Royal Wrecker: Barnes Family Romances Book 4

by Alleman, Normandie

  This wasn’t like the way she found our brother Eduardo. He had been born to one of Ziggy's groupies and, unbeknownst to Eduardo, Ziggy had financed Eduardo's education. The whole thing had been kind of a shit show, but thankfully Eduardo didn't hold a grudge.

  When Lucinda found him, at first, he didn't want to have anything to do with our family or Ziggy's legacy. I wasn't sure I blamed him for that. He was an Episcopalian priest down in New Orleans and had a life that seemed to be going well for him. That is until Lucinda showed up and turned it upside down.

  In the end it turned out okay. He had a beautiful wife who got along great with my mother. Chloe and Lucinda were like two peas in a pod. In fact, if there was anyone in the family who enjoyed the TV business more than my mother did it was Chloe. She was a baker, and she loved cooking. She and Lucinda had developed production plans in place for so many food-related shows that she made Chloe an executive of their production company for that division.

  Before I had a chance to think more about it my mother threaded an arm through mine and said playfully, “Hey there. How's my favorite boy?”

  “Don't let Nick hear you say that. Hell, even Eduardo these days.”

  She threw back her head and chortled. “Oh, you silly boy. You know that I say that to all of you. My real favorite is Barney.”

  “Barney?”

  She fluffed her hair. “My new hairdresser. He's the one who keeps me looking absolutely fabulous these days.”

  I didn’t bother humoring her with a smile. “Hey, there's something I want to talk to you about. Where’s Dynassy?”

  “She said she was going to go try to Facetime with Bridger. Why?”

  “And Ivy’s gone?”

  “I think I just heard her car leave. Why?”

  “Because what I want to talk with you about—I thought it should be private, between just you and me.”

  Lucinda made a face. “Sounds serious.”

  “It is.”

  “Well then, let’s sit.” She led me into the study, a room nobody used much, and closed the doors behind her. “Now we can have some privacy. What's on your mind, son?”

  “Remember when I had that accident in Rome on the motorcycle?”

  She nodded, sitting amidst the book-lined shelves on a Chesterfield sofa, while I perched on the arm of a plaid wingback chair.

  “Well I don't know if you remember, but I needed blood. The staff there remarked on my blood type being that of universal donors. It made me think of Dad for some reason.” I corrected myself, “Ziggy. Anyway, I remembered reading that he had a rare blood type.”

  As I spoke, I watched her face to see if there was any recognition, any fear that I had uncovered the truth, but so far nothing.

  She merely looked inquisitive, curious about what I was going to say.

  “Go on,” she said.

  “You realize in school we learn shit about blood types.”

  “Okay…” She looked so innocent. And it pissed me off, so I quit beating around the bush.

  “I know that Ziggy Barnes can’t be my father.”

  Her face remained the same. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Mother, it is not physically possible for me to be the son of you and Ziggy Barnes.

  Her hand fluttered over her heart, and she began to crack.

  This performance might have convinced some people, but I knew Lucinda better than most.

  She was rattled.

  “So, are you saying you didn't know? How can you possibly not know that my blood type wasn’t possible?”

  She put her head in her hands, and I steeled myself not to feel sorry for her.

  She stayed that way for quite some time, and when she finally looked up, she had turned on the waterworks.

  “Leo, you don't know how hard this has been for me,” she spoke through a veil of tears.

  Anger surged through my veins. “Are you fucking kidding me? This has been hard for you? You raised me with a lie. Told me my whole fucking life that someone was my father who wasn’t. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

  “I'm sorry.” Lucinda swiped at her eyes. “I can't imagine how you must feel.”

  “Betrayed? Pissed off? Robbed of my childhood and my true identity? And that's just for starters.”

  The fact that she wanted to make herself the victim in this matter made me want to throw something at her. I scanned the room to see if there was a vase close by.

  “I know, honey. I'm sorry. And that's what I didn't want to have happen, to have to say I'm sorry to you every day of your life.”

