Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 24576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
He’s been with me and his son! I wanted to scream. But I stood silently at Liam’s side, trembling although I felt as stiff as a board. Not losing a beat, Liam said, “Oh here and there. Yeah, sorry I haven’t called, I didn’t mean to bail on that movie premiere.”
He’d had a DATE with this woman? I almost wanted to break down right then and there, but stood proudly, my face flushed and hot. As if sensing my need to get away, Liam said, “I’ll catch you later ok Sabrina? Lovely seeing you.”
He grasped me by the elbow and steered me to the punch bowl, where fortunately, not a lot of people stood. I gasped for air and bit out at him, “So that’s your girlfriend?”
He chuckled and looked at me with an eyebrow askance. “Jealous are we?”
“No!” I whispered furiously, turning my back on him to get some punch. The way this was turning out, the more alcohol the better.
“Listen Wildflower,” he hissed under his breath. “YOU were the one who walked out on me, not the other way around! If I’ve taken lovers in the past few years, it’s because I didn’t know you were coming back, much less with my son in tow! So get yourself together,” he bit out harshly.
I felt the tears rising again as I thought of Liam with other women. So Sabrina was actually just one of a bevy of women he’d bedded. My heart seemed to break, even as my brain acknowledged the truth of his words. I felt so lost and lonely. Liam was a virile man, and it was impossible to deny his craving for regular release.
“Get yourself together,” he whispered again harshly. “The guests of honor are on their way.” Indeed, a hush had descended over the crowd and people were turning towards the main doors in anticipation. My face still felt hot and my chest constricted, but I turned around and put a smile on my face just to appear normal.
The doors swung open and a distinguished looking couple stood at the entrance.
“Surprise!” roared the crowd. The man was tall and fair, and the woman dark but stunning, both in their sixties. Liam walked forward to greet them, affectionately kissing the woman on her cheek and shaking the man’s hand warmly.
“Mom, Dad,” he said. “Welcome to your twentieth anniversary celebration,” he continued smoothly.
I felt myself go faint. The sandy-haired man was my biological father, Robert Woodson, and Liam’s stepfather. Liam was deliberately outing us. The world around me blurred and the ground rushed up at me with alarming speed.
11
Liam
I rested my head on my folded hands. My face felt flushed and hot, and my body shaky as I leaned against the makeshift hospital bed I’d had wheeled into our bedroom. My wildflower lay cold and deathly pale against the white sheets, her pallor accentuated against the hospital whites.
She was so tiny! Her frame was so thin that she barely made a bump against the sheets. She lay corpse-like, her hands peacefully folded, skin waxen against the sterile setting.
I could barely breathe, putting my head between my knees before I hyperventilated. What had I been thinking? I’d dragged Wildflower to my parents’ twentieth wedding anniversary, not bothering to tell her where we were going. I knew she was upset about the fact that we were step-siblings, but I’d been so angry with her that I wanted to throw her in the lion’s den. The sudden sight of her biological father, Robert Woodson, had stunned her and she’d fainted in the ballroom, collapsing amidst the press of the crowd.
After that, everything grew blurry for me. I knew I’d acted like an animal. I’d immediately gone on my knees beside Alison, her head in my lap as I tried to revive her.
“Call 911,” I’d snapped. “Get the Club’s private doctor here. Call my doctor as well and tell him to meet us at the hospital.” I’d barked orders like a man possessed, cradling her lifeless form.
“Alison, shhh, hush baby, everything’s going to be alright,” I’d crooned, rocking her back and forth. Her limp body was still and quiet, even as the party guests thronged around us.
“Who is that?” I could hear people asking.
“She must be someone special, Liam’s on his knees,” said another.
“She looks like Robert …” said a third.
I’d had this crazy idea that maneuvering a confrontation between Alison and her biological father would force us to take on the issue of incest, and spark a conversation about Georgie, our beautiful baby boy already born of the relationship. But clearly, I’d been dead-wrong. Robert and my mom had no idea who she was, and Alison had been wildly unprepared. So much so that my miscalculation had caused this - the love of my life unresponsive and dead to the world, hooked up to all sorts of monitors in our bedroom.