Page 34 of Losing the Forbidden
“Not if I have anything to do with it. Is that it, Chris?”
“For now, yes. We’ll need to sort out paperwork soon though.”
“Okay, well, you’ve got my number.” Draining my coffee, I stand from the table and head in the direction Lauren went not so long ago. My hangover is suddenly forgotten. I’ve got more important things to worry about, like keeping a roof over Mum’s head.
The anger that had erupted within me at learning what that motherfucker had left me is raging by the time I pull up outside Johnson & Son’s office.
My granddad started the business from his spare bedroom. It was my dad who moved everything here. He started with just a small corner of the floor, but as the business grew, so did the office space. We now take up the entire second floor of the building—although, I doubt that’s going to continue, depending on what I find when I start digging into my inheritance.
The crisp early autumn air chills my skin as I walk the short distance from where I manage to find a parking space to the office building.
I’m expecting it to be empty seeing as it’s a Sunday, so I’m surprised when I push the door open and find the lights on.
“I just don’t get it. Dad hated Ben—why would he leave it all to him?” The sound of her soft, emotional voice has goosebumps erupting across my skin. There’s so much she doesn’t know. So much that prick hid from her.
Pushing the door open wider, I walk towards them, ready to get everything out in the open.
I’m not surprised to see it’s Erica she’s talking to. Lauren’s leaning back against her desk, totally oblivious that they have company. Erica, on the other hand, spots me immediately over Lauren’s shoulder. Her eyes widen in surprise.
“I just don’t understand why he’d do this to Jenny.”
“Lauren…I…” Erica stutters, her eyes still on me.
“We need to explain a few things to you.” Lauren’s body visibly tenses as my voice fills the space around us.
“We?” Erica asks, fear draining the colour from her face.
“Yes, Erica. It’s time.”
“I don’t want to listen to anything you have to say,” she spits.
“Tough. You need to hear it.” It’s only the harsh tone of my voice that has her turning to look at me.
Her face is even paler than it was when I first saw her earlier, her eyes redder and now bloodshot from the tears she’s shed. Guilt clenches my stomach that I’ve had a hand in her pain.
“You lost any right you might have had to tell me what to do the moment you decided to walk out of my life.” She pushes away from Erica’s desk and steps a little closer to me. My body reacts to her as it always does when we’re in touching distance.
“That’s just it though, Lauren. The only place I wanted to be that night was in bed with you. The only thing I’ve ever wanted is you.”
“You had me, Ben. I gave you everything and you just stomped all over it.”
“I didn’t have any other choice.”
“It’s been six years. I don’t care.” She waves her hand in front of me and goes to turn away.
Reaching out, I grab her hand and pull her back so she’s facing me. Staring down into her eyes, I prepare to say the words that are going to throw her world into a tailspin once again.
“He made me go, Lauren. He threatened your future, your happiness. Both of those things are more important to me than what I wanted.”
“Oh that’s rich, even for you,” she says with a bitter laugh. “I thought it was a huge coincidence that you only showed your face after Dad died, but this is proof that you really were just waiting for him to die to take over.”
“I’ve been waiting for him to rot in hell for a long time, Lauren, trust me.” Even her shocked gasp isn’t enough for me to regret the words I probably shouldn’t have said. But they’re true. “He didn’t stay away on a golf weekend. He came back. He was waiting for me. Waiting for me to make me leave you.”
“You’re lying.” Wrapping her arms around herself, her body’s visibly shaking as she tries to reject the words I’m saying to her.
“I wish. I wish he’d have just accepted how I felt—how I feel—about you. I wish he’d allowed you the happiness you deserve, but just like every other part of his life, he waded in and took control of the situation. It’s no different to what he’s done here.”
“Okay…say everything you’re telling me is true. Then why the fuck would he leave this place and the house to you? You’re trying to tell me that he hated you to the point that he made you walk out of my life, yet you’re the only one listed in his will. What the fuck, Ben?”