  “So how long have you known?”

  Lucinda averted her eyes. She sniffed. “They mentioned it to me in the hospital.”

  I slapped my thigh. “You mean you’ve known this from the very beginning? Did Ziggy know I wasn't his kid?”

  Now Lucinda shook her head violently. “No! You were always Ziggy's boy. To him, he was always your father.”

  “So he never knew the truth?”

  Lucinda stared at the rug. “No.”

  “Why, Mother? Why would you lie to all of us, your whole family, for my entire life?”

  “Are you serious, Leo?” she snapped, glancing up sharply. “How do you think that would have been received by the media if Ziggy Barnes' wife had twins by two different fathers? We would be on every tabloid from here to the moon. You and Ivy would be considered freaks. It would have been a complete PR disaster.”

  My eyes burned with fury. “That's what you cared about? The press?” I barked a harsh laugh. “I shouldn't be surprised. That's all you've ever cared about— he media, what everybody else thinks. What about what I think? What about what Ziggy deserved to know?”

  Lucinda straightened her shoulders. “I did what I needed to do to protect my children. That's what I was doing—protecting you and Ivy. It wasn't about what other people thought. It was about protecting you from what they would have said.”

  “Tell that to someone who’s buying,” I said, my voice cold. “You forget how well I know you. The most important thing to you is protecting Lucinda, and that's what you were doing the whole fucking time, wasn't it?”

  “You're wrong, Leo. It's a mother's job to protect her children. You will understand that one day when you have your own child, but until then—fine, don't believe me. But just imagine what your life would have been like if everyone knew that you and Ivy had different fathers.”

  “Yeah, what about Ivy? Do you know that Ziggy is her father? And how the fuck did you manage to have twins born at the same time but from different fathers? What kind of whore were you, Mother?”

  She leaned forward. Her hand flew in the air to slap me, but I intercepted it mid-air.

  Her eyes blazed, angry I thwarted the blow.

  “Tell me, Mother, how did you manage to do that? Conceive two babies from two different fathers in one day?”

  I released her hand, and it fell limp in her lap. The fight left her eyes, and suddenly, sitting before me was a defeated woman.

  I had never seen Lucinda look like this—like a ragdoll. She looked twenty years older.

  “I knew this day would come, but I prayed it never would. I guess I tried to pray it away. I loved your father. I did, but I also loved Ray.”

  I hit my palm on my forehead. “Eden's father? Ziggy's best friend?”

  She nodded.

  “I fucking knew it,” I muttered under my breath. “Of course, not only do I have one dead dad, now I've got two—my real one and the one that you pretended was my father for my whole life.”

  “Stop it, Leo. You have no idea what it was like for me.”

  “True, and I really don't fucking care. You are a monster, and I think everyone in our family has a right to know, the same way I had a right to know. Especially Ivy.”

  Lucinda looked up, her eyes pleading with me. “But Eden, think of Eden.”

  I laughed harshly. “You mean my sister?”

  “What do you think it will do to her to k
now that her father cheated on her mother? The man is not here to defend himself or his memory.”

  I hesitated for a second before responding, “Eden is a big girl, and she can handle the truth.”

  “But why would she need to? Why does she have to know?”

  I raised my voice and screamed, “Because she is my sister. I have another sister. Don't you get that? Don't you see what you've done? You have played God with all of our lives for all these years. Did Eden's father know?”

  “We never talked about it. I could tell in his eyes sometimes the way he looked at you that he suspected, but like me, he knew that you were better off being known as Ziggy’s son."

  “Why? Don't you understand what it is to be Ziggy Barnes’ son? It's a mantle of expectations that no one can live up to. It’s hell sometimes. Hell.”

  “Oh baby!” She leaned over to hug me, but I pushed her arm away. Undeterred, she continued, “Leo, all of the opportunities our family has been given are a result of who Ziggy was. All the money, all the shows, the fame, the prestige, all of it. Eden's father, he was never in the spotlight.”

