Page 42 of The Forbidden Secret
“She’s in this life as much as anyone else, and I need Beatrice to be safe. At any cost.”
I took a deep breath and opened my mouth, but he cut me off again.
“Call your sister, and she’ll keep Beatrice safe. You know she will.”
I finally blurted it out. “I was a virgin before I met you.”
I couldn’t bring myself to say the words. The damning words that had the potential to ruin everything. But he seemed to quickly draw parallels as he stared at me. He blinked, noexpression on his face. He blinked again, the silence between us becoming a deafening roar in my ears.
“She’s mine?”
I could only bring myself to nod.
What did he see in my expression? What was going through his mind? Did he blame me?
“Zeke, I wanted to tell you, but you were so adamant about wanting no commitment or connection, and if you knew… if you knew, you’d feel obligated to be in her life. I didn’t want to tie you down when you weren’t interested in this.”
I left out the bitterness I had felt for him leaving me to do this alone. After hearing his story and his reasons, it would be easy to forgive him for that. The heaviness no longer settled in my chest.
He pulled out his phone and extended it to me. “Call Aria and ask her to get Beatrice from your friend.”
He turned his back and walked toward the door.
“Zeke,” I called after him, but he continued walking.
He didn’t even turn back as he closed the door behind him. It would have been easier if he had slammed it or showed some sign of emotion. But he gave menothing.He didn’t say a word or tell me how he felt about any of this, and I wondered if I should have told him sooner.
But for now, I needed to put this on the back burner.
I needed to push aside the crack in my heart that would shatter me if he said the wrong thing.
I shouldn’t have expected excitement, but this? This nothingness? Walking out when I had finally revealed the most important part of my life?
I shook my head and searched through his contacts, finding Aria’s name quickly. I hit call without allowing myself to dwell on it.
“Yeah, Coleman?”
“Aria,” I said, biting my lip at the unexpected emotions that oozed from me as I heard her voice. My sister. The one who had always been there for us. She deserved the world, and what was I going to give her aside from more stress?
“Oh, Evelina,” she said, emotion filling her tone the same way as it had mine. “Are you okay? I… I was trying to get you out sooner, but there was only so much I could do. God, I’m so sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. You saved me, and I’m only calling because—” The words choked me up. A tear fell down my cheek. “Did you find a way to take down Clide Newton yet?”
She sighed. “I’ve been doing everything. Checking every loophole in contracts and every legal reason he could be taken down. It would be hard under normal circumstances, but our hands are tied in so many different ways. I promise that I will find something. I will work 24/7 until I do.”
“No, no. Don’t do that. You need rest. But Aria, there’s so much you don’t know about me. I was a shitty sister, and I disconnected from all of you. I was never half as good to you as you were to me. I disconnected because you and Noemi treated me like a child, and Livia always treated me like I was incapableof any success. So I played into it and let you believe it. And now I’m going to ask you for the biggest favor a person could ask.”
“God, I’m so sorry. We didn’t have a mother, and I guess I tried to take that role at the expense of our relationship. I will do anything, Evelina.”
“I have a baby, and her name is Beatrice.”
Silence.
“A baby?”
“I had her four months ago, and she has been living with my art manager ever since. I kept her hidden from our father and everyone else to keep her safe, and it worked. But now, she needs somewhere else to go, and you always played the role of mother so well. I would trust you with my entire world, Aria. I know you’re pregnant and have a lot on your plate—”
“I—” she cut herself off. “I didn’t know you had an art manager. Or… I didn’t know any of this. Evelina, I would be honored. For as long as you need me to keep her, I would behonored. I will love her like my own until it’s safe enough for her to come home to you. You have my word.”
