Page 59 of Under Southern Stars
“Certain things? Like your inheritance? The estate? The family holdings? Four generations of McKenzies have built this legacy with grit and vision, Jackson. It’s not something to hide away like it’s shameful.”
“Mum—”
“You can’t keep doing this, Jack.” Her voice drops, softens. “Not everyone is Vanessa.”
The name hits me like a physical blow, even after all these years. “This has nothing to do with her.”
“Doesn’t it?” My mother’s sigh carries across oceans. “Darling, what she did was awful, unforgivable even. But hiding who you are isn’t the answer.”
“I’m not hiding,” I argue, but we both know it’s a lie. The memory rises unbidden—Vanessa’s voice, crystal clear through the cellar door I’d been about to open, carrying up from the tasting room.“God, Melissa, don’t be daft. Of course I don’t love him. But have you seen that ring? His grandmother’s, apparently. Worth a small fortune.”Her laugh, brittle as glass.“I’m thinking: two kids, ten years, then Bali and Honolulu, baby.”
I’d stood there, grandmother’s ring burning a hole in my pocket where I’d just retrieved it from the safe, plans for a vineyard proposal shattered at my feet.
“Jack?” My mother’s voice pulls me back. “Are you still there?”
“Yeah.” My voice is rougher than I intend. “Look, Sophia isn’t Vanessa. She doesn’t care about money or status.”
“You didn’t think Vanessa did either, if I recall.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Life isn’t fair, darling. If it were, that woman wouldn’t have spent two years pretending to love you while planning how to cash in on our name.”
The anger I thought I’d buried flares again. “You think I don’t know that? You think I don’t remember how she looked at me when I confronted her? Like I was nothing but a bank account with legs.”
My mother’s voice softens. “That’s exactly my point, Jack. You ran away after that—to the other side of the world—to become ‘just Jack.’ But hiding your background from this new woman, this Sophia…it’s no better than what Vanessa did. You’re both creating false versions of yourselves.”
The parallel hadn’t occurred to me, and it lands like a punch to the gut. “That’s different.”
“Is it? Vanessa pretended to love you for your money. You’re pretending not to have money for Sophia’s love. Both are deceptions, darling.”
“I’m not pretending—” But even as I say it, I know she’s right. Sins of omission are still sins. “She’s different, Mum. She doesn’t care about status or wealth. Her ex was all about that, and it destroyed their marriage.”
“So you thought pretending to be poor was the solution? After what happened last time?”
“I’m not pretending to be poor. I live on my salary. I work my shifts. This is my life.”
“In a one-bedroom flat when you could be living properly, upholding the family name. Your great-grandfather would be turning in his grave.”
“This is exactly why I didn’t tell her!” The words come out sharper than intended. “Because everyone thinks the money is who I am. It’s not. It never was.”
Mum sighs. “You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just…we worry about you, darling. Living so far away, working such dangerous jobs…especially after everything with Vanessa. That woman nearly destroyed you.”
“But she didn’t,” I say quietly. “And I learned a valuable lesson.”
“That all women who show interest in you are after your money?”
“No. That I need to be loved for who I am, not what I have.”
“Then why not be honest from the start? Find someone who knows everything and loves you anyway?”
“Because the minute people find out, they change. You’ve seen it, Mum. Even people who’ve known me for years look at me differently once they know.”
“Your father was terrified to tell me about his family’s money when we met,” she says unexpectedly. “Thought I’d run for the hills.”
“Did you?”
“Nearly. Not because of the money, but because he’d hidden it. Made me wonder what else he might hide.” She pauses. “But then I realized he was just scared. Scared I’d see the money instead of him.”
