Page 61 of Trust In Me
“WHAT?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Liar!”
“For fuck’s sake.”
I can’t tell which comment comes from whom, but I can relate to them all. I sit there stunned into silence, wondering what the hell he’s talking about. My eyes feel like they’re bugging out of my skull, while my mouth flops open like a goldfish. I’m literally stunned into silence.
“Please, everyone, shut up. Let Desmond finish what he has to say, then we can talk,” Bree shouts, silencing the room.
Desmond shoots her a smile, but as I look over at Bree, I can see it isn’t reciprocated. Her steel gaze is fixed on Des, but her hand is stroking Liam's leg, trying to calm him down.
“Thank you, Bree. I’m not proud of this, but I had an affair with Kellan’s mother. It was short, a couple of weeks at the most. Von and I were going through a rough patch, she had just found out she was pregnant with Liam and was struggling a lot with morning sickness and we were arguing more than normal. I knew Marianna, having met her through Kaden, and she pursued me. I know her and Kaden’s marriage was on the rocks, and I’m not proud of it, but I did engage in a brief fling. It was never serious, and it was over long before I found out about you.” He takes a deep breath and reaches for the glass of water Freya had put next to him before we started, taking a gulp.
“Are you sure?” I don’t need to elaborate. He knows I’m asking if there’s any doubt about my paternity.
“I’m sure. When you were born, we did a DNA test, confirming that I’m your father. I just want to make it very fucking clear that from the moment I found out I was your father, I wanted to be part of your life. I told Von straight away, and even though she was incredibly pissed, she supported my decision to be part of your life, Kellan. It was your mother who said she didn’t want that. She refused to put my name on the birth certificate, and I didn’t want to cause you any upheaval. I made it very fucking clear that a time would come when I would tell you the truth, but honestly, the longer I left it, the harder it became.”
“So, why now?” Liam snaps, and I nod my head in agreement.
“Because you were all questioning my motives over why I’m here. I’m here because Kellan is my son, and I love him just as much as I love each and every one of you. His girl is missing, so I am moving heaven and earth to get her back, the same way I did for Liam when Bree was taken. I may have been a shitty father for the majority of your lives, thanks to a few piss-poor decisions on my part, but I won’t ever have you say that I don’t love each and every one of you.”
We all look at each other, matching expressions of shock on each Doughty’s face. Fuck, this makes them my real siblings!
“Bullshit. You tried to pimp Ryleigh and me out to sexual predators. How the hell can you say that you care about us? After all, you made it very fucking clear that we aren’t your real daughters,” shouts Freya, and everyone freezes. I don’t think I have ever heard Freya lose her temper like that. She’s the most chilled out of us all, but her cheeks flush with rage.
“Frey…you know that isn’t true. There’s so much going on that I can’t tell you all about. But please don’t ever think that I don’t love you,” Desmond says, looking Freya in the eyes, and I have to admit, he looks very fucking serious.
“Wait…fuck. You talked to Declan about this. About putting under-aged girls in your auctions at Shades. I remember him saying you had someone manipulating you, and you had to protect your girls,” Kian states, and all eyes quickly flick towards the blond sitting beside Freya. I don’t miss the way he’s gently stroking Freya’s back, trying to comfort her.
“Kian. We’re not discussing that now,” Desmond snaps.
“I want to hear what he has to say,” Ryleigh shouts, while Freya and Liam mumble agreements.
“Look, I know you don’t trust me, but I need you to. I need you to trust that if I’m keeping something from you, there’s a pretty fucking important reason. I’ll tell you when I can, but for now, you have to believe I’m doing the best for our family.”
Nobody is willing to put their trust in Des, and the room erupts into noise, everyone demanding he stop lying and tell the truth. I agree with my siblings—fuck, it feels weird saying that now I know it’s real. As much as I want to know exactly what he’s hiding from us, my patience is wearing thin.
I shout, making sure everyone hears me. “Look, I know there’s a lot we need to cover, and you can fuck right off, Desmond, if you think this is over. A time will come, very soon, where you will have to give us the answers we need. But right now, I have to find Mia and I don’t have time to deal with your bullshit.” I pause, looking around at each of the Doughty children. “I’m sorry, but I have to find Mia before I can deal with any of this shit. Can we, just for now, focus on her?” I plead, watching their anger melt away.
“I’m sorry, Kellan. We shouldn’t have hijacked this moment. Mia is the priority,” Freya apologises, a small smile on her face, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. We definitely need to have a long fucking talk with Des, but it’ll have to wait for now.
Bree somehow manages to sum up exactly what we’re all feeling. “Look, Desmond. Let me make this very fucking clear. Mia’s our focus, for now. But, once we have her back safe and sound, I expect you to sit down with everyone in this room—Finn and Evan too—and you will answer all their questions. I personally do not work with people who keep secrets, but more than that, we’re supposed to be a fucking family. If you want to be part of this family, you will trust us, and you will tell us everything. Do I make myself very fucking clear?”
Desmond chuckles and smiles that sadistic smile he thinks is friendly. It’s downright fucking scary. “You are one hell of a leader, Bree. I’m very lucky to have you in our family. I promise, we’ll have a long discussion and I will answer all your questions.”
Nods come from all around the room, and I see Bree smile, happy to have mediated this shitstorm. I need to forget all about the whole ‘he’s my father’ rubbish. I’m putting that into a box and sealing the lid, for now.
“Right, now that’s sorted, what do you know about Mia?” I ask, grabbing Desmond’s attention.
Des finishes taking a gulp of his water, and places his glass back onto the coffee table, as he takes a deep breath. “Firstly, I want to tell you about when Finn and Evan visited the Reaper compound. Evan almost got shot, as apparently Doughtys aren’t welcome on the compound. It wasn’t until Shayla recognised Finn that they were finally allowed inside. Whiskey, who I believe is Shayla’s husband, took Evan on a tour of the compound, to make it clear that Mia wasn’t there. Finn stayed behind to talk to Shayla, as I believe they met before.”
I nod, remembering the experience well. Shay and Finn got along well, and when he learnt of Shay’s true colours, he was more shocked than me. We grew up learning to identify liars. Hell, we’re fucking experts at lying and deception. But neither of us saw her coming. Desmond pauses just for a second, like he’s trying to gather his thoughts about what to say next.
“Shayla did admit to making contact with Mia. She thought she was doing the right thing by keeping Mia away from you and Hallie. She knew who Mia’s father was, and his reputation. She didn’t want him to be around Hallie. She knows she isn’t entitled to a say in Hallie’s life, but when she was contacted about the custody debate, that’s when she started looking into things. But, she hasn’t made contact with Mia since that last text after the court case. According to Shayla, her text came out as more of a threat than she intended. She just wanted Mia to adhere to her promise and stay away from you and Mia. But Finn says she was shocked to learn Mia had been taken. She knows nothing about it, and did say she regrets her interference.”
I can’t help but interrupt with mumblings I hadn’t meant to say aloud. “Too fucking right, she shouldn’t have interfered.”
