Page 63 of Stolen Fate

“Full of what?”

She shoved me, and I grinned. She had barely moved me an inch, and she shot me a disgruntled look.

Such a tiny, delicate girl. I wanted nothing more than to hide and protect her from any more hurt she might have.

Especially any hurt she might have, unintentionally or not, by my hand.

I grabbed the hand she used to shove my chest and held it there, letting her feel how heavy my heart beat from even the simplest touch from her.

I didn’t think she was even aware, but she had moved closer to me, and now there was nothing more than a centimeter of space separating her lips from mine. It would take nothing for me to close the gap between us, to take her lips—and if memory serves me right, her lips would taste as sweet and as addicting as they had many nights ago.

I moved in even closer to her then. Just a small taste. It would in no way be enough, but I needed that small taste more than I needed to breathe.

Evelyn cleared her throat a bit and looked down, widening the space from us once more, effectively breaking the spell.

I moved back and took a sip of my drink.

“Can I ask you something?” she asked, her voice hesitant. I knew right away that I wouldn’t like what was coming.

I waved a hand carelessly between us. “You can ask, but I can’t promise I will answer.”

“What happened to Elliot’s mom?”

I downed out the rest of my drink and brought it back to the table. Evelyn watched me with wary eyes, though she didn’t say anything.

She wanted to know what happened between Camila and me, but what happened between Camila and me was sordid and ugly and filled with so much resentment that even after all this time, I still tasted the bitterness of it on my tongue.

“I kicked her out of Elliot’s life for good six months ago.”

I was met with silence. I could see Evelyn taking a small sip of her drink, perhaps stalling, trying to figure out the right words to say.

Then, “Why?”

“Because she didn’t deserve to be Elliot’s mom. It’s a privilege, and she fucked it up so bad, there was no way she could redeem herself. She’s not Elliot’s mom, and I would never acknowledge otherwise.” And how that was true, Evelyn had no idea.

“How?” Evelyn asked, and though I heard the curiosity in her voice, I didn’t hear judgment. I had been getting all kinds of judgment from everyone in my extended family, from my parents, my cousins, and yes, even Camila’s family, especially her dad, for daring to keep Elliot away from his daughter.

The only people who had stayed silent in all of this were Camila and her godmother, Marie, but only because I knew the truth, and they realized they had no hold on Elliot any longer. Camila could no longer use Elliot to guilt me into funding her extravagant lifestyle.

“Camila never wanted to be a mom and, more importantly, she figured the role of Elliot’s mother would just be for show and she could leave his care to nannies. You probably noticed Elliot has never once mentioned his mom since you started working here.”

She nodded. “I… I heard what happened to Elliot, when he was four.”

I nodded, not at all surprised. What happened to Elliot was like fodder for the media. Of course there was talk around the city, and I imagine even more so between the help.

“My one and only concern at the time was to get Elliot to a safe place, to make sure what Camila did wouldn’t affect him, but there were still nuisances I couldn’t ignore, like when the cops showed up with a social worker and I was forced to leave Elliot in my mom’s care.”

My mom was a decent human being, and an extraordinary businesswoman, but she had no interest in a young child who was going through some pretty traumatic issues. She would never hurt Elliot, and I was sure she loved him in her own way, but she didn’t know how to be caring or loving, and that was what made it so hard, that she couldn’t be what he needed at a time he was the most vulnerable.

Evelyn’s eyes bugged out, and I would have found humor in her expression if I weren’t telling her about a moment in my life when I had felt so fucking helpless. When I had failed my son in one of the worst ways possible.

“Seriously? They thought you were part of it? That you would neglect Elliot?”

I smiled a little at that. She sounded offended on my behalf.

“They were just doing their job, though it didn’t make it any easier to deal with.”

“Of course not! I can’t imagine what you went through when you couldn’t see Elliot.”

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