Page 72 of The Omega's Secret Baby
32
Matthew
Eli’s wordskept ringing in my head as I returned to the mansion. Was I really such a horrible parent? Was it better for Jake if I stayed away from him? Had my father been right after all?
I wanted to slam my hands on the steering wheel in frustration. Goddammit. Things had seemed to be coming together so beautifully. And then that. Part of me thought I should have a talk with my sister. Part of me thought never talking to her again would be the preferable option.
For now, I parked the car and headed back into the house, only to be met by Frederica on my way up to my quarters.
“I thought I’d heard your car,” she said with a sympathetic smile. “Rough day today, huh?”
I held a hand up. “Please keep it out of the gossip loop.”
“Oh, you know I won’t talk about it. So tempting, though. Your mother looked like a wild goose storming into my living room.” Frederica laughed just a little and the sound was so contagious that I felt my lips curve up in spite of everything.
“Would you like to have a tea with me?”
“Oh, I think tea is just the thing we need now.”
If only all problems could be solved by tea. I led Frederica up to the sitting room in the west wing of the second floor, which was generally consideredmywing and blissfully devoid of people.
“Green tea?” I asked her, grabbing some cups from the shelves.
“You know how much I love green tea.”
“Yeah, I know.” Apparently there were stillsomethings I got right. I prepared the tea for the both of us and put the mugs onto a coffee table before settling in one of the arm chairs.
“So,” Frederica asked. “You take the kid back home to the omega? It’s a shame, I must say. I was looking forward to chatting with him. He seemed like a sweet little boy.” Her eyes twinkled. “Reminds me a little bit of certain alpha I know when he was young.”
“You really think he’s like me?”
“A little bit,” Frederica said, pinching her thumb and index finger together. “Your mother has no idea what she’s talking about. Then again, she was never your primary caretaker.” A hint of disdain entered Frederica’s voice.
“No, I guess not. Just not the way things are done in this family.” Seriously, how had I thought I was going to be a good parent when I had no good example to draw on?
“You’ll do things differently now, won’t you?” Frederica stirred some milk into her tea.
I raked a hand through my hair. “I’m not surewhatto do right now, to be honest.”
“Had a fight with the omega?”
“His name is Eli,” I reminded her, because Eli was so much more than just an omega. “And you just want me to tell you the juicy bits, don’t you?”
She grinned. “Caught me. But really,” her voice grew more serious, “you can talk to me if you’re having trouble.”
“Well, we did get into a bit of a fight. I have to admit that this day didn’t go as I’d planned, but he… He said some pretty harsh things.”
“Are you sure he meant them? In my experience, parents can get a tad irrational when their babies are involved.”
“I don’t know. He basically said I was a privileged rich kid who couldn’t understand the real world. Or at least, the world he lives in, whatever that is.” I pinched the bridge of my nose.
“Well, you certainly live in a world different from most people,” Frederica said.
“You really think so?” Was I so unaware?
“I’m not saying this to be mean, but life is different for people who have money, people of your standing… That’s just the way it is. And your family has always had some strong ideals that are entirely antiquated, and you were raised with them.” She shot me a sympathetic look, as if to apologize for what she’d said. “If it helps,” she continued, “I’ve always thought you were the best of the bunch. Honestly, I’m kind of surprised to see you back here.”
“How so?” Why would she be surprised to see me here? I’d always wanted to take over the business and be the head of the family. I thought she knew that. I thought she knewme.
