“Now, now, Mika. Is that any way to speak to your sister? Your older sister to be precise.”
Mika blinks, and mine almost burst from their sockets.
“Are you kidding me?”
The color is visibly draining from Phoenix’s face. The conversation in our little group has not just become more heated as it progressed. But also, much louder and people are starting to pay more attention to us than to the art on the wall.
“We need to get out of here and get somewhere private,” I say in a hushed tone.
“I am not going anywhere with that piece of trash.” Mika spits.
Phoenix hasn’t said a word yet, but she looks bewildered. I step towards her and put my hand on her shoulder. She flinches and I retreat immediately. I decide to change tactics and smile at her kindly.
“I am not sure what is going on here Phoenix, and the last thing I wanted to do here tonight is ruin your event.”
“Sean.” Mika barks to his driver. “Find the owner. Buy each piece. Pay whatever the fuck they want. Then make him empty out the place. And do it quickly.”
Sean nods his head and is gone before I can blink.
“Wait,” Phoenix says weakly. “What the hell is going on here?”
“I think we’d all like to know,” I reply.
“Is there somewhere we can talk in private?” Mika demands.
I love my brother, but he can come across as an insufferable twatbucket.
“Don’t bark at her, she has nothing to do with this.” I bite out.
“How do we know that?”
“How do we know what?”
“That she has nothing to do with this?”
“Oh please. She is innocent in all this. You know how he is.” I say as I make a head gesture towards our father.
“We are all here. I find that interesting. It smells like a setup.”
“You are giving me a lot of credit here, son. You all being here was unexpected. But it doesn’t change my reason for being here.” Our father replies.
“Oh, Ivy League, I know that our father is calculated, but even he couldn’t control your actions tonight. You are here because you cannot stand the fact that I went against what you wanted tonight.”
“I am here because your security reported the arrival of daddy dearest over here. I am here to protect my family.” he snaps.
“Hey now.”
We both turn to see Raeva standing there, a stern look on her face. Then she turns and looks at our father and back to Mika.
“Mr. King?” she says confused.
A very big grin appears on dad’s face.
“Ah, my new daughter-in-law. You think she’ll still love you when you’re broke?”
Mika steps forward and gently pulls his wife toward him.
“I thought I told you to wait in the car, sweet pea.” He tells her as he kisses her temple.
Raeva rolls her eyes. “When have you known me to blindly follow instructions?”
A smirk appears on my brother’s face. Raeva knows how to melt him.
“What’s Mr. King doing here?”
Mika looks at her confused for a moment but as usual, he puts two and two together pretty quickly. He points at our father.
“That is Mr. King?”
Rae nods her head. Mika closes his eyes and clenches his fists.
“Somebody needs to start explaining what in the actual fuck is happening right now.” He grumbles.
Eric and I involuntarily exchange a look and it doesn’t go unnoticed. I can see the moment where Mika realizes that we know something that he doesn’t.
“Mika, I—.” Eric and I say in unison.
The rest of the words die on our tongues. My chest aches when I recognize the look in his eyes. It’s one of betrayal. Not only by his twin sister, but also his best friend, his right-hand man, the man he sees as his brother. He rakes a hand through his hair. I think that he’s about to explode, but Raeva grabs his hand and he looks up at her. The two of them have some sort of silent conversation. Mika noticeably calms down. Raeva is the damn Mika whisperer. I’ve been so focused on what is going on between us, that it isn’t until now that I notice the lack of sound. You could literally hear a pin drop. I look around the area and it is then that I realize that besides the eight of us, the entire room has cleared out. Phoenix realizes it at the same time.
“Where did everyone go?” she says, her voice barely more than a whisper.
“The power of money, my dear,” Daddy says to her.
“Who wants to start explaining?” Mika says eerily calm.
“Maybe we need to find a place to sit down,” I say.
“I don’t want to fucking sit down. I want someone to tell me what the fuck is going on.” He says as he pointedly looks at me.
I open my mouth to start talking, but our father beats me to it.
“Well, I was going to tell Phoenix tonight. Who I really am, I mean. So, let’s start there.” He says as he takes a step closer toward her and she tilts her head slightly as he does.
As my father steps closer, so does River. He places himself between him and Phoenix. It doesn’t deter him in the slightest. He continues to speak.
“My name is not Mr. King. I have gone by that name for a while, but not by choice.” He says as he throws me a dirty look.
“Phoenix, my name is Mason Kingsley, and I am your father.”
“Are you going to invite her to the dark side next?” I scoff.
Phoenix bursts out laughing.
“I’m sorry,” she says. “But I was thinking the exact same thing.”
I can’t help but smirk. Even if he is lying—and this is Mason Kingsley we are talking about, him lying to mess with people isn’t unheard of—at least we have a sense of humor in common. I’ve liked her from the moment we met today at the restaurant.
“I don’t mean to be rude or insensitive, but I don’t know who you people are and here you’ve gone and ruined my entire night. Do you realize how hard I have worked for tonight?”
“All your pieces got sold. You should be over the moon.” Mika interjects.
