“Business eventually took me away from North Carolina and from Maria. Even though I considered it at the time, it wouldn’t have been safe for her to accompany me. I ended things between us, and that’s the last time I saw her. She never tried to contact me to let me know she was pregnant or that I had a daughter. I had no idea at all, until recently.”
“How did you find out?” I ask as I stare at the man who says he is my father. I feel a sucker punch to the gut when it finally hits me. He looks so familiar to me because I see him every time I look in the mirror. There is no denying the fact that I look like him. Was this why I had been so comfortable with him in the restaurant when we first met? A feeling of kinship?
“Lucian was checking into your past, I assume looking for information on your mother and stepfather. He found the connection between Maria and me, which prompted him to look a little harder at me. Naturally, that alerted me to his interest, and I started doing a little research, as well. It appears that we both met somewhere in the middle with the same realization: I’m your father.”
“You can’t know that,” I protest weakly, but I know there is no way I would be here now unless he was positive. Lee Jacks doesn’t seem like the type of man to jump to conclusions, especially one of this magnitude.
“I can assure you that I do know it for certain. I don’t make mistakes, Lia.”
His self-assured statement drags me from the daze I had fallen in. Now I’m just angry and I lash out, wanting to hurt him the way I’ve been hurt. “Really?” My voice sounds shrill, even to my own ears. “So, you don’t consider it a mistake that you lived this fucking charmed life while you left me in Hell? Do you have any idea what my life has been like?” His face has gone stark-white at my words, but I don’t care. I need him to feel a piece of the pain that I’ve been forced to endure just because he screwed my mother and walked away.
“Lia…believe me, if I had known, that would have never happened—”
“But it did!” I cry, jumping to my feet. He stands as well, seemingly at a loss as to how to handle my emotional outburst. This is probably a crash course in fatherhood he wasn’t expecting. He probably figured I would be so absurdly grateful that I would be kissing his expensive shoes by now. “My mother hated me because she despised you, didn’t she? She took out all of that anger on me. I was nothing but her punching bag, and then when she got bored with that, she brought in my stepfather and turned him loose on me!” Before he can reply, I hear the door open behind me. I spin around and see Peter, or should I say my uncle, standing there hesitantly. What really catches my attention is the woman who steps in behind him. If I think I resemble Lee Jacks, then I’m almost a dead-ringer for this woman.
She is twisting her hands in front of her nervously while looking at me with equal parts curiosity and sympathy. Peter clears his throat before asking, “Is everything okay in here? We could hear your voices in the lobby.”
I ignore his question as I continue to stare at the woman next to him. “Who are you?” I ask fearing for a moment that I have a sister whom I’ve never met.
She gives me a timid smile before taking a few steps closer. She is dressed in obviously expensive slacks with a silk blouse. I fight the urge to straighten my clothing, feeling frumpy compared to her. I hate that I feel so inferior to these people. She holds out a hand, which I ignore until she finally drops it. “I’m Kara.” She points to Peter, adding, “That’s my father, and Lee is my uncle. I also have a brother, Kyle, who’s away at college right now.
There is a crushing weight sitting on my chest, and I desperately need to leave before I break down. Almost in a panic, I look around frantically until I spot my purse lying on the floor next to my recently- vacated chair. I grab it and am almost at the door before a hand on my arm stops me. I turn to find Lee standing behind me, looking almost as bad as I feel. I’m shaking now and am powerless to stop it. “Lia, you don’t have to be afraid anymore,” Lee says reassuringly, mistaking my anxiety for fear. “I will never let anyone hurt you again.”
I pull my arm free, squaring my shoulders. “Your absence from my life has done nothing but hurt me since the day I was born.” I look briefly at Kara as I pass, noting almost idly that she has a tear streaking down her cheek. Maybe I have the Jacks’ genes to thank for my penchant for crying at the drop of a hat…especially lately. I hear whom I assume is Lee calling my name as I walk toward the elevator at a fast clip. I sag weakly against the wall when the door closes, extremely grateful that no one followed me.
All I can think of is going home and feeling Lucian’s arms around me, until suddenly the reality of what just happened slams into me. He knew. Lucian knew Lee was my father and didn’t tell me. How could he have kept something like this from me? I have a whole family I didn’t know existed. I have a father, and Luc has apparently known it for some time. I walked into that mess today completely unprepared because he kept it from me. His betrayal of my trust guts me more than the revelation of my long-lost father ever could.
Chapter Fifteen