She nods. “And you’ll be here, and Nick will be here, and Sophia.”
I smile and brush a tear from her face. “Yes, lots of people who care about you. And you’ll be starting school soon. That’ll be exciting.”
“Crying isn’t necessary, Liv. You have a good life, and you’ll see Aiden again. Think about the little girls and boys who don’t have food or a home.” Nora arches a brow, and Liv’s lip quivers as she tries to dry up her tears. “Let’s all go to the living room so we can start on our project.” She quickly pulls Liv with her, leaving me to catch up.
The furniture in the room has been pushed to the side and three easels with stools sit at the center of the room. Each easel has a small rolling cart beside it with everything needed to create. I watch a curvy woman with short brown hair set up a fourth easel near the fireplace.
Aiden is long pushed to the back of Liv’s mind as she takes in the room with a grin.
Nora takes the easel in the middle, I take her right, and Liv her left. I eye everything in the small rolling cart next to me and pull a new Princeton brush from its pouch. I’ve always loved art. Graphic design is more my style, but painting is fun too.
The woman in front turns to us with a warm smile. “Hello, I’m Cindy, and I’ll be guiding the lesson today.” She pulls a painted canvas from the floor and sets it on the mantle above the fireplace. “We’ll be painting peacocks. I love this design because it’s simple to create, yet beautiful. You can choose any colors that you’d like.” Cindy gives us her back to face the blank canvas on the easel. “Now, don’t worry about making mistakes. We can fix them.” She looks over her shoulder, eyes focused on Liv. “Let me know if you need help.”
Cindy uses her brush to make a black bowling pin shape at the center of the canvas. Next, she explains how to create the feathers, encouraging us to make them unique. The design is straightforward, and I fight myself not to move ahead and paint the whole damn thing.
While Cindy helps Liv with her painting, I create feathers of midnight blue, plum, black, and forest green. The feathers on the example canvas are thick and block-like. I make my lines thin and sharp. My wrist moves rhythmically as my brush glides across the canvas.
“That’s beautiful, Anna. Very edgy,” Cindy says over my shoulder.
I break out of my trance and turn to thank her, but Cindy has already moved on to admire Nora’s painting. My breath gets stuck in my chest as I take in Nora’s piece.
“Amazing, Nora,” Cindy says. “You are truly talented.”
Nora’s painting reminds me of the watercolor artist, Richard Johnson. It’s almost like I’m looking at a photograph of a real peacock. My adoptive mom introduced me to art, but maybe my passion doesn’t come from her.
“The depth of color really brings the feathers to life,” a deep voice says, causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand.
Oh hell no.
My heart picks up speed, and I straighten my spine as I feel his presence behind me.
Nora sets her brush down and turns around, but I can’t move. “Graysen… Um, thank you, You’re too kind.” Nora clears her throat. “You’re early. I thought you were flying in next Friday?”
Clenching my jaw, I school my face and turn, but I can’t control my words when I say, “What the fuck?”
“Uh oh. Hayley said a bad word,” Liv singsongs.
“Maybe I should take Hayley to timeout,” Graysen says, blue eyes shining.
“Don’t be rude, Anna. Say hello to Graysen,” Nora says, her tone higher than normal.
I can feel her glaring at the side of my face, probably daring me to say something other than what she’s instructed. “What are you doing here?”
“He’s here to see you, silly,” Nora says in that same high-pitched tone. “Why don’t you show Graysen around, and Liv and I will finish up our project.”
“Mommy,” Liv says, temporarily taking my focus away from the boy in front of me who I never expected to see again. “Do you like my picture?” She points to green squiggly lines. “These are the feathers. My peacock is magic. See the yellow dots?” She dips her brush into pink paint and flings it at the canvas.
When I feel Graysen step closer to me, my eyes snap to him. Why is he here, and why is he staring at me like that?
“It looks great, Liv,” Nora says. “What if we added a little glitter?”
“Yes!” Liv squeals with excitement. “Good idea, Mommy.”
