Billionaire Stepbrother: Spring(7)

How could she not be my mother? It made absolutely no sense. And why would she mention Lex? I pieced together her meaning, but it couldn’t be. Lex had promised he’d never lie to me… If he knew, why would he keep it from me?

Was this just a last–ditch attempt for my mother, for that woman, to screw with me? With us?

My legs beneath me eventually gave way as my stomach curdled at the realisation that the woman I’d come to call mom for my whole life was not the person I thought she was. My arse nearly made contact with the deck, but I was saved at the last moment by two strong arms holding me up.

“I’ve got you,” the worried voice said. “That’s it, keep breathing. In and out.”

Lex’s face came into focus inches from my own and he swept my hair away from my eyes. Phoebe hovered behind him like a frightened bird.

“Should we call someone? Get her to a hospital?” she asked.

“No, I’ve got her,” Lex repeated cradling me in his arms. “Here, take a sip of this,” he said lifting a glass tumbler to my lips.

I slapped the glass away; it cracked into pieces upon the wooden deck.

“Tell me you didn’t know,” I demanded with my eyes tightly closed. Maybe I could take it all back, make it all go away if I didn’t let the world in.

“We’ll talk about it later. You’ve had a nasty shock.”

“Tell me you didn’t know!” I said, speaking over him and opened my eyes.

“Later, Aimee…” His face had gone pale, and his tan seemed to have drained away.

“I can’t believe this, I can’t fucking believe this,” I said swaying in time with the motion of the yacht. “You knew all this fucking time, didn’t you? And you didn’t think it would be something you needed to let me know?”

The anger rose up in me and I could no longer sit caged in his arms. He tried to cling onto me, tried to keep me pinned to the seat but I fought my way up onto my feet.

“Aimee, you have to understand, there was never going to be the perfect time to tell you. I didn’t know how—”

“It didn’t have to be a perfect time, Lex. Any goddamn time would’ve been good enough. You promised you’d never lie to me.”

His nostrils flared, and the colour flushed back into his cheeks as he took steps towards me; advancing upon me like a raging bull.

“Let’s get one thing straight right now. I never lied to you. I was only trying to keep you bloody happy!” His voice was raised, and his blue eyes were stormy with rage.

Phoebe quickly stepped in between us, like a referee at a prize fighting match, and held her hands up in a calming wave. “OK. Everyone, just take a deep breath. I think you both need to cool off before you say something you might regret.” Her head swivelled from side to side. Her next words may have been for my benefit, but she directed them at Lex. “It’s getting late, maybe Aimee and I should leave? Go to a hotel perhaps? We both need a bit of girl time.”

Lex and Phoebe shared a brief moment of understanding, and Lex nodded his assent. I turned away from them as they made the plans, not wanting to be involved, not caring.

“I’ll call the car service to pick you up, and I’ll book you a room at the Hermitage Hotel,” Lex offered.

“Good, thanks, Lex,” Phoebe said gratefully as he walked away leaving us alone on deck.

I tuned them out and concentrated only on the questions that echoed within the caverns of my mind: If Loretta wasn’t my birth mom, then who the hell was?

And where on earth was she?





Chapter Four



I couldn’t remember getting into the car that took us to the hotel, or the ten–minute journey around and away from the harbour. I barely even registered the decadent building that we were led into or the doors that were opened as if on cue.

My mind just couldn’t take in any of the rich details that surrounded me.

Questions spun like candyfloss in my head, getting stickier the more I touched and probed them.

Who was I? Is Aimee my real name? Why had Loretta lied all these years?



There must’ve been a good reason for it all.

Faces of the driver, the hotel staff and the porter were blurred in a swirl of pink and gold. I kept my head bowed mostly, watching the floor change beneath my feet, transitioning from cobbles to creamy Italian tile and finally to a deep plush carpet that lined the hotel suite. It was as if I were suspended above a conveyer belt, floating almost, and my feet were still as a roll of varied flooring passed beneath them.

Phoebe, who seemed to have taken on the role of guardian, sat me down on a chair in our suite.

Goddamit, I thought. I was being a selfish brat… This was supposed to be her time to crumble. I was supposed to be the one comforting her, helping her get through her crisis, not piling my latest shit onto her.