Daddy's Angel (Montana Daddies 7)

“What are you talking about? You pushed me into this.”

Her phone rang and Dominic stepped out of the room, speaking into it quietly.

Her mother shook her head. “Oh, Arianna, where did we go wrong?” She looked back up at Bain. “She’s had issues ever since she was a child. What was she? Six? Seven? When she stopped talking?” She turned to her husband.

“I was four,” Arianna gritted out.

Her mother ignored her. “We thought it was just for attention. Ari is our youngest and our neediest. Frederick worked a lot and I had taken on too many obligations. I didn’t notice soon enough that something was wrong with her. That’s when the nightmares and sleepwalking began. She had the best therapists and tutors. Gradually, she became better. But then she got it into her mind to pursue a career in music. We tried to protect her. But her problems returned. The pills help with those bad thoughts, Arianna. Remember? Doctor Jones said you had to remember to take your pills.”

“The only pills I’ve ever taken are for anxiety, not delusions.”

“If only that was true.” Her mother shook her head sadly.

No. No, this couldn’t be happening. Bain didn’t believe them, right? She glanced up into his face but couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He was giving nothing away.

“I want you all to leave. I’ve had enough of the lies. I don’t have delusions. I don’t take any other medication.”

“We can call Doctor Jones, have him explain to everyone,” her mother said. “But we’re trying not to embarrass you, dear.”

Right. Like they cared. They were trying to separate her and Bain so they could keep her under their thumb. What they didn’t realize was that she wasn’t going to let them bully her any longer.

“We have to tell them everything, Arianna,” Larry implored. “We can’t keep this up. Not with the police involved. It’s against the law and I can’t keep lying for you.”

“What are you talking about now?” That sick feeling in her stomach was growing. She wanted them gone.

Bain squeezed her hand and she reminded herself that she wasn’t alone. He wasn’t going to abandon her. He wouldn’t believe her parents over her.

She felt the room spin and she leaned her head against Bain’s arm. She wouldn’t panic. There was nothing they could do to her.

Larry gave her a false look of sympathy. “I wish I didn’t have to do this, Arianna. I know you’ll feel betrayed by me. But we can’t continue on with this lie.”

“What lie? There is no lie!”

She heard voices behind her. She recognized Caleb speaking but she couldn’t focus on him right now. Larry had something up his sleeve. One last play. And she just knew it wasn’t going to go well for her.

“Oh, Arianna. I guess it’s up to me to come clean.” He turned to Bain, straightening his shoulders. “There is no stalker.”

Her mouth dropped open. The silence in the room was suffocating. Her heart raced so hard she felt ill.

“What are you talking about? What do you mean there’s no stalker? Those letters. . .”

“Oh, Arianna,” Larry said with false sympathy. He turned back to Bain. “You can’t blame her. If I’d known she was off her meds, I never would have agreed to this. I shouldn’t have agreed to it anyway. But I didn’t know it was all a fabrication until she handed me the letter before the concert. I told you that I found it in her dressing room. Truth is that she gave it to me to pretend to find. She told me to go to the press with it.” He turned to Dominic. “You saw her give me the letter while we were in the dressing room.”

“I saw her give you a piece of paper, but I didn’t see what was on it,” Dominic said gruffly.

She frowned. “That was a list of things you wanted me to sign off on for the concert organizers.”

“Please stop lying, darling,” her mother said. “You’re only hurting yourself.”

“Arianna invented a stalker for publicity purposes,” Larry declared. “She sent those letters to herself.”

“What the fuck!” Caleb exclaimed.

“I did no such thing.”

“You cannot blame her,” Larry said to Bain. “She sometimes has delusions when she’s off her medication. She may wel

l have convinced herself that this stalker is now real.”