Mom glares right back at her. “Alec and Elena’s wedding ceremony is still three months away!”
I watch the two of them in amusement. Sofia has loved having me around and I’ve gotten used to spending time with her, while Mom is trying her hardest to make up for lost time. The two have been butting heads over who gets to spend time with me constantly. It’s like they’re two divorced parents fighting over custody of me, and it amuses me endlessly. It makes me feel loved, and I haven’t felt that way in years. I know the playfulness they portray is an attempt to lighten the mood after a couple of tough months, but that they’d even consider doing that for me at all, astounds me. For someone to care enough, to want to cheer me up, it surprises me.
I glance around the room, my heart overflowing with love. For years, loneliness ate at me, and desperation was all that kept me going. Now I’m standing here in a room filled with people that actually want me around, people that care about me.
My eyes find Alec’s, and I can’t help but wonder if he has any feelings for me. Sometimes it feels like he does, and other times I can’t even read him. I’m not sure if love is still something I want. My heart craves it, but logically I can now see where Alec is coming from. Love… it’s too much risk. What Alec and I have right now is indestructible. If we fell in love, would it break us the way it did my mother?
He smiles at me, and my heart starts to race. Alec walks up to me, but loud sirens start to sound throughout the house before he reaches me, making us both jump in surprise.
He grabs his phone, frowning. His face drains of color, and my heart sinks. “Paparazzi have surrounded our house. They’ve breached the perimeter. Our men are working on pushing them back, but there are too many. Aiden tells me there are a few dozen out there.”
His eyes find mine and fear runs down my spine. Did they find out? Did they find out about our marriage? Did they somehow find out our relationship isn’t real?
I glance at Grandpa. Alec could lose everything.
Chapter 52
A lexander
“What happened?” Mom asks.
I shake my head. “I don’t know.”
She grabs her phone at the same time as everyone else, all of us googling our own names and the Kennedy name.
Dread fills me when I find my father all over the news. The headlines have my stomach twisting violently. I click on one of the articles, resignation making my fingers heavy.
A sex tape. My father is in the news because of a fucking sex tape.
I feel sick, but it probably doesn’t compare to how my mother must be feeling.
I inhale deeply and start to scroll through my contacts to find Elliot’s number. How could he have let this happen? He’s got intricate filters set up in order to block this type of stuff from ever reaching the mainstream media, so why didn’t he catch this?
“Elliot?” I say as soon as he picks up. “What happened?”
He yawns loudly. “What are you talking about?” he says, sounding sleepy. “Fuck . My systems are down.”
“Stop,” my mother says. “Stop it, Alec.”
She grabs my phone from my hands and ends the call.
“Enough now. Enough .”
She runs a hand through her hair shakily. When she looks at me, her eyes are filled with heartbreak, but there’s determination in her gaze too.
“I know you’ve been trying to protect me, Alec. I know you’ve been blocking this type of news for years. But it’s enough now. I can’t live like this anymore. I can’t.”
She turns toward my grandfather and tenses, as though she’s bracing herself. “Dad… I’ve tried. I swear, I’ve given it my all. For years, I’ve held onto hope, I’ve held onto the happy memories. But I can’t anymore. All I’ve ever wanted was a marriage like Mom and yours, and for the longest time, I thought that if I endured for long enough, if I proved that my love would always remain strong, then maybe… maybe Anthony would change. You’ve always told me that marriage is forever, that you work things out together, you don’t walk away. But, Dad, marriage takes two. And this marriage? I’ve been in this on my own for years now.”
A tear rolls down her face, and Grandpa walks up to her. He swipes at her tears and a sob escapes Mom’s lips. Grandpa takes her into his arms, hugging her tightly.
“Dad… I want a divorce. I know Kennedys don’t do divorce, but look at me,” she says, her voice breaking. “The whole world knows that my husband cheats on me—I’m a laughing stock. And what for?”
She buries her face in Grandpa’s chest, and he closes his eyes, looking as pained as Mom does. “Please, Dad. Let me have a divorce. If you feel you need to disown me because of it, then do what you must. I just ask that you don’t let it affect my children.”
It kills me to see her like this. Her request shocks me—I never even thought divorce was an option. It wasn’t something I thought Mom would ever dare ask for. But she’s right. This… this is no life.
“Honey,” Grandpa says, his hand brushing over her hair, soothing her. “You’re my little girl, Sofia. All I’ve ever wanted for you was happiness, nothing less.”
He glances at me, a complicated look in his eyes. “Had I known about this… had my grandson not hidden this quite so well, then sweetie, there’s no way I would’ve ever let you stay. I didn’t know, honey. I assumed you two had your problems, but I never imagined it’d be to this extent.”
He rubs her back, but Mom can’t control her tears. It’s like years’ worth of heartache is finally finding its way out.
He pulls away to look at her, and the look on his face… I’ve never seen my grandfather look this hurt before. Mom sniffs, but she’s unable to hold back her sobs.
“Get a divorce,” he says, shocking us all. “You’re my daughter, Sofia. You will always be my little girl. There’s no way I’d disown you for choosing happiness. I won’t be the reason you remain trapped in a loveless marriage.”
I stare at my grandfather in disbelief. I didn’t think he’d ever allow that. I didn’t think he’d let Mom walk away from her marriage without repercussions.
I tried so hard to protect my mother, but if I hadn’t, she might have been able to get a divorce much sooner.
My love for her is what prolonged her pain.
Chapter 53
A lexander
I knock on my mother’s bedroom door. We usually have dinner together as a family at least every few days, but she hasn’t been coming down to eat with us. According to the staff, she hasn’t been eating much at all.
“Mom?”
She opens her door, and I stare at her in shock. Her eyes are swollen and red, her hair is messy, and she’s wearing a house robe. I’ve never seen her so… undone.
She sniffs and tries her best to smile at me. “I’m sorry, Alec. I just… I don’t feel well.”
I nod at her. “But you need to eat something. Please?”
She looks at me and sighs as she walks out of her room and down the stairs, not even bothering to change or comb her hair. Her movements are mechanical, as if she’s merely doing me a favor. I barely even recognize her. Just a few weeks ago, she’d never have dreamt of walking around like this—not even around the house.
I follow her down, worried sick. Elena, Lucian, and Sarah are already seated. They smile, but Mom doesn’t smile back.
“How are you feeling?” Sarah asks.
Mom looks up, and the two of them exchange a look, one of understanding. “Anthony told me to courier him the divorce papers. He won’t even come down to speak to me, to fight for me.”
I stare at her with wide eyes. I didn’t know any of this. I haven’t spoken to my father in months. Neither Lucian nor I ever speak to him anymore, and he doesn’t reach out either.
Sarah grabs Mom’s hand and nods. “Probably for the best. A clean break is what you need.”
Mom inhales shakily. “Thankfully, there isn’t much he can take. Most of our assets are owned by the company, which in turn is owned by my father. I’ll lose some of my property and a decent amount of money, but he won’t be able to get his hands on much more than that.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. Thank God, Grandpa is alive and well. If Mom had inherited his shares, we’d be in so much trouble—she’d have to give my father half.
Mom barely touches her food, and I see the anxiety in Elena’s eyes. She keeps adding small amounts of my mother’s favorite foods to her plate, but Mom won’t touch any of it.
Throughout dinner, Elena offers to take her on a spa day, and Lucian offers to take her shopping, but she isn’t interested at all.
I’m terrified she’ll fall back into the same depression she’d only just about staved off when I married Elena. She kept herself going by keeping up a facade, but now the whole world has seen her fall. She hasn’t left the house ever since my father made the news, and at this rate, she won’t.