Page 155 of Kissing the Villain

She chewed the inside of her cheek. “This piece is too expensive to let a novice restore it.”

“I studied under Madeline Laveau. I can fix the ceiling. And I must remind you that the client asked for me, not you or Armand.”

She pursed her lips. “Let Armand handle it. We have more pressing projects.”

A restoration of this magnitude would have made an excellent addition to my portfolio. Of course, my mother could never see my talent and never considered me of the same caliber as her peers.

“Between you and Dad, I don’t know which of you is worse. You have never given me a chance. It doesn’t matter how many galleries I sell out. You still won’t acknowledge me as an equal.”

She sneered at me. “Keep your voice down while we’re inside a client’s home.”

I rolled my eyes. “Luca will be angry if you let Armand restore this.”

She tucked her bottom lip into her mouth, averting my gaze. “Don’t threaten me.” Her voice was low, soft. “I’ve endured enough harassment from Arlo and his sons.”

“You may have run from Arlo, but I’m not running from Luca. This is your doing. You put me in this position. If you weren’t such a selfish bitch?—”

“If I had married Arlo, you wouldn’t be here.” She rubbed her temples. “I don’t expect you to understand the choices I made.”

She tugged at her jacket sleeve and glanced at her watch. My eyes widened at the sight of dark bruises on her wrist. They looked like fingerprints.

“Who did that to you?”

Mom slid her jacket over the bruises and turned her head. “It’s nothing. I tripped.”

“Is Dad hurting you?”

She released a wicked cackle. “Of course not. Your father wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“Then who did that?”

Our eyes met, and without hearing the words, I knew the answer.

Arlo.

The bitch deserved it.

She killed his wife.

Locked me in a closet.

Emotionally abused her children.

My mother turned away from me, ashamed. “Last night, Arlo came to Wellington Manor and forced me to leave with him.”

“Does Dad know?”

She nodded. “He watched me leave the house.”

“He didn’t defend you?”

Coward.

“Like either of us has a choice,” she breathed. “What Arlo says goes. None of us is in control of our lives. That’s why I ran from him. I couldn’t wait to escape Arlo and live without someone telling me what to do.”

“You could have spared us.”

She shook her head. “No, I couldn’t. Arlo sunk his claws into you before you were born. I wasn’t planning on having children, but Arlo has his ways.”

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