  “No, he chose to live his life behind the scenes, and that's what I fucking want. You decided what you wanted for me, and you forced me to be it. You forced me to live a lie all of my life, and I’m sick of it. I've had enough. We’re having everyone over tomorrow night, and we’re telling them.”

  She nodded, holding her hands in her lap. “Fine. Everyone can come over, and you can tell them what a terrible mother I am.”

  “Oh, I have every intention of doing that. But your actions speak for themselves. You have no one to blame but yourself, Mother.”

  She closed her eyes and nodded. “You're right. But it is still very important that this remain a family secret. If you think the paparazzi hound you now, if you think they make your life hell now, just wait and see what they do to you if they find out that you're not Ziggy Barnes’ son, but that you and your sister have different fathers. You two will become the biggest outcasts and freaks of the entire country, maybe even the world.”

  “I don't have a problem with keeping my private business from the world, Mother, I never have.

  “All my life I've wanted to be a more private person, but at the same time, I'm not gonna run from the truth. I'm not going to make it my life's mission to make sure no one finds out your secret either. I'm just going to live my life away from you. Make a life of my own.”

  “I'm sorry you're so angry with me, Leo. I hope one day you'll forgive me.”

  “Yeah, I don't know if that will happen. But if you think I'm pissed, wait until Ivy hears about this shit.”

  21

  Honoré

  I was awakened the next morning by a knock at the door.

  “Yes?” I called.

  The door opened, and Dynassy popped her head inside. “Good morning. Sorry if I woke you.”

  “No, it’s all right. What time is it? I should probably be getting up anyway.”

  Dynassy stepped inside and closed the door behind her. “Hope you don't mind if I come in.”

  Leo's big sister was one of the most gorgeous women I'd ever seen in my life.

  I was so used to seeing her splashed all over the covers of magazines or on film clips from television… Dynassy was pretty much everywhere you looked. To have her in my bedroom was kind of bizarre.

  “No, come on in. Sit.” I patted the bed next to me.

  Growing up I never had a sibling, but I liked the family togetherness, the intimacy that Leo and his family shared. It was something I had always found appealing on TV and in movies, and even if it was only for a short time, I wanted to embrace it while I could.

  Besides, I got a completely different vibe from Dynassy than I did from Ivy.

  Ivy intimidated me with her bold energy and wild style.

  Dynassy, on the other hand, was more calm, seemed more centered.

  It could be that she was older, more mature, but I felt comfortable with her.

  Dynassy sat. “Leo asked me to tell you that he needed to write today.”

  I lifted up on my elbows, confused. “He's not here?”

  He told me he was going to confront his mother, and that he’d come back to my room afterward and tell me about it.

  But he never came in, or if he did I was too asleep and didn’t recall it.

  “Yes, he said that he was sorry, but he would talk to you later. Said he really needed to go get some beats down.”

  Dynassy shrugged. “You know my brother. When the mood strikes, he's got to follow that creative path.”

  I was beginning to see that, but it made me feel strange when she said you know my brother because I didn't really.

  I longed to know him better. It was what I wanted more than anything—to get to know Leo and have him be my real partner, but I pushed those feelings aside. “Thanks for telling me.”

  “Anyway, Lucinda's new chef made us breakfast if you want to come down. And if you want to hang out, I'm free this morning.”

  “I don't have anywhere else to be.” I laughed. Then as an afterthought, I added, “Hey, how's your mom? Is she around?”

  “Funny you should ask. She's in her room with a headache. Says she probably won't be out until tonight. Which is weird because she’s insistent on us having some family dinner tonight. It’s not really like her to plan a dinner and then not be running around getting everything ready. But whatever. If there's one thing my mother is, its unpredictable.”

  I pressed my lips together and gave a slight nod.

  Dynassy stood. “Okay, well, I'll see you downstairs.”

  “Sure. In a few.”

