He would because he locks me in the closet every night, but I won’t tell Aiden that. “I’m fine.”
“I can’t leave her,” Aiden says to Casey. “Go back. I’ll stay here.”
“Aiden, you have classes. Go. Seriously. I’m good. Plus, Nick will be here tomorrow.”
“I can miss a day or two,” Aiden says, handing Casey his key. “See if Sophia minds staying tonight.”
“Yep, got it,” Casey says, backing up. “Holler if you need anything.”
I shake my head and walk away.
“Hayley!” Aiden shouts at my back as I take the stairs.
“I have to check my phone, Aiden,” I practically growl. “See how Nora’s going to punish me because you know.”
“She won’t,” Aiden says, following me down the upstairs hallway.
“You’re in denial.” I stomp my foot outside of my bedroom door. “From the beginning, I told you she hated me. She’s threatening my family if I don’t marry an Anderson. Open your damn eyes, brother!”
“I know! I’m sorry! I didn’t want to believe she was this far gone. I left a message with Dad—”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I laugh but I’m not amused. “I’ve been putting up with all of this bullshit for my family and you might have just fucked it all up. You and John weren’t supposed to know. She made that clear. Camden made that clear.”
“I was—”
I step into my room and slam the door in Aiden’s face. I block out his shouting by pulling up my playlist and blasting it as loud as it can. He should have talked to me before doing what he thought was best. Nick too. He shouldn’t have told Aiden.
I don’t have any messages or missed calls from Nora, but it’s only a matter of time until she follows through with her threats.
Chapter 35
I walk downstairs to the sound of giggling. I smile wide and then my stomach clenches with fear. I step into the living room and see Liv jumping from one couch to the other while Casey pretends he’s a hungry child-eating monster.
Aiden’s texting on his phone but puts it down when I walk in. He’s still here. I thought he might leave yesterday after our fight.
“What’s she doing here?” I say, hoping Camden is passed out drunk somewhere. I don’t want him anywhere near Liv.
“Sophia’s sick. The agency is willing to send a temporary replacement, but Sophia’s been the only nanny for three years. I don’t trust anyone else,” Aiden says. “So, I had Casey bring her here.”
“Hayley!” Liv bounces over to me and I lift her up, squeezing her tightly. “I missed you. Are you coming back to Aiden’s now?”
“I’ve missed you so much,” I say, brushing hair from her sweaty face. “I want to come very soon.”
She wiggles down a few seconds later. “Watch how far I can jump!”
Gesturing for Aiden to come closer, I watch Liv as she stands on the arm of the couch to launch herself in the air. She lands hands and knees on the other couch and then looks to me to make sure I’m watching.
“That was so high,” I say.
“Watch again!” she yells, scrambling to get to her feet.
“You have to go,” I say to Aiden in a hushed whisper. “Now. I don’t want Liv anywhere near Camden. Nick will be here today so you don’t need to worry about me.”
“Bloody hell, my fucking head.”
I groan and turn to see Camden stepping up behind us. He looks at Aiden and says, “When did you get here?” His eyes move to Liv and I want to punch him in the face. His eyes widen for a moment. “Liv’s here?”
“They were just leaving,” I snap at Camden while locking eyes with Aiden.
Camden studies me while Aiden glares at him. “Don’t you want to introduce me to your sister? How old is she now?”
“Over my goddamn dead body,” I growl, and I swear I see Camden’s lips lift a little. He better not think he’s going to use her in his twisted game.
“Casey!” Aiden barks. “Grab Liv’s shoes. I’ll meet you outside in a minute.”
“I don’t want to leave,” Liv whines and runs from Casey as he tries to scoop her up. “I want to stay with Hayley!”
“A little help,” Casey says as Liv dodges him again.
“She’s quick,” Camden says, grinning, and then laughs as Liv chucks a pillow at Casey, nailing him in the face.
“Come on, Liv,” Aiden says, catching her around the waist. She kicks and screams as he hauls her away.
