Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 93482 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93482 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
“Hey, you. To what do I owe the pleasure?” she said as she hung up the phone and gave me a bright, warm smile.
I rushed to her and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug.
“Are you okay?” she asked, petting my hair.
I couldn’t do it. Father Manwarring was my problem to figure out. Thankfully, Amelia understood the challenges of dealing with our mother.
“Mother is on a rampage, and I just couldn’t be in that house,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. Amelia ran her fingers over the bandages around my eye and nodded. The bruises were practically gone, only a little green remained under my eye and that was easy enough to cover with concealer. The scabs, however, were taking longer to heal.
“Rings?” she asked.
“Rings.” I nodded, knowing that Amelia was also intimately familiar with the drag of those diamonds across her skin.
“So tell me what’s going on.” She sat behind her desk, relaxing in her chair, and she just looked so content.
“Do you remember our gardener Raul, the son of our gardener at the Hamptons house?”
“Yes, I heard about that. It’s so tragic. Didn’t you have a crush on him?”
“I did,” I admitted. “We dated for about six months.”
“Oh, my.” Amelia covered her lips with her hand. “I am so sorry. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I felt like if I told anyone, Mother would somehow find out.” I shrugged.
Amelia nodded, knowing exactly what I meant.
“If she found out, it would have been…”
“Exactly,” I said with a bitter laugh.
Amelia and I sat in silence for a moment, both reliving our childhood trauma, mine far more recent than hers, just because I still lived in the house.
“Why don’t you get away for a while? With everything going on, Mother is only going to get worse. Why don’t you go up to the ski chalet for a break? Take your paints with you. It’s been so long since you’ve picked them up. I know that it’s disappointing not to hear from those programs, but that doesn’t mean you give up. You can always apply again next year.”
She was trying to be supportive, and I really appreciated it. The truth was, I had picked up my paints, but the only thing I had been able to draw was Father Manwarring. Maybe that was what I needed to do to get him out of my system?
If I could go somewhere where I didn’t have to hide the subject of my art, I could get it all out, purge it without him being around me, and then when I came back, I could be refocused and centered and decide what I wanted.
“Mother would never let me go,” I said.
“You let me deal with Mother,” she said, standing from her desk. “Let’s go, right now. We’ll go back to the house, pack your bag, pack all of your paints and art supplies, and I will have my husband’s private helicopter waiting to take you. That way, Mother can’t pull anything with the pilot. You’ll be free as long as you need to be. At the very least, you’ll be able to be away from Mother while all of this blows over.”
“Do you know what’s actually happening?” I asked, a little worried about her answer.
“Not specifically. My work here has removed me from a lot of the gossip. What I have heard is there’s a coup. One of Mother’s friends has taken it upon herself to take Mother down a few pegs and it has cascaded. I don’t know when it’s going to end, or how far down she’s going to fall on the social ladder. But I know it’s best if you’re not anywhere near those diamond rings for a while.”
“Are you sure you want to face her?” I asked again.
“Absolutely.” There was something a little savage about Amelia’s smile that reminded me more of her husband than my sister. It looked good on her.
When we got back to the house, Mother was in another screaming fit. Blaming anyone and everyone for the cancellation of her membership to her very exclusive spa. Of course, it had nothing to do with how she treated the staff. Someone clearly was out to get her.
I meant, someone did, but it wasn’t the people she was taking it out on.
I tried to sneak to the stairs, but unfortunately, she heard the door open and came storming in.
“You.” She pointed at Amelia accusingly. “This is all your husband’s fault. He and his father are not only destroying my reputation, but they have the audacity to steal from me.”
“I would be careful about making accusations against my husband. He does not take them lightly, nor does my father-in-law.”
“I don’t appreciate being stolen from,” she spat.
Mother raised her hand, and Amelia didn’t even flinch. There was no fear in her eyes, just a steely look of determination.