I hear Nora digging around and her and Liv talking, but I don’t know what they’re saying because my focus is on Graysen as he licks his full bottom lip, eyes on me. Wild energy courses through my body, telling me to run. But I have nowhere to go, so I sit still, face blank.
“Anna, greet your fiancé,” Nora says.
My body clams up at that word. Sweat breaks out along my forehead and the palms of my hands. She called him fiancé the night I met him. I thought she was being her crazy self, or I had misunderstood her. Graysen didn’t acknowledge her words that night and he isn’t now. “What are you talking about, Nora?” I search her face, looking for a deeper meaning.
“Don’t be an idiot, daughter. I’m sure you know what a fiancé is. You can’t be that stupid.” Her tone is cheerful and friendly, but her eyes are cold and calculating. “It’ll be announced in the next few weeks. I’m thinking of a quick September wedding of kindred souls.” Her smirk is wicked and hateful. She leans closer to me. “My husband and children would hate me if I sent you away, but if you choose to marry and move on…”
My gaze darts to Liv who is humming as she happily adds globs of pink glitter to her painting. I focus back on Nora who looks smug as hell. I bet she thinks I won’t mouth off in front of a five-year-old. She has no idea how thin my self-control is.
“I don’t know what the fuck Nora has said about me, but you know she’s psycho, right? Are you appeasing her because she’s nuts?” I ask Graysen. “I’m sure you know we aren’t engaged.”
Nora stands. “I think you’ll do whatever I ask because I hold your family in my hands.”
My face turns to fire. “Cover your ears!” I snap at Liv, and she does. I get to my feet, facing Nora. “Do not threaten my family again. I’m here until October, and that’s where our agreement ends.”
“When John and Aiden wouldn’t hear reason that the DNA test was wrong, I knew I could use you. A Westling with an Anderson. The way my parents wanted it.”
“What the fuck?” She is nuts.
“I can see you two need a minute to discuss this,” Graysen says, stepping back. “I’ll wait in the other room. Come on, Liv. Give Mommy and Anna a minute to talk.” He waves her forward.
“No!” Nora snaps. “Her nanny can take her. She should be around here somewhere.”
“I’ll take her to the nanny. Honestly, I don’t mind,” Graysen says, and Liv hops down from the stool to take Graysen’s side, eyeing Nora and me as they leave the room.
“I’ll be… I’ll wait out there. Excuse me,” Cindy says, exiting quickly.
“Did you know your dad was moved to a top-rated treatment facility yesterday? He wasn’t doing very well where he was. He had relapsed. I had him moved, and I can take it away.”
My heart aches. He relapsed? Does this mean he’s going to need more time away? I know my dad must be in so much pain. Fuck Nora for trying to use him against me. My vision blurs as my mind spins. I take a few shaky breaths, mentally naming the things in the room and trying to process the situation.
Nora likes to play dirty. Good thing I’ve never been a girly girl. I’m never going to marry Graysen but... letting her think I am will buy me and my dad time. I take in deep breaths through my nose as a plan forms.
Game on, bitch.
“How wealthy is he?” I ask, because that’s what she would expect someone like me—a fraud, to care about.
“How high you’ve climbed. The Andersons are the perfect fit for you. Don’t worry. He has more than enough money.”
“Luck
y me.” My nostrils flare as I force a smile.
“Go tell your future husband how happy you are to be marrying him.” Her face turns to stone. “As far as Aiden and John are concerned, you chose this match. I wouldn’t want your poor father to get hurt if they should think otherwise.”
I want to stab her in the eye with a paintbrush. It would technically be self-defense, right? How does one defend themselves against psychological attacks? Just smile and nod, Hayley, I tell myself.
“What the fuck is wrong with you? You didn’t marry Graysen’s dad decades ago, so you want me to marry his son? You know that sounds stupid, right?” Shit, my composure ran out of the room.
She leans forward. “I know girls like you, conniving, evil girls. There was one before you too. You’ve insisted on inserting yourself into a life that wasn’t meant for you. You’re getting what you deserve while saving my niece. My brother-in-law and Alexander were negotiating Molly and Grayson’s engagement, but Molly doesn’t want to marry into that vile family.” She runs a hand over the top of her tightly pulled back hair. “And since it doesn’t matter what you want.”