“Spoken like a true businessman. What is it with you rich people? Always thinking that all you have to do is throw some money at a situation. Sure great, I sold some of my work. What will you do with them? Throw them away? Put them in storage? I made my art so others may enjoy it. You didn’t buy it because you had to have it. You bought it as an afterthought. As a way to get people out of here. It’s actually quite insulting.”
Mika looks at her with an amused look on his face—he likes her.
“Listen. Um, Phoenix is it? I didn’t mean to insult you. I was simply trying to empty the place out to get us all some damn privacy. As for your work. From what I was able to see, it’s quite good. And knowing my wife, she will have some prominent places to display them. But it is neither here nor there.”
Mika turns to face our father. “What are you trying to accomplish here?”
He shrugs.
“I am simply trying to reconnect with my eldest child.”
“Reconnect? That would imply some kind of connection to start with.” Phoenix bites out. “And believe me, that “connection” doesn’t include your patronym for a few weeks under a false identity.”
“Shit, maybe we don’t need a DNA test. The Kingsley feistiness is strong in this one.” Mika says with a chuckle.
“Maybe Mikaela would like to explain why I have been using the name Mr. King?”
Eric pulls me closer toward him.
“Do not say a damn word.” He growls in my ear.
“No? Cat got your tongue, little one?” he says in a sing-song voice.
I can feel Mika’s eyes on me, but I am too much of a coward right now to look up at him. I cast my eyes downward, ashamed of my actions.
“I am the one that hid him at Hillcrest.”
“You did what now?” Mika bellows.
“A few years ago, dad showed up. Just before we turned twenty-two.
He wanted me to sign over my shares of the company to him.”
“And why would he think that you would go for that?”
“He told her that he knew where your mother was and that he would disclose that information if she signed over her shares.”
Mika’s head snaps up to face Eric.
“You knew about this?”
“Yes.”
When I see the look on Mika face I nearly double over in pain. My chest actually aches when I see the hurt painted on his features. He replaces his mask almost immediately.
“What does that have to do with him ending up at Hillcrest?” Mika demands.
“I signed the papers, desperate to find mom. But he tricked me, the envelope he gave me had a blank card in it. So, I chased him, there was a fight. He fell and hit his head. I took him to get looked at. But I knew he wouldn’t stop trying to come for us. So, I kept him at Hillcrest. To protect us.”
“What do you mean you kept him there?”
“He was on a lot of sedating medications.” Raeva chimes in.
“You’ve kept him sedated?”
“Actually, she didn’t,” Eric interjects.
“I didn’t? I ask confused.
Eric takes my hand and squeezes it.
“He was unconscious when you brought him and he wasn’t going to make it. He hit his head pretty good and they actually had to drill holes in his skull to relieve some of the pressure in his head from his swelling brain. You kept him alive. Nobody really thought he was going to make it. Once he started getting better, Mrs. Sims was involved. She is the one who started heavily medicating him.”
My knees buckle when the weight of the guilt I felt drops from my shoulders.
“How do you know all this, Eric?” I ask.
“I got all this straight from the horse’s mouth. And just in case you were wondering, Mr. Kingsley. Mrs. Sims has gone on record with this. You no longer have anything to blackmail Mikaela.”
I look up at Eric and I can feel the tears pooling in the corners of my eyes. Once again he has come to my aid and I am not sure if I can go on living without him anymore. That thought has barely crossed my mind when my father speaks again.
“It’s good to know that you were not responsible for that, little one. I really wasn’t looking forward to sending my daughter to jail.” He practically purrs.
He turns his attention to my alleged sister.
“Phoenix, I know that I have not done right by you, or your mother. I should have married her and made an honest woman out of her. But I was young, dumb and scared. I didn’t do the right thing then, but I want to do the right thing now.”
“Which is?”
“Give you what you deserve.”
“Which is what exactly?”
“Everything those two ingrates got handed to them.” He tells her as he points at us.
My eyes flash over to Mika’s who immediately searches for mine as well. Eric responds before either of us can.
“Mr. Kingsley, if you seriously think that you can touch even a penny of the Kingsley fortune, you’ll be sorely mistaken.”
Daddy smiles. “Oh no, not me. But my eldest child can.”
“What the fuck are you talking about? I am the eldest child.”
“Only by a few minutes.” I snap automatically.
“You’re my eldest son,” Daddy says with a serene smile. “Phoenix, however, is my eldest daughter. My first born. My father’s will clearly states that the Kingsley estate goes to the eldest living Kingsley grandchild.”
“Do you really think I give a fuck about money? She is welcome to it. All of it. If she turns out to be unfortunate enough to be born from your seed, she deserves it. I have everything I need, right here.” Mika says as he pulls Raeva against him. “I have built Kingsley Inc. from the ground up with barely any money. I can do it again, and better.”
“Wait a second here. Stop talking about me as if I am not even in the damn room. Who says I want any of this? Nobody has asked me.” Phoenix snaps. “Maybe, I don’t want anything to do with you people. I am not sure what normal for you all is. But this isn’t normal for me. I am not some pawn to be shoved around like a game piece in a game of chess, I am a human being for God’s sake.”
