Page 76 of Slightly Married
“Where is he?” I demanded of Raquel, our longtime housekeeper, who merely pointed toward Daddy’s study with worried eyes.
I burst through the double doors, bracing myself for beeping machines, doctors hovering and Simone in tears. Instead, Daddy sat in his favorite burgundy chair looking thinner but surprisingly alert, with Simone perched on the armrest beside him.
“Butterfly!” Daddy exclaimed, setting the papers aside and rising with more vigor than I expected from someone supposedly at death’s door.
We collided in a hug, but the arms around me felt like twigs compared to the bear hugs I remembered. When had my larger-than-life father shrunk so much?
I pulled back, eyes sweeping over his face. “What happened? Simone said you collapsed. Why aren’t you in the hospital?”
“Just a fainting spell,” Daddy dismissed with a wave, though the tremor in his hand betrayed him. “Your sister worries too much. I need rest, not to be poked and prodded in some hospital bed.”
Simone’s expression tightened. “I’ve been trying to convince him all morning to go back to the hospital.”
“There’s a grandchild who needs to meet you,” I said softly. “You need to take better care of yourself.”
His eyes sparkled with an unsettling excitement. “You have a brother,” he announced with theatrical flair. “And I have a son... finally.”
The satisfaction in his voice when he saidfinallymade something twist inside me. Like having two daughters had been the universe’s practical joke at his expense all these years.
“You’re kidding me right now,” I said, hands finding their way to my hips. “You’re actually happy about this? The man orchestrated a hostile takeover of your company, lied to your face for months and put you in the hospital! But hey, congrats on the boy you always wanted?” I couldn’t help adding with a sardonic smile, “Should I order balloons for the ‘Congratulations, It’s A Corporate Raider’ party, or would you prefer we go straight to the ‘My Son Stole My Company But At Least He Has A Y Chromosome’ celebration?”
“Kay—” Simone started, but I cut her off with a look.
“No, I want to hear this,” I insisted. “How can you possibly refer to Matthaios as your son after everything he’s done?”
Daddy collapsed back into his chair with a dramatic sigh. “Yes, yes, he lied to me. And yes, I no longer have a business.” His lips curled into a pleased grin. “But from a business perspective, Butterfly, he executed it brilliantly. Clearly, my blood runs in his veins.”
I stared at him, mouth literally hanging open. Pride. Actual pride for the man who’d pulled off the corporate equivalent of a back-alley mugging against him.
“You can’t be serious?” I threw my hands up. “He straight-up lied to you every single day, and you’re just going to forgive it? He’ll run the company into the ground just to spite you!”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Simone’s face fall. My sister had overworked herself for decades trying to be the son our father never had, earned multiple degrees and sacrificed her personal life to prove herself worthy of taking over the family business.
Daddy shrugged, adjusting the gold cufflinks that peeked from beneath his sweater sleeves. “If I’d known he was my son, the company would already be his. This way, he earned it.”
Simone stood abruptly, the leather portfolio she’d been holding slipping to the floor with a heavy thud. Without a word, she strode out of the room, her usual grace replaced by rigidity.
“Are you even hearing yourself?” I asked. “Your daughter just walked out, and you’re sitting here praising the man who might actually destroy your legacy.”
Daddy looked at me with those calm, calculating eyes. “You’ll understand when you’re a parent, Butterfly.”
That hit differently now, with my hand instinctively moving to my stomach where my own child grew. I gave him one last disappointed look.
“Unbelievable.” Without another word, I turned on my heel and went in search of my sister.
I found Simone in her bedroom, burrowed under a mound of blankets. The thick velvet curtains were drawn tight against theafternoon sun. Only a sliver of light from the hallway illuminated her silhouette.
Kicking off my shoes, I climbed right in beside her, staying on top of the covers but pressing my body against her and wrapping my arms around the sister-shaped lump beneath the duvet. The silk pillowcase beneath my cheek still held the faint lavender scent of the detergent our housekeeper had used since we were kids.
“You know what? Screw men. All of them,” I whispered, though my own heart felt like it had been put through a paper shredder. Right now, Simone’s pain took precedence over mine.
“I’m so stupid,” she murmured, her voice muffled by layers of expensive bedding. “Such a goddamn fool. Trusting him... Matt, Matthaios, whatever the hell his name actually is.” She shifted. “No, that’s not right. I allowed him to make a complete fool of me.”
She turned, emerging from her fabric fortress enough that I could see her face. Her dark eyes glittered with unshed tears in the dim light, her mascara leaving delicate black tributaries down her cheeks.
“He used me, Kay,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “I was just another weapon in his arsenal. A convenient way to hurt Daddy.”
I stroked her hair, feeling the softness of her curls between my fingers. “Girl, stop. You aren’t stupid,” I insisted. “Don’t you dare put this on yourself. What Matt did was straight-up evil. You’re not at fault for believing someone who worked overtime to earn your trust.”
