“Oh for heaven’s sake,” my mother said. “You should know by now that lust isn’t love.”
I whirled on her. “What do you know of love?”
“Devin!” My father slapped his hand on his desk. “Have some respect.”
“Respect? Today I found out I’m a father.”
“What?” Bri shot up from the couch.
My mother’s lip curled as she turned away.
“You knew, Mom. She came to you five years ago.”
“What?” My father looked up at my mother. “What’s he saying, Katherine?”
When she looked at my father, her expression had softened, like this situation was nothing.
“I had no way of knowing if she was telling the truth. She was probably just mad that Devin left her. She wanted money.”
“If that’s true, why didn’t she take the money you offered to make her go away?”
“Oh, Mother, you didn’t.” Bri said.
“You have no idea if that child is yours. She left. Didn’t even take the money. That’s proof the child isn’t yours, as far as I’m concerned. And now she’s probably trying to get back at you or me. Or get support for the child.”
I pulled out my phone and opened my picture app. “Look at him.” My mother turned away. “Look at him!” I commanded. “Tell me he’s not mine.”
I held out the phone showing a picture I took of Andrew in the cockpit of the plane the day I took him and Serena to the museum.
My father stood and leaned toward me over his desk. Bri moved next to me and looked as well.
“Oh Devin, he’s cute. He’s definitely yours,” Bri said.
“You can’t know that for sure,” my mother snapped. “You need a DNA test.”
“Stop!” I clenched my fist. “Why would you do this? I’ve missed four years of his life.”
“I told you why. I had no way of knowing she was telling the truth. I was protecting you.”
“Bullshit!”
“Devin,” my father warned.
“No. She wasn’t protecting me. She was protecting her reputation. Everything this family does is about maintaining an illusi
on. It’s exhausting.”
“He’s right about that,” Brianna said as she took my phone and studied the picture. “Is that the plane?”
I nodded. “He wants to be a pilot.”
“So, you’ve been spending time with him but didn’t know he was yours?” Bri asked.
“Yes.” My jaw hurt from being so tight.
“The mother didn’t tell you?” Brianna looked at me.
“No.”