Casey picks up her shoes and her bag. “Hey, bitch. Still a piece of shit I see,” Casey says to Camden. “Touch Hayley and I’ll beat your ass.” He looks Camden over. “Worse than Nick or Aiden did.” He jogs away to catch up with Aiden.
“What if Tilly wasn’t a part of the equation anymore? You love her more than the little one, right? Maybe Liv could replace—”
“Do not bring her into this.” I stare him down. “And don’t fucking say her name again.”
He coughs and laughs. “So, no? Don’t want to trade one sister for the other?”
I grind my teeth. “Fuck you.”
He smiles. “Make Aiden leave.”
I walk past him. “That’s the plan, asshole.”
“I have information on Nora. Make Aiden leave.”
My heart lodges in my throat. Is he for real? I study his serious expression. He better not be fucking with me. I nod once and hurry from the room. Aiden and Casey are struggling to get Liv’s shoes on her feet in the foyer.
“Hey, Liv,” I say, kneeling beside her. “I need you to go with Casey and Aiden for a little bit, but I’ll be coming over soon.”
She shakes her head. “Come now.”
My eyes dart to Aiden. “But Aiden and Casey want to take you for ice cream.” I smile at Liv. “You like ice cream, right?”
Her mouth forms an O, and she nods excitedly.
Casey moves to slip her sandals on, but Liv says, “No, Hayley, do it.”
Casey shrugs and hands me the shoes. I’ve never put shoes on a kid, but it can’t be that hard, so I pull the Velcro straps to the side and guide her little foot in the opening. I pause before her foot slides all the way in. There’s something small and black on the heel of her foot.
Thinking it might be a bug or a tick, I drop the sandal and try brushing the thing away.
“That’s her mark,” Aiden says, bending down next to me. “Her hair was so fair and too thin to put it where we have ours.” He chuckles. “She was practically bald until she was two.”
I smile at the small cursive W on her heel, the mark we all share. She’s oblivious to my staring because she and Casey are seeing who can make the silliest face. I finish putting on Liv’s shoes with Aiden’s help and then she’s hopping up and grabbing Casey’s hand.
When she takes Aiden’s hand, his worried eyes meet mine and he says, “Hayley.” It’s more of a plea.
“Nick’s almost here. Go. Please,” I practically beg. “Trust me when I say you need to go.”
“Come on, Aiden,” Liv says, trying to pull him with her, but he shakes her loose.
Aiden fully turns to me. “Come with us.”
I shake my head in aggravation. “I’ve taken care of myself my whole life. I’ll be fine. You’re overreacting.”
He stares at me and then his eyes slide to Casey and Liv. “Take her wherever she wants. I’ll call in a bit.” I cross my arms and Aiden turns to me with an aggravated look. “I’m not fucking leaving you here alone.”
Wasting my breath trying to talk him into leaving is only going to piss me off when he refuses. He’s so damn stubborn. “Fine. Going for a nap,” I lie.
Of course he walks with me, and I can only hope that Camden understands that I can’t make Aiden leave his own house. I leave my door open a crack so I can peek through the gap. Aiden heads for his room.
I’m getting ready to slip out the door when I see Camden at the top of the stairs.
“He won’t leave. I tried,” I say.
“Yeah,
figured.” He peers into my room before stepping all the way in and shutting and locking the door behind him.
I watch him search my room, under the bed, bathroom, and closet, wondering what the fuck he’s doing.
“Where’s your phone?” he asks, jiggling the doorknob to make sure it’s locked.
My stomach turns and my mind spins with possible things Camden might say. I hand him my phone and arch a brow as he turns it completely off.
He moves into the closet and hovers in the doorway, waiting for me. Feeling anxious, I follow, and he backs up until we’re both inside.
“Shut the door.”
The air seems to be sucked from the small space as I do what he says. I already have a touch of claustrophobia but add in Camden and I’m a mess.
“So,” I say. “Is this real? You have info on Nora?”
“Yeah, but there are conditions. You can only threaten Nora with exposing the truth, you can’t ever tell anyone. If she calls your bluff” —he shrugs— “you keep quiet.”
