Page 7 of Fighting for the Forbidden
I guess I’ve been putting off having this conversation and admitting the truth about what I’ve done. She knows Ben’s back, and she’s tried dragging information out of me on the phone, but I’ve kept my lips sealed. She knows something’s going on though. She can read me better than I can myself. Shealwaysknows.
“Should I go and get us a glass of wine?”
“Yeah,” I agree.
While she’s busy doing that, I make use of her bathroom, and after splashing my face with water, I feel a little more with it once again.
When I get back, Mum’s waiting for me with two giant glasses of wine on the coffee table. “I got the feeling we’d need big ones,” she explains with a sympathetic smile, and I can’t help but laugh.
Slipping my shoes off, I settle myself into the corner of the sofa and sip at my wine, trying to figure out where the hell to start.
“I’ll sit here all night if you need me to, Lauren, but I should warn you that I have work in the morning.”
“Sorry,” I whisper, a smile twitching at my lips. God, I love my mum. She always manages to say something to lighten the mood.
“It’s Dad.”
“Oh,” Mum says, her eyebrows rising in surprise. I know she was probably expecting me to say Ben’s name, and maybe I should start there, but dealing with Dad first seems like the easier option.
“Apparently, he paid Ben off. Dad made him leave.” The pain those words cause must be obvious in my voice, but Mum just nods, as if sensing there’s more to come. “He’d been blackmailing Erica into cooking the books, and the business is on the verge of bankruptcy. Jenny could lose the house.”
“Jesus, Lauren. I really want to tell you that I’m surprised by that but…I was married to your dad for almost ten years.”
“I don’t even know what to think, Mum. Everything I thought I knew has just been shattered. I thought he left because I was just some kind of twisted fuck-you to Dad. I never expected…” My bottom lip trembles as the reality of how much my dad messed with my life hits me once again. “We could have been happy. We could have…” I don’t really want to think of all the things we could have been by now. It’s too hard to even consider. “And then there’s Erica. He was sleeping with her, Mum. She was at rock bottom after her ex left her, and he took total advantage. She’s young enough to be his daughter.” My lip curls in disgust. “How could he?”
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I always hoped you’d never have to experience that side of your dad.”
“Why were you with him?”
“I fell in love, baby. I was young, and he offered me everything I thought I wanted in life. Like I’ve said many times before, we can’t help who we fall in love with. What about Ben? If he didn’t leave willingly, where does that leave the two of you? Is he single?”
I open my mouth to respond, but I don’t know the answer to that last question. I want to say yes, but knowing that I haven’t been entirely honest with him since his reappearance makes me question his own status. “I…uh…I don’t know.”
“To which question?”
“Either.”
“But you’re still in love with him. What’s the issue?”
“He left me, Mum.”
“Yeah, but not by choice, it seems.”
“Does it matter? He still went. He could have fought for me. He didn’t have to take Dad’s money and run. He could have stayed. He could have stayed with me. Hell, he could have taken mewithhim. Anything but leave.”
“Has anything happened?” My face flushes bright red, answering her question, and I cast my eyes away, embarrassed.
“What?”
Blowing out a breath, I prepare to tell her what I’ve done. “He thinks I’m with Joe.”
“Why?”
“Because I made it out that way.”
“Lauren,” she says on a sigh. “What are you doing?”
“I’ve no fucking clue. I thought I had everything how I wanted it. I was finally in a place where I was enjoying life, and then he turns up and throws everything into chaos. Dad dies, I fall straight back into bed with my stepbrother, and I end up quitting my job.” I can’t help but laugh at how ridiculous it all sounds.