  As soon as Dynassy closed the door behind her, I reached for my phone and texted Leo.

  Are you okay?

  I stared at the phone, hoping to see the symbol telling me he was typing.

  Nothing.

  I waited for a few minutes before throwing on some clothes to go downstairs. It sounded like Leo confronted his mother, but what had happened between the two of them?

  And why had he not come and told me about it last night?

  * * *

  Fifteen minutes later I was sitting across from Dynassy at a super-modern dining table overlooking their backyard, which looked like something from a fancy resort with the infinity pool, the landscaping, and water features. Between us lay a spread big enough to feed the entire Barnes family, even though it was just the two of us. Platters filled with eggs, bacon, sausage, a variety of pastries, a few boiled eggs and Leo’s favorite—waffles—all competed for our taste buds.

  “That sure is a lot of food,” I said.

  “Oh, I know. Lucinda always makes sure we have way too much, and there's no way I would ever be able to eat all these carbs.”

  “I normally wouldn't either but…” Those waffles were calling to me. I didn't know if it was because Leo wasn’t here, and I was missing him… What the hell? I grabbed the tongs and put one of those suckers on my plate.

  “I see my brother’s rubbing off on you,” Dynassy teased. “That is his favorite. I'm sure that's why we have those today. He probably had some before he left.”

  I couldn't help but smile. I loved the idea of Leo and I having something in common. Or as Dynassy said, him rubbing off on me. For just a few more minutes I wanted to pretend I was really a part of this family.

  “Yeah, Leo introduced me to these on our trip.”

  Dynassy leaned in. “So I've been dying to know—how is this whole thing going? I mean, what's up with you guys?”

  “I'm not sure I know exactly. It's weird.”

  Dynassy sat back and nodded. “I get that. Are you fighting?”

  “No! It's not that at all.”

  “Oh. Then what is it?”

  “I don't know. I probably shouldn’t be talking about this, especially with his sister.”

  It isn't in my nature to confide in other people about my problems, but I'd been really isolated since we started the honeymoon, and
I needed someone to talk to.

  The only person I usually talked with was Leo.

  This whole situation seemed too big to talk about with my friends from home.

  Sitting across the table from me, Dynassy looked so kind, so interested, the words just spilled out.

  “I think I'm falling in love with your brother.”

  “Yay!” She clapped her hands together. “Are you serious? That’s wonderful news.”

  “Well, I don't know if it is or not. I don't know how he feels about me.”

  “What does your gut tell you?”

  “That he likes me too,” I said tentatively.

  “Well that's wonderful. How amazing would it be if you were right for each other? What a great love story you two will have. They said arranged marriages have a better success rate than when we pick our spouses on our own. I'm not sure what that says about Western culture, or the state of marriage, but it's what they say.”

  “I mean, it wasn't exactly arranged,” I protested.

  Dynassy gave me a deadpan look. “Oh, honey, it was arranged. If you two had been left to your own devices, you wouldn’t have married each other, would you?”

  I shook my head.

  She crossed her arms and nodded.

  “But I have a lot of doubts.”

  “What kind?” Dynassy popped a bite of honeydew melon in her mouth.

  “Like, yesterday, Ivy was talking about all these supermodels he dates. This one girl who's been after your brother Nick and now is after Leo. It makes me realize that Leo's not ready to settle down. Your brother could pick from any woman in the world. He was pretty much forced to marry me. Even if we do get along, that doesn't mean that's what he wants for his life.”

  Dynassy rolled her eyes and smacked her palm on her forehead. “Oh my God, Ivy. What the hell was she thinking saying those things to you?”

  “No, I don't think she had any idea that I liked Leo. I think she just thought that he and I were going through the motions. She didn't intend to be mean or anything.”

  “I know, but she's so young and sometimes so dense. Plus the twin thing—sometimes it's like she doesn't see him, you know? She's always been a little bit more overpowering of him, and he loves her so much he lets her.”