Confused as fuck, I narrow my eyes. I could agree and lie, but he’d find a way to punish me. “What if she doesn’t call it off?”
“I think she will, but on the slim chance she’s too out of her mind to do the right thing, then we’ll have to get married.”
“Okay. Fine.” I’ll let him tell me and then decide what to do. “Finally realized you didn’t want to marry me?”
“My dad’s demanding that I show him another video. He wants to make sure it was you. I guess there are some lines I won’t cross, and he won’t quit until you’re pregnant.”
“Another video?” I think for a moment. “The girl,” I whisper, and he nods with a tight jaw. His dad wanted a video, proof that Camden was doing what he was told. Alexander is disgusting.
“You already know Aiden, Nick, and I used to be friends. Graysen too, but he was always a little entitled shit, so they didn’t like him as much as me.” He runs his hands through his forever disheveled hair. “I was dating Hazel, Nick’s cousin, and then… something happened, and I had to make them hate me and Graysen. It wasn’t hard to make them turn against my brother, a few lies here and there. But Nick and I were close, so I knew it would take a lot. I fucked over his cousin. I took her virginity then broke her heart. I did a bunch of other fucked-up shit too but hurting Hazel… that was the icing on the cake.”
I don’t understand where he’s going with this, but I stay quiet.
“I overheard John and Nora talking one morning. After that, I knew Graysen and I had to stay far away from the Westlings.” He swallows. “What I’m about to tell you has the power to destroy lives.” He pauses, reading my reaction. “I need you to understand this is life-changing.”
“Tell me.” My heart’s pounding against my chest, and I have no idea what this secret could be.
He licks his lips. “Liv is your sister, but she’s also mine.”
“Wait, what? How?” I grimace. “Are you my—” I swallow. “Brother?”
His eyes widen and the look of horror says he isn’t, but the, “Fuck no,” that flies from his lips helps to calm my thumping heart.
I roll my eyes. “Come on. I’m sure you can see how I would have thought that.”
“Fine, yes. My bad, but no, you and I are not blood-related. Nora slept with my dad and got pregnant with Liv. I—”
“Holy shit? No, no, no. So, Alexander? Does John know?”
He grinds his teeth. “Let me fucking finish. There’s a whole story if you’d stop interrupting me.” He waits for me to close my mouth and nod before continuing. “So, I overheard Nora saying she was worried the doctor would call out her lie. Apparently, Nora and John told the media Liv was prematurely born and was in the NICU for several weeks. They even had false hospital records made. Nora was going on about the doctor and how Liv was starting to look like Alexander with her blue eyes and dimples.” He frowns. “I knew what I had to do. My psychopath father never should have had kids. I didn’t want an innocent baby… a little girl... I knew he’d use her royalty to his advantage. He’s obsessed with our family name being tied to yours.”
“You were protecting her,” I whisper, stunned and mouth wide open.
He looks me in the eye and nods. I see him now, a beautifully broken boy, a mixture of good and bad, doing what he had to do to protect his sister even if he had to become someone he hated. Who the whole world would look down on.
“Thank you for telling me and thank you for what you did for Liv. But… why agree to marry me? How does that help her?”
“You, Aiden, and Colt all look like John. Liv looks just like my dad. She even has his crooked pinkies, Hayley. It’s a genetic thing, Clinodactyly. Aaron has it too. Graysen would have figured it out.”
“Nora sent Liv away, or I mean she tried to. Liv’s at Aiden’s.”
“I didn’t know that until I got here. I heard what was going on with the marriage and panicked, but still, if you were married to Graysen, he would be around Liv, but if I married you, I could keep Graysen and my father away from her.
“I would have never been able to follow through with hurting you. And Aaron didn’t want to hurt Tilly. Aaron is the best out of both me and Graysen. That’s why Dad sent him away. He couldn’t stand to be around someone so pure. Aaron was cracking under the pressure. He swore to murder me himself when I made him send me a video of Tilly crying.” I open my mouth, and he shakes his head. “I didn’t plan that, and Aaron stopped the guy. I would never.”
