"Really," he replied, lowering the corners of his lips.
"Yes. Cade. really. The two of you think you have loads of friends when all you have is a bunch of people who use you and wouldn't care about you if you didn't have all this to offer. They don't like either of you for who or what you are, only for what you can give them, and that to me is not having friends at all."
Both of my half brothers stared at me, my words seeping in to their reluctant brains.
"I bet you think you're better off with your Cuban stepfather," Cade finally retorted.
"He has never been nasty to me or not cared about my feelings, and his family have always welcomed me with open arms."
"Of course they would. They're honored you give them the time of day," Adrian said. "You have the Eaton name."
"That's not true. It's just the opposite. I wouldn't trade them for a pile of gifts five times as high as this." I said, pointing to their small mountain of gift wrap and boxes,
"Sure."
"Yes. sure." I said.
They both glared at me.
'Having fun?" Danielle said. returning.
"Loads." Cade said dryly.
"Your father has a client who was just arrested for drunken driving. He had to go down to the police station. He'll be back very soon," she explained. "I'll be right back," she added. "I have to see about some things I have scheduled for tomorrow."
I was sorry to see her go, too. I always felt uncomfortable when I was alone with my half brothers too long. It wasn't getting any better as they grew older, either.
"Our father and his clients," Adrian said, shaking his head.
"His clients are very important to him, and they should be to you." I said. "How do you think he provides all this for you?"
"If he died tomorrow, we wouldn't be a penny poorer, Hannah," Cade said. "Our grandparents have created a trust fund for us. We'll be millionaires for the rest of our lives. We're millionaires now!"
"Good for you."
"If you were really part of this family, you would have had a trust created for you as well. Bunny and Asher are very, very wealthy people."
'Whether they like it or not, they are my grandparents, too. It's not my fault I'm not recognized as part of this family," I said and folded my arms under my breasts.
Some birthday party celebration this was turning out to be. I thought. I should have had the courage to refuse to came and spend the time with Heyden, as we had planned.
"No, it's not your fault; it's your mother's," Cade shot back. "Look. I told you--"
You don't know the real story." he said before I could finish. "We might be younger than you are, but we know more than you do about yourself, right. Adrian?"
He looked up from his watch and then looked at me. There was something in his face that frightened me. He looked afraid himself. I realized. He started to shake his head.
"Stop pretending. You and I agreed that we would tell her the truth one day, didn't we? Well? What better day is there than our birthday?"
Adrian just stared at Cade,
"It's time we did. Adrian. She's no longer a baby. She's rehearsing with a Haitian."
"Stop it!" I stared at them. "What truth?" I asked. smirking. "I don't think you would recognize the truth if it had the word truth tattooed all over it."
"Really? Well, try this tattoo on for size. Hannah Banana. Our father is not really your father. We're not related at all," he said.
I started to laugh at him. but Adrian's expression stopped me. He looked even more terrified than he had just a moment ago.