“Yes. That’s exactly what I did.”
Stunned into silence, Matt sat in one of the chairs across from him.
Trent leaned forward. “There’s no way to spin this so I come off looking good. Despite all evidence to the contrary, I really don’t like lying and rarely do it. But when I was eighteen, I had a chance to start over. To live on my own and experience life like everyone else.”
“You mean, everyone else not in the one percent?” Eli commented.
“Exactly. I’m not going to bore you with any poor-little-rich-kid stories. At this point, it doesn’t even matter. I lied to you about my background and I’ve been lying by omission ever since.”
“Why?” Mara appeared in the doorway to the kitchen.
At the sight of her face, his stomach dropped out. There was no other word to describe how she looked other than ravaged. Her eyes were so red and puffy she looked like she’d been punched in the face. Blotches of pink across her cheeks showed where she’d rubbed at her cheeks over and over again. At his stare, she rubbed the top of her hair, trying to tame the strands sticking out of the top of her ponytail.
“I know I look awful”
He stood to go to her only to have Matt block his path. "Stay where you are."
"Look, Matt. I know you're angry but I'm still the same person. I'm still me."
"Are you? Because the guy I've known for years doesn't look anything like the guy we've been investigating this past week. The Trent that I know has family on a farm out in the Midwest somewhere. His favorite thing to do on the weekends is go surfing or hang out and throw some steaks on the grill." He picked up the folder from the counter. "I don't know this guy. This guy with a penthouse in Manhattan who regularly gives away more money than any of us will see in a lifetime."
"It's still me. Yes, my family has a lot of money but I'm still the same guy you've known for years."
In light of everything else they’d found out so far, Trent was relieved that they hadn’t found Avery. That was something he needed to tell Mara about directly. Lots of women didn't like it when their man had a close female friend but he knew Mara wasn't like that. Once she understood that he'd grown up with Avery and that, more importantly, she was his brother's girl, she would understand.
Mara moved closer, pushing past when Matt tried to stop her. "No, I want to hear what he has to say. Don't I deserve that much?"
Matt didn't look happy about it but he let her pass.
“I know I lied to you and there’s nothing I can do to take that back. But I love your sister and if she still wants me, I’m not walking away.”
“If you love me, then you’ll tell me the truth. Where did you get this?" Mara pulled out her cell phone and held it up. He recognized the picture Travis had given him a few weeks ago. His heart dropped at the shattered look on her face.
"My nephew drew that for me."
A visible shudder went through her. She clasped her arms around her middle. "Your nephew? So, you've been going home to see your sister, then?"
Matt moved forward. "Hold up, sis. Before you get your hopes up again, that may be his nephew but this is definitely not his sister."
He held up a picture of Avery.
* * * * *
MARA CLUTCHED HER arms tighter, wondering if it was possible for your heart to literally just fall to pieces. After Matt had taken her back to his house, he'd shown her all the information they'd dug up on Trent. She'd spent hours looking through his real estate holdings, old pictures and even a listing of his family's charitable contributions.
It had been like reading a book about a different person. Part of her had even held out an irrational hope that it was all a mistake. There was another Townsend family with a handsome blue-eyed son named Trent who lived a charmed life on the Upper East side of Manhattan. Because that life, the life she'd gotten only a glimpse of through written reports didn't belong to her Trent. The boy she'd bumped into on her first day of college and fallen into crazy stupid love with. The boy who'd both annoyed her and captivated her, fueling plenty of her late night dirty dreams alone in her small dorm room.
The boy she'd watched grow into an exceptional man.
And now her brother had brought out the one piece of the puzzle that she'd been trying to avoid thinking about. Matt still held up the picture of the pretty brunette who was currently living in Trent's New York apartment.
Matt hadn't even wanted her to come along for this confrontation. He was trying to protect her, even now, but she hadn't had the heart to tell him that the damage was already done. Viewing the pictures of his other life, his "real" life with his other girlfriend had shattered whatever composure she'd had left. Her heart was already broken. All she was trying to do at this point was salvage some of the pieces.
"You know about Avery?" Trent closed his eyes briefly and Mara had to resist the urge to scream. After all they'd accused him of, the only thing he was worried about was that they'd identified his mistress?
"Hell yeah we found out," Matt growled. “Sorry to blow your cover." She could tell her brother was on the verge of violence. She put a hand on his arm, hoping to calm him down. He glanced at her and nodded once.
"It isn't like that," Trent countered. "I'm not cheating on Mara." His gaze shifted to hers. "I would never do that. And I was going to tell you everything before we got married. It just never seemed like the right time."