“Really?”
I’m fascinated by her confidence at this point. While Paulina is an excellent lawyer, she’s also a selfish, gold-eyed woman with the heart of a monster. She doesn’t care for Parker in any true motherly fashion. She simply sees him as a pawn in the grand scheme of things. To think Parker and I both share this experience almost makes me feel solidarity with him—until I remember all the things he’s done to convince me otherwise.
“Evelyn Welles should make him a fine bride,” she reasons with a light tone. She whispers to the waiter and then sends him off, turning her attention back to me. After sliding her glasses down her nose, she adds, “She’s a true virgin, after all.”
My heart seizes in my chest at the idea of Evelyn encountering any of the things I’ve been experiencing with those boys. “That’s a terrible idea.”
“Ah, hindsight is twenty-twenty, isn’t it, dear Alexandra?”
“That’s not what—”
She waves her hand. “That’s all, sweetheart. You can leave now. You can go regret your actions somewhere else. I want to enjoy my breakfast.”
Frustration boils inside me as I leave Paulina and her smug satisfaction behind, curling my fists so hard around my purse that I’m sure I’m about to break a seam. When I get to my car, I slap the wheel a few times, realizing I’ve lost a huge power play. That feisty woman probably had it out for me ever since my mother passed away. She was probably biding her time while waiting for the right moment to strike.
That fucking bitch.
Regardless of how I feel about her, I need to go warn Evelyn about what’s happening. If she doesn’t already know, then she’s about to get a rude awakening. I have to do everything in my power to make sure she doesn’t end up in my position.
Used, beaten, tattered, I think as I drive to her humble home. All the things I’ve become are her future if I don’t stop this.
I’m greeted with a loving hug at the door by Evelyn and her mother, the two of them far too happy to have received word about their upcoming engagement. With a sigh, I drift into the living room after Evelyn, blinking rapidly when I recognize the figure sitting in the window. “Marie?”
Tomas’s mother doesn’t look as frail and bruised as she did when we rescued her from that drug den. She gives me a sleepy smile and then looks at Cynthia, the sweet nurse responding instantaneously. After Marie and Cynthia leave the room, I turn to Evelyn, realizing how little I know or care about the lives of those boys who so carelessly tossed me between them.
And why should I care when they treated me so poorly?
I cared enough to help Tomas with his mother. I swallow the lump in my throat when I recall how I told him that Cynthia would be an excellent choice as a nurse. But I didn’t know Marie would be living here.
Their personal lives are such a mystery to me. Even Parker doesn’t share personal details with me. Why would he when most of our interactions are made of arguments or aggressive fucking? Ashamed of my ignorance, I sink into one of the nearby couches, noticing how the furniture is clumped together in the living room.
“Want tea?” Evelyn offers. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“In a lot of ways, I have,” I say with a shrug. “Didn’t know Marie was here.”
She nods. “Mom thought it was best that she stay with us while she detoxed.”
“That makes sense.”
“Tomas seemed relieved about it, too.”
Pain surfaces when I think about how scared Tomas must be about his mother’s health and recovery. “I’m glad you’re able to help her.”
“Well, it’s not me. It’s mostly Mom.”
“But you’re helping, too.”
She grins shyly and shrugs, then gestures toward the small kitchen. “Tea?”
“No, I won’t be long. I want to talk to you about Parker.”
She frowns while sinking into the couch across from me. “What about him?”
“Paulina dumped my marriage contract with Parker in favor of choosing you as his bride.”
“What?”
Her shocked expression hurts me. Jesus, she doesn’t even know. “She’s under the impression that you’d be willing to give yourself over to him.”