“I agree. Also, Clara, Matty’s heart condition tends to be hereditary. Did either of your parents have it? I just thought you should know.” She fixes her gaze on me.
I shake my head slowly.
“I see. Well, I had it, too, as did our grandfather. I actually had surgery when I was about Matty’s age,” she says.
Carter’s gaze darkens as it bounces between Margot and me. “What are you talking about, Margot?”
“You don’t remember; you were too little. Mom didn’t like to talk about it, but I had valve replacement surgery,” she says.
Carter’s focus shifts to me. “Matty needs heart valve replacement surgery?”
“Yes, our mother used to carry an inhaler around for me all the time, too,” Margot answers for me. “It’s clear as day. The symptoms, the treatment. Matty has the same condition. And if he didn’t get it from his mother or anyone on his mother’s side, then he?—”
“Got it from his father’s side,” Carter finishes her conclusion, his voice low.
I can’t look away from him. At that moment, I would’ve given anything for the earth to just open up and swallow me whole. I thought Elizabeth’s jabs regarding my weight earlier were the most embarrassing and shameful thing to happen, but I was wrong.
This is much worse. Carter knows. There’s no more lying about it. No more excuses.
“Oh, you weren’t aware, were you?” Margot says to Carter, then snickers, giving me a side-eye. She knows I won’t retaliate by spilling the tea about Stephan. Carter has had enough suffering for one day. “That’s awkward. I thought you’d figure it out just by looking at the boy, Carter. There is so much of you in him.”
“Margot, I’ve had enough of your bullshit,” he snaps and nods toward the door. “Get out. Just get out.”
“Carter—”
“NOW!” he shouts.
The entire hall falls silent for the longest moment. Several pairs of eyes find us, murmurs trickling through the crowd while Jodie watches us from afar with a mixture of dread and concern. I’m guessing I’m pale as a sheet of paper, judging by the look on her face.
I do feel rather queasy.
Margot scoffs and leaves, a heavy silence falling between us as I find the courage to look up at each of my men. Damon doesn’t seem that shocked, just disappointed. Jace’s lips are pressed tightly together—given what he found out earlier, this is yet another secret coming out.
“Carter, I?—”
“Don’t even think about it,” he cuts me off, dark storms brewing in his eyes. “I asked you, we all asked you, point blank, Clara, and you lied.”
“Yes, I lied.”
“Why?”
“I had no intention of staying in Blackthorn Falls,” I manage, my body shaking uncontrollably. “I didn’t see the point in complicating your life when I had no intention of being a part of it in the first place.”
Slowly, the event recovers its conversational flow as the people become uninterested in what just happened, leaving me to face the consequences of my actions on my own.
“Complicating my life?” Carter is nowhere near done with me. “Clara, you had my child. You’ve been raising Matty and struggling all by yourself when you could’ve?—”
“I didn’t know I was pregnant when I left,” I cut him off. “By the time I found out, I knew I’d already done enough damage. I couldn’t bring myself to do more.”
“So you’ve been carrying this load on your shoulders,” Damon says. “Tormenting yourself, and, ultimately, where did that get you? Back here. Back to us. You can’t deny that the universe is trying to tell you something.”
I exhale sharply. “I’m sorry, Carter. I really am. When you first asked me about Matty, I panicked. I was so focused on keeping a low profile, on not letting anyone know that I’d returned. When we crossed paths that night and then you showed up at the cabin, I didn’t know what else to do, so I lied. I’m sorry.”
He shakes his head, a muscle ticking furiously in his jaw. “That’s not good enough.”
“What do you mean?”
Half an hour later, I get my answer.
