Page 59 of Tis The Season for Secrets
There were tears in Diana’s creased eyes. “Yes. I came to the Outside in my early twenties to be a chef. Your grandfather hired me from a restaurant I was temping at. He recognised my family name, and being around people who knew about Yule made me feel safe. I’ve worked for the Frost family ever since. I was here the day you appeared, wrapped in a bundle of blankets. Your grandfather asked me to look after you, and I couldn’t say no.” She tried to take Juliet’s hand, but Juliet flinched away. “Please don’t hate me! They made me swear never to tell you. Having left Yule myself, even of my own free will, I knew how much it hurt to long for home. I didn’t want you to feel that way.”
Juliet had to sit before her legs gave out. “You let me believe my mother abandoned me because she didn’t want me.”
The words visibly stung the only mother figure she’d known. “I’m so sorry, Juliet. It was all so complicated, but I’ve always loved you as my own!”
Juliet kept distance between them. “You let Beth leave because you were protecting her from me? I wouldn’t do anything to hurt Beth, but she deserves the truth. That includes telling her our shameful family secrets –she has a right to know.”
“You’d never want to hurt your sister, but this is all still fresh to you. I was trying to protect both of you. Beth is still young. Can you imagine how poorly you’d have handled this at her age? Right now, her biggest concern is getting tickets to the Eras Tour. She shouldn’t have to bear this secret!”
“Well, she won’t have to worry for long,” Juliet told her. “Margot was able to get her tickets from a friend who works for her security company. I was so excited to tell her.” She’d seen the notification on her phone as soon as she’d got back to theOutside, and had been looking forward to sharing the news in person. “But you and Dad sent her away to protect her from me, when it’s all of you she should be protected from.”
“My daughter doesn’t need your gifts.”
Diana and Juliet turned to see Gillian standing at the kitchen door.
“We wouldn’t have needed to do any of this if you’d just handed over the chest when you received it,” she went on. “If you’d shown any loyalty to this family, we all could have had a perfectly civil Christmas.”
Juliet stared at her. “Does everyone in this house know about Yule but me and Beth?”
Gillian scoffed. “How could I not know? After all the years they spent building up a name for themselves on the Outside, your birth nearly ruined everything. Your grandfather practically begged me to marry his son.”
“Wasn’t he lucky to find a woman with such a lovely, kind heart,” Juliet deadpanned.
Gillian’s heels clicked against the wooden floors. “He was, and to my detriment.” She pursed her lips. “Now that you know about Yule, you’d better remember not to shame the Frost name.”
“The only people who’ve shamed our name are those who’ve allowed a child to be separated from her mother,” Juliet snapped.
Gillian stepped towards her, eyes ablaze with all she’d apparently longed to say over the years. “Don’t let your emotions get the better of you. No point in getting upset about a mother you’ve never known.”
“You’re right. Why should I have wished for another mother when I hadyou?” Juliet clenched her fists, her nails biting into her skin.
Gillian’s eyebrows would have risen with shock if it hadn’t been for the Botox. “I don’t like your tone. I did my best.”
Juliet didn’t want to waste another breath on her. She stormed out of the kitchen and headed outside to her cottage, but she wasn’t getting rid of her stepmother that easily.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Gillian said, following her inside. Without the fire lit it was freezing, but Juliet didn’t care; she wouldn’t be there long.
“To stay with a friend.” She didn’t mention who or where.
“With Will – a man you barely know? You’re going to abandon your family just like that?” Gillian sneered.
“Abandon my family? This is not a family. You don’t want me here, and I thought you’d be delighted to see the back of me. I think what you’re truly upset about is losing your connection to Yule.”
Gillian scoffed and folded her arms across her chest.Bingo.
“All that talk about you volunteering at the library – that was just a lame excuse for why you weren’t home. You stayed away on purpose, hoping I’d fall for Will, to use him against me. I’m surprised you didn’t install cameras to spy on us.”
She rolled her eyes.“I certainly didn’t expect you to throw yourself at him so quickly. He really is the perfect leverage! I told your father that we shouldn’t even need that, though I see now that you’ve never considered us your family. If you did, you’d have handed over the chest. I never thought you could be so selfish.”Gillian surprised Juliet by taking hold of her, her long, manicured nails digging into her wrists. “We raised you and gave you a home!”
Juliet twisted out of her grasp. This was the second time today someone had laid hands on her, and she was getting sick of it. Gillian followed her into the bedroom, where she stuffed clothes into her suitcase. She really needed to get rid of her stepmother in case she stumbled across the chest’s hiding place.
“Don’t ignore me! Your mother wanted nothing to do with you. You’ll break Beth’s heart when she learns how you’re throwing us all away over a home and a mother you’ve never even known. Then again, if your mother is anything to go by, abandonment runs in the blood.”
Juliet bit her tongue, refusing to rise to the bait. She was sure they’d spin some story to tell Beth that would paint her as the villain, but she couldn’t be held hostage by the love she had for her sister. In a few years, she could tell Beth the truth – the whole truth.
“First you try to use Will against me, and now my sister.” Juliet laughed, trying not to show how the threat stung. “Love would’ve earned you my trust and loyalty. But all you and Dad know are threats and manipulation.”
Gillian’s eyes narrowed as she fought to keep her composure. She wasn’t used to losing a fight. “Fine. Since I can’t make you see reason, go. I’m just relieved Beth isn’t here to see this –though you won’t be gone long. You only have until Christmas Eve.”