I’ve been trying to convince myself that Nora hating me is perfectly fine. Mostly because thinking otherwise will only hurt, but feelings of abandonment and confusion are starting to dig roots. “I’ve done two DNA tests at two different labs. I didn’t fake anything. I have memories that Aiden validated. How can I fake that?”
“Stop it! Stop it! Stop!” she screams, arms flailing, and face contorted like she’s in pain. “I told Aiden that holding the interviews would lead to an imposter finding a way in.” She lashes out, sending her easel flying backward. “You can’t be my daughter! My daughter is dead! Anna is dead!” Her palm darts out so fast that I don’t have time to react.
My head whips to the side at the contact. I grit my teeth as the stinging pain turns to flaming heat. She sneers at me like I’m the one in the wrong. She has zero remorse.
This will be the first time in my life I haven’t hit back. I force myself to turn away, and then I stomp into the other living room where Graysen is sitting.
I’m playing a game.
That’s all this is.
I just need to make sure that I’m a better player than Nora.
Graysen’s staring at his phone screen. He’s dressed casually in dark jeans with a crisp white shirt. Seeing him brings back memories of the night Nick kissed my cousin. Even though I know he did it to keep her quiet, I’m still angry about it. Graysen’s untrue words made it worse that day.
“Both a liar and an asshole,” I say, stepping in front of him. “You don’t actually think we’re going to get married, do you?”
He pockets his phone and stands. “I have to marry someone.” He tilts his head to the side. “Nora didn’t tell you I was coming, did she?”
I cross my arms. “No, she didn’t, and don’t you think you’re a little young to get married?”
“I’m nearly twenty-two. I’ve known I’d be married young since I was a teenager. I thought it was going to be Molly, but...” He shrugs again. “This doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. How am I supposed to win the game when it’s two against one? I could walk out now and ruin my dad’s life, but that would be impulsive. I think the way to win this game is with patience and deceit.
“How long are you here for, Graysen?”
He licks his lips. “As long as it takes, I guess. I don’t have a return ticket.”
Graysen’s blue eyes are soft and so easy to read. What is it about eyes and reading people? Graysen doesn’t have the hardness in him that this is going to take. Nora and I are the only real players, and I won’t let her win. “Okay, well… catch ya later.” I spin around to head to my room, but Graysen’s voice stops me.
I keep my back to him as he says, “We are getting married, Hayley. Let’s have dinner tonight, get to know each other better.”
I climb the rest of the stairs with my fists clenched. I grab my phone that’s blinking with a voicemail Nick left twenty minutes ago. I wonder how he’ll react to Graysen being here? Nora didn’t say I couldn’t tell Nick about the marriage she thinks she’ll force me into. I open a new message from Colt and smile at the picture of an airport captioned, “It’s never too late to change your mind.”
The image is replaced by a call from Aiden, so I swipe the screen. “Hey.”
“Hey, I tried calling you. How’s girls’ day going?”
I flip a water bottle on the nightstand, trying to get it to land upright. “It’s over. It was interesting. I bet there’s never been a girls’ day quite like the one I had.”
“That works out then,” Aiden says. “Was gonna see if you wanted to come hang?”
I pause with the bottle in my hand. “You want me to come there?”
“We all do. You want to?”
That’s better than sitting here waiting for Nora to pull some shit. “Okay. How? Is someone gonna—”
Aiden laughs. “Nick’s already on his way. He should be there in a few minutes. We all felt shitty leaving you.”
I laugh. “I would have been okay, but this works. See you in a bit.” This works out perfectly. I would have sat in my room stressing about the situation, but now, I can do what I do best and avoid it. I hang up and change into black leggings, a gray tank, and white sneakers. I shove my phone into my crossbody bag and slip out of the room, hoping I don’t run into Graysen as I make my way to the front.