“I think Nora was hoping Aiden would turn against me for marrying one of you and cut me out of his life. I’d be far away in England.” I lean against the door. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I could have threatened Nora from the very beginning.”
“My father would take Liv’s inheritance, her lands that royals are gifted. He would take her from the only family she’s ever known and then marry her to the highest bidder once she was of age. I had to be absolutely sure that I could trust you with her life. What if Nora didn’t fall for it? She’s not all there, you know? Would you have outed Liv to free yourself and Tilly? My dad wouldn’t need a marriage with you if he had a princess for a daughter.”
“So, Graysen doesn’t know about Liv?” I ask. “You never told him?”
He shakes his head. “Only John, Nora, and me. They don’t know, I know. I’ve never told anyone.”
“I won’t say anything. I understand how important it is to stay quiet. I would never do anything to hurt Liv.”
Camden gives me a small nod. “I know. That’s why I told you.”
I open the door with the taste of freedom on my tongue and a real smile on my lips. “I need to pay Nora a visit.” I look over my shoulder at Camden and for the first time since I met him, I don’t feel like kicking his teeth in. “Feel like making a trip to Azure?”
Chapter 36
Camden waits in the lobby while I make my way to Nora’s room. I tap on door number two-thirty-five, smiling when she opens. Her bloodshot eyes widen. Nora looks like she’s been crying. Good.
“Hello, Nora.” I feel so much better now that I have the power she was using to squash me. I could slow this down and play with her, but seeing her face makes me want to get it over with and leave.
I slip past her and admire the spacious living room. I thought it was going to look like a hotel in here, but it’s similar to a small apartment with a cozy living room on one end and a kitchen on the other. I assume the door across from us opens to a bedroom. I turn to her as the door shuts behind me. I want to see her face when I say this.
“I know Liv is Alexander’s biological daughter, and if you don’t call off this marriage, I’ll tell him.”
Nora’s face instantly pales, even her lips losing color. She staggers to the side and then stumbles over to the couch where she sinks down.
That’s a good sign.
There was a part of me that thought she might not care.
“You wouldn’t send Liv to that family. She’s your…” He
r nostrils flare. “She’s your sister.” Her voice is impossibly tight and high-pitched, like it took all her effort to say those words.
Not convincing at all.
I had an old foster mom that would use that tone when she tried to convince me the oven-burned broccoli would taste good but wouldn’t eat any herself.
Nora still doesn’t believe I’m her daughter, but I can play along. “We both know I’m not Anna,” I say casually. “And I have no reason to protect a five-year-old brat. I hate kids. What does it matter to me if Alexander knows?”
“You’re horrible!” she shrieks, panting and shaking. She grabs her phone. “You’ve ruined everything. I’ll call Alexander. Just keep your mouth shut.”
“Great,” I say. “And if Alexander still pushes for me to—”
“He won’t,” she snaps. “He won’t be a problem. And if you ever tell anyone—”
“I won’t,” I say. “As long as Alexander and his kids stay the fuck out of my life.”
My foot bounces. I want to ask her why she thinks I’m not Anna, but that would blow my cover. A part of me wishes she would have seen me, her daughter, that first day in the hotel that feels so long ago. I guess we’re both unbending when it comes to guarding our hearts. Maybe one day she’ll come around and we can begin to repair this severed bond. I don’t have my mother anymore. It would be nice to have her.
I feel my stupid throat constricting with the thought. Fuck. I’m emotional. I swallow down my feelings and harden my face.
“Wait here,” Nora says.
I watch her pull open the door across the room and slip inside. I’m glad she loves her children, even though they might not see it. Nora’s not all bad, but she’s severely off-balance.
She walks out a few minutes later and says, “It’s done. Now go. I can’t look at you.”
She keeps her back to me as I leave the room. I should be happy as hell that I’m free, but how can I celebrate when my biological mother hates me? I walk down to the lobby and find Camden lounging on one of the sofas.
Amorevolous: (Savage Princess book 2) Page 20