Page 58 of A Billionaire Rebel

Today sucked.

Yesterday had sucked too.

Actually, pretty much everything had sucked since I’d broken up with Damon on Wednesday evening.

Spencer had waited for me to get to work yesterday and had smiled when I’d told him I’d ended my relationship with Damon. Then the bastard had simply walked away, whistling. I doubted this would be the last thing Spencer demanded of me in exchange for not taking Jamie to court for custody, but for right now, my nephew was safe. I just had to figure out what I could do to keep him that way.

The first thought that had come to me had been to get Jamie to file charges against Spencer for statutory rape. She’d been fifteen when she’d gotten pregnant. He’d been twenty. It didn’t matter if it was consensual or not.

In Texas, the age of consent was seventeen. Jamie could have stripped naked and sat on his lap, and it still would’ve been statutory rape. And it wasn’t like he could plead ignorance about her age. He knew that Jamie was three years younger than me, and he’d known it back then too.

Except there were all sorts of ways that could go wrong. Spencer could deny ever having had sex with Jamie, and the only way to prove that had happened at all would be a paternity test. Once Spencer was officially named as Kevin’s father, he could twist the story to make it seem like Jamie hadn’t told him about the pregnancy and then file for custody. He’d play the embarrassed guy who’d been seduced by the flirty teenager and probably get a slap on the wrist, if anything at all.

Statutory rape was difficult to prosecute under the best of circumstances, and this was hardly the best. She’d turned sixteen right around the time she’d realized she was pregnant, and I had no doubt that would be how any defense attorney would refer to her. It wouldn’t matter that, either way, she had still been underage. Sixteen somehow ended up sounding a lot older than fifteen. They’d point out that she’d never said anything to anyone about the consensual encounter, and then they’d tear her apart.

And he had the resources to do it.

If he’d been some random guy, charges might’ve stuck, but Spencer’s family would hire private investigators to dig up dirt on Jamie and our family. He’d have the best law firm who’d bury the prosecution in paperwork if they didn’t throw out the case altogether. They’d use the media to paint a picture of a jealous girl trying to ruin a good man’s reputation.

The worst part of all of it was, I might’ve been able to prevent it all if I’d just told Jamie about how pushy Spencer had been that last date we’d gone on, so much so that I’d slapped him and gotten out of his car. Even if she hadn’t listened to me then, I could’ve cast some doubt on his character. If I brought it up this long after the fact, I’d just look like either a sister lying to help or an ex lying for revenge.

I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and smoothed down the hairs curling in the humidity. I couldn’t look like I was falling apart, no matter how much that felt like the truth. Things had been quiet at the store, but the press release about Holden breaking up had come out today. I had a feeling we’d have more than our fair share of reporters coming in, hoping to see Damon, settling for pestering me…

“Jae, have you seen Kevin’s right tennis shoe?” Jamie called from the main room.

“Did you check under the couch?” My question sounded sharper than I’d meant it to be. Not sharper than how I felt, but more than I wanted her to hear.

I’d always hated people who blamed the victim, but I was struggling to see Jamie as being completely innocent in what’d happened. Yes, Spencer never should have touched her, and that was on him, but she’d pursued him, knowing how old he was and that he and I had dated. Then she’d kept it a secret from all of us even after she’d gotten pregnant. Granted, our parents probably would’ve gone after him, but she could’ve gotten child support, even if she did have to deal with joint custody.

Guilt swamped me. Not only guilt over blaming Jamie for what’d happened, but for thinking that sharing custody with Spencer would’ve been okay. Kevin was better without knowing Spencer, and I was an awful person if I was willing to put my nephew in that position just because it would’ve meant I could still have Damon.

“It’s not there.” Jamie appeared in my doorway. “Did he bring it in here?”

“No, Jamie, your son’s shoe is not in my bedroom.” I shut my dresser drawer harder than necessary.

“All right,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “What’s wrong? You’ve been snippy the past couple days.”

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. How could I tell her that a stupid decision she’d made three years ago had cost me a man I could have loved? After all, I’d fallen for Spencer’s bullshit too. And it wasn’t like her own life hadn’t been affected by her choice.

“Damon and I broke up, okay? And we’ve got people coming into the store all the time asking about him. It sucks.” I couldn’t look at her while I said it, afraid she’d see that I was hiding something.

“Oh, Jae, I’m so sorry.” She put her hand on my shoulder. “What happened?”

“We’re different.” Feeling like I had my expression under control, I turned toward her, shaking off her hand. “I didn’t really think it could ever last anyway.”

“Jae–”

“I’ve got to go to work.”

I left her in my room, stopping only to tell Kevin goodbye. This beautiful little boy was why I’d get through this without destroying my relationship with my sister. Even if I never forgot how much that phone call to Damon had hurt, even if things between Jamie and I couldn’t go back to the way they’d been, my love for my nephew would remain pure and uncomplicated. None of this had been his choice or his fault. That was something I could cling to when everything else was dark and confusing.

Soon enough, I’d be past all of this. The last two weeks would be a blip on the radar of my life. I’d have too many other memories to bother even thinking about any of this again. One day, I’d be able to listen to Holden without feeling like a hole had been ripped in my chest. One day, I’d see Damon on the cover of a magazine with a beautiful model on his arm, and I wouldn’t feel like throwing up. I’d have my own life and my own goals.

The first step in that direction was to go to work and pretend like everything was fine.

Thirty-Four

Damon

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