Chapter 10
I pull my hair into a ponytail as Nick maneuvers the campus’s narrow road, trying to find a place to park. I thought about telling him about Graysen, but I’m procrastinating and hoping the problem will go away.
“I should have parked at the townhouse. You’d think with over two-hundred acres they’d have more parking,” Nick says.
My body launches forward, the seat belt and Nick’s arm catching me as he slams on the brakes. Two guys shout sorry as they dart across the road in front of us.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine.” I crack my neck. “Idiots.”
He drives forward, this time keeping it well under the speed limit. We find a spot a minute later, and he shoots a text to Aiden as we cross the street hand-in-hand.
“They’re near the administration building. It’s not far from here.” Nick guides us to the right between two tall brick buildings. He pulls me closer and whispers, “When we’re done here, you can see how comfortable my bed is at the townhouse.”
I chuckle lightly as we move between another set of buildings with tables on either side of us. An arched breezeway lined with trees is up ahead. People are everywhere, some with families and some with groups of friends.
This place reminds me of a town rather than a school. Last year, when I took a tour of the local community college, it took less than two minutes to walk from one end of campus to the other. We’ve already been walking for five minutes and it seems to go on endlessly.
“Hayley, Nick, over here!” Aiden shouts from where Casey and another guy are standing beside the steps of a yellow concrete building that seems to rise into the clouds. Each floor on the massive building has rows of windows.
I shake my hand free from Nick’s as we walk over. I don’t even know why I’ve been holding his hand this whole time. It felt natural.
Casey wraps me in a hug and then nudges the guy beside him. “Hayley, this is Ever.”
Ever sighs, his gray eyes cast down as pulls a wad of cash from his pocket. Muttering under his breath, he slaps it into Casey’s waiting hand.
Grinning wide, Casey winks at me. “He didn’t believe you were real.”
Ever rolls his eyes. “I knew she was real. I just didn’t think she was…”
“Alive,” Aiden finishes. “Ever, Casey, and I went to high school together.” He looks from me to Nick. “He just informed us of a party.”
“A party?” Nick asks with narrowed eyes.
I can’t help
but smile. I hate parties and large public gatherings, but not for the same reason Nick does.
“Yep. Want her to get the full college experience.” Aiden gestures for us to follow him. “Starting with a tour.”
***
My legs ache. Aiden and Casey laugh at me as I drop to a metal chair. I rest my elbows on the table and cup my chin between my palms. The lamp closest to us keeps flickering, but the area is still well lit. The campus must have spent a fortune on all of the lamps.
“Some people use bikes,” Aiden says, dropping next to me.
Casey takes Aiden’s left and Nick takes my right. “You better toughen up, little princess, or campus will swallow you up,” Casey says, his gaze cutting to a group of girls that walk by.
I pull my burrito from the brown bag I’ve been carrying around for two hours. “I don’t have to worry about that, Casey, because I’m not a student.” Saying it causes me to frown. Besides all the walking, I kinda like it here. Tilly’s living her dream at a boarding school for artists, Dad’s working on himself in rehab, and I’m dormant.
There’s always an excuse why I need to push college back, but with the way my life is, maybe there’s never going to be “a right” time. Maybe I should take the plunge and enroll next semester.
“I wish I would have saved my food,” Casey says, eyeing the burrito I’m unwrapping.
“She didn’t save it. She ordered extra,” Nick says, laughing under his breath.
I chew the bite in my mouth and point the burrito at Casey. “Always think ahead.” I lick a glob of sauce from my finger. The burrito place the guys took me to for dinner was so damn good. Lucky pricks will be within walking distance daily.
“One bite,” Casey says, holding his hands in the prayer position. “Please.”
Sighing, I hold out my food and then quickly snatch it back when his mouth closes around half of it. I narrow my eyes and both Nick and Aiden chuckle.
“Sorry,” Casey says around the food in his mouth.
“No, you’re not,” I say and watch his shoulders shake with silent laughter. I turn my attention to Nick and Aiden, listening to them talk about classes offered on campus while I finish my food.
Amorevolous: (Savage Princess book 2) Page 7