Page 40 of Misdeeds of a Billionaire
Yet, here I was. Both Winston and I.
He wanted to ensure I didn’t do anything stupid. It didn’t escape me how our roles reversed over the last two days. I drank myself into oblivion, and he ensured to cut me off. Lovely. I had hit rock bottom.
Standing in the back of the full church, I kept catching glimpses of Odette’s red hair. She held hands with her sister, the black dresses making them appear even younger. The service finished and the line of condolences began.
Odette looked tired and pale, her eyes red from the tears she was now holding back, and my heart fucking hurt. She didn’t want me here, but I couldn’t help but come. I wanted to be here just in case—
The thought was stupid, yet here I was.
It was so appropriate that rain came and went all day, almost as if the sky was mourning too.
“They both look like death,” Winston muttered.
The line of people offering their condolences grew by the second. Fuck, I wanted to talk to her, offer to help somehow. But most of all, I wanted to ensure she was okay.
“They just lost their father,” I grumbled. “It’s understandable they’re upset.”
He shot me a wry look. “If our father died, we wouldn’t shed a tear. Not one of his children would.”
My expression became hard. “Today isn’t the day to discuss something like that.”
Not while Odette was in mourning.
“Was their old man nice?” Winston asked curiously. “He seems to have a huge fan base from the number of attendees and tears. Even his daughters loved him, imagine that.”
I gave a terse nod.
“The Swan family are close.” I recalled the background check on their family. A close-knit family. Nothing like ours. “Were,” I corrected myself. It was still hard to believe the old doctor was dead. The paper was vague on the cause of death, and it seemed inappropriate to bring it up here. I couldn’t help but wonder who’d manage the hospital while Odette worked on finishing her degree. I’d offer to help, but I was certain she’d rather burn it all to the ground than talk to me.
I watched the two sisters whisper to each other and then make their way out of the room.
My heart beat, painfully. Alive.
Filled with sadness I hadn’t felt in a very long time.
Not since I buried my own mother. Not since my baby brother was taken all those years ago. Even when he was returned to us, he hadn’t been the same, and the pain from that loss lingered like I knew this one would.
* * *
My captain had us drifting away, leaving Villefranche-sur-Mer and the French Riviera behind us.
Sun bounced off the ripples of blue water. The glare was bright even behind my sunglasses. I stood on the upper deck, staring at the coastline that shrank with each minute that passed. The outline of the hospital on the hill was one of the last things I could make out before the entire coastline became a blur.
“I know you are worried about pollution.” Winston’s voice came from behind me. “I dove for that damn bottle. You’ll be happy to know we haven’t left our footprint behind.”
“Except for the gas that we’re currently using to power this yacht,” I remarked dryly, turning to face him.
“There is that,” he agreed, fixing me with a serious gaze. “You have been different.”
My eyes returned to the horizon. “So have you. You’ve been sober for three days straight.”
He shrugged. “I figured it’s better to be sober rather than drunk when Father catches me. He’d rob me, take my clothes, and leave me naked. Literally and figuratively.”
I met my brother’s gaze once more. “What did he do when he came on the yacht?”
“Searched for you. He didn’t believe you weren’t here, so he stormed into your office. In fact, he stayed there for a while as if he thought you’d show up out of thin air.”
“He was probably trying to break into my safe,” I remarked dryly.
