my job here. I’m the wedding-and-events coordinator for a hotel. We’re one of the busiest function centers in the South,” I tell him since he didn’t bother to ask. How dare he just call me and expect I will come running.

I hear his heavy breathing through the phone; he’s trying to control his anger. “Can you hear yourself? How ungrateful you sound right now? Your mother and I have given you the best ofeverything, and this is how you repay us, by turning your back on us completely.”

“I…” I go to talk, but he cuts me off.

“I’m very disappointed in you, Gisele. You come home this weekend and do your audition which we both know is just a formality, the role will be yours. Then you come home for good. No more playing around. And that’s the last I want to hear on the topic.” He slams the phone down, so I don’t get to tell him my thoughts on his demands.

I’m shaking with irritation, staring at the black screen as angry tears blur my vision. Going home is the last thing on my radar. I’m happy here. I have a job I like, friends, and Brody. I can’t give all that up now just to please my parents.

But this is what he’s always been like, it’s his way or the highway. I’m surprised he actually let me stay this long without pulling a stunt like this. I stare at the empty screen, wondering what to do. A small part of me wonders if he’s right. I can’t escape who I am no matter where I go. And the truth is, my parents did give a lot to make me the best I could be. But they did that for them. They never asked me what I wanted for my life.

And then there is the matter of Brody. I’ve fallen head over heels for him, even though I know I shouldn’t have. Not with the mounting pressure on him already. It’s only a matter of time before our relationship is outed to the whole town. After what Victor said to me, I’m afraid it’s going to be sooner rather than later. Brody stands to lose so much. I’m not worth the risk. Maybe me going home for a bit, doing another show, wouldn’t be the worst thing for us. I could give him the space to do what he needs to with the hotel. Then I could come back when he’s officially taken over and we could see if this thing between us is real. It’s not what I really want, but I feel so selfish for wanting him when I know what he and his sister could lose because of our relationship.

And even as I think it, I know it’s my father’s manipulative voice in my head, guilting me into doing what he says instead of what I want.

I step into the kitchen, freshly showered and feeling a little more ready for my day.

“Morning, girls,” I chime in, attempting cheerfulness as I find them huddled around the kitchen table—Mae, Paisley, and Emerson. The room, usually a hub of casual conversations, now feels charged with an unspoken tension. It’s not strange to see Emerson at the breakfast table due to the disarray of her own place, but I don’t like the way she looks at me with concern. My stomach sinks because I already know the call from my father won’t be the worst news I’m going to get today.

“Gisele, sweetie, we all need to talk to you about something. Why don’t you take a seat?” Mae invites, pulling out a chair with a gravity that doesn’t escape me. The knot in my stomach intensifies.

I face them, searching for answers. “What’s going on?” I whisper.

Mae motions to the offerings on the table in front of them—pumpkin lattes and fresh pecan sticky buns. She attempts a reassuring half-smile, but the sweetness of the gesture feels tainted by the serious undertones. “They’re your favorite,” she says.

"Why are you buying my favorite breakfast? It's not my birthday," I ask, suspicion coloring my words. My palms are clammy as I look between my friends.

Paisley, unusually quiet, seizes my arm, guiding me into the chair with an urgency that unnerves me. She grips my hand, and Emerson hands me the morning paper. “Another story?” I ask, already dreading the answer.

She nods solemnly. “This one’s not a nice one.”

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