She turns around and walks off.
I feel bad. I was so wrapped up with my own stuff, I hadn’t even considered what this must be like for her. I sprint after her and gently grab her arm.
“Hey hold up. Please.”
She stops walking and turns around.
“Listen, I am not sure what kind of game my father is playing. I am not even sure if we are really sisters. But I’d like to find out, together. Once we have the facts, we can decide what we all want to do from there. Sound fair?”
Phoenix looks over her shoulder at the people we have left a few feet away from us before her gaze lands back to me. I hold out my hand to her and for a moment she looks at it. Much to my relief, she takes it and shakes my hand.
“Fair enough.”
Present
Last night was interesting to say the least. When I finally got home, I wasn’t able to catch much sleep. I got up and threw on some sweats and my running shoes and headed to Hudson river park. After I run 6.6 miles (the entire loop three times) at a punishing speed, I head to the office to get my head together. I glance at my watch and it’s nearly four a.m. So not for the first time this week, I am in my office before the crack of dawn. I have gone through all my files and finally located the one I am looking for. I sit behind my desk and am about to open the folder when there is a curt knock. I already know who it is before I look up.
“Morning. You’re here early.” I greet him.
“It’s only since I’ve been married that you’ve beaten me here.” He replies.
It is true. Mika Kingsley didn’t build an empire by showing up after 9 am. There was a time that he was in the office every day by four a.m., no matter what mayhem he found himself in the night before. And he used to get himself in a bunch of pickles, I know since I was the one to get him out of said pickles. He’s nothing like that man anymore. Not since Raeva. She has had an amazing influence on him. Mika doesn’t wait for an invitation, he doesn’t need to. He strides in and sinks in the chair across from my desk. We sit there or a minute and look at each other. I am not sure where to begin. I know he’s hurt and disappointed that I have kept something this astronomical from him. The thing is, that it isn’t the only thing.
“How long have we been friends, Eric?”
I wasn’t really expecting that question.
“Over twenty-five years.”
“A quarter century.”
“Indeed.”
“You’ve been my best friend, besides Mikaela for most of my life. You have always been more like a brother to me.”
“You know I feel the same way,” I reply.
“Then explain it to me. Make me understand. Why didn’t you tell me?”
There isn’t a good answer for that. Not one that I can give anyway. Not without betraying Mikaela in the process. And as much as I love Mika, I cannot stomach that.
“She asked me not to,” I say simply.
“She asked you not to? And her request was enough?”
“Yes.”
Mika places his elbows on his knees and leans forward.
“Why.” He says.
It’s not a question, not really. He is getting at something but I am not sure what it is.
“Why?”
“Yes. Why was her request enough?”
“Because she’s important to me.”
“And I am not?”
“Of course, you are. You’re not just my friend, you’re my brother. We’ve already established that.”
“But I’m less important than her.”
“What the hell am I supposed to say to that?”
“I just want you to be fucking honest with me here, Hardwick. Why. Was. Her. Request. Enough.”
“Because I love her, goddamn i
t. More than anything in the fucking world, I love her. Always have.”
Mika leans back in his chair, not taking his eyes off me.
“She doesn’t know, does she?”
“That I love her? No. She doesn’t.”
“But she did.”
I can’t deny that I am more than a little taken aback here. I am not sure what to say.
“You guys were together for the better part of four years, I am sure you must have told her then.”
I nod. “I did.”
“How do you know? About us I mean.”
Mika scoffs. “I’ve always known. I am not sure who you guys thought you were fooling. But I figured you’d tell me when you were ready. Not that I didn’t have my fun with you all trying to let you think that I wasn’t going to be on board with it. But still, it kinda hurt that you didn’t say anything for four fucking years. I knew when things ended because you’ve been moping around the planet ever since. I can’t say that I understood it then. But now that I have Raeva…I am not sure if I could handle losing her.”
“Let’s hope you never find out,” I reply.
“I’ll make sure of that.” He says with a cocky grin on his face. “Why don’t you tell her? Clearly, she loves you too. I can see the way she pines over you.”
“We broke up before she lost her memory. I made her a promise then. I am not about to break that promise.”
“Are you seriously going to be miserable for the rest of your life, just because you’re being stubborn?”
“Are you, Mika Kingsley, of all people telling me that I am stubborn. There is a ‘pot meet kettle situation’ if I have ever seen one. I scoff.
“What if she meets someone else and moves on?”
“She deserves to be happy.”
“And you don’t? Dammit, Hardwick. Don’t be an idiot. Go to her. Tell her how you feel. Have you not learned by now that we don’t get nearly enough time with those we love? Why are you wasting yours?”
“I don’t want to ruin what we have. I can’t lose her. I’d rather have her in my life as my friend than not at all.”
“If you just stand by, you will lose her.”
I sigh and cradle my head in my hand.
“Why did you guys break up, anyway?” he asks.
I sigh.
“Because I got tired of hiding it from you and I gave her an ultimatum.”
Reclaiming Tomorrow: Kingsley Series Book 3 Page 11