“Don’t be silly.” She pulled away and shoved my phone into her purse. “You’ll have your new phone soon enough.”
“If she’s anything like my daughter, an hour without her cell phone is going to feel like the end of the world.” Edgar chuckled under his breath.
“She’ll be fine.” My mother shook her head quickly.
Edgar and my mother got up from the table before I could object. I followed them outside to the waiting car and seriously considering making a break for it before I climbed into the backseat. His two bodyguards definitely made that prospect a lot more intimidating—they were a few steps behind us as soon as we left Moretti’s. I kept reminding myself that I needed to be there for my mother, and things could be a lot worse for her if she got too tangled up in Edgar’s lies before I had a chance to unravel them in front of her. I didn’t spend every free minute I had staring at my phone like a lot of people I knew, but I still felt practically naked without it. I just hoped it didn’t buzz with a message from Damien while my mother had it. The fear of that left me on edge for the entire trip to Sinn Manor.
Now I have to pretend like I’ve never been here before…
“I apologize for the mess.” Edgar led us through the front door and into the foyer, where I told Damien about our parents’ marriage. “It’s a long story.”
“Someone ripped up all your pictures…” I aimlessly looked around the room. “What happened?”
“Don’t ask so many questions.” My mother narrowed her eyes and hushed me.
“It was literally one question…” I took a step away from her.
“It’s fine.” Edgar waved off her concern. “I was living with someone before I met your mother—my ex-wife.”
&n
bsp; “Say what now?” I feigned shock.
“It was a complicated situation.” He walked towards the living room.
“Stop prying!” My mother grabbed my arm as soon as Edgar was out of earshot—and squeezed a lot harder than I expected.
“Ow!” I pulled away from her immediately. “What is wrong with you? I can’t ask him any questions? You’re married to him!”
My mother didn’t respond. She walked into the living room, and I rubbed my arm for a couple of seconds before I followed her. I was stewing inside, but I kept my composure. It was obvious that it wasn’t my mother’s first trip to Sinn Manor. She didn’t think it was strange that there were pictures missing half the people in them in almost every single frame, or that it looked like the place had been burglarized. I assumed that she must have gotten the grand tour earlier that day—because Damien finished moving everything out the day before, and I spent most of the night there with him. Our paths had come dangerously close to crossing.
“I’ll go get your phone set up.” My mother reached into her purse.
“You can use the computer in my office.” Damien motioned towards the hallway. “Log into my account and activate it once you switch the SIM cards over.”
“I can do that…” I reached for my phone.
“You don’t know the account information.” My mother pulled away and walked down the hallway.
Now I have to worry about her snooping on top of Damien possibly messaging me.
“I can tell you have a few concerns.” Edgar interrupted my thoughts, and I turned to face him. “All of this probably feels very sudden…”
“It does.” I nodded. “Especially if you were living with your ex-wife before you met my mom.”
He opened the door. I’m walking through it.
“Yes.” Edgar walked over to the liquor cabinet and stared for a moment before pouring a glass of whiskey. “My ex-wife and I had a very complicated relationship. Damien was her son, and she let his grief drag her down with him—I tried to salvage the relationship, but it was simply too late. The marriage was over long before we were divorced, but I couldn’t bring myself to throw her out on the streets. I still cared about her…”
“Until my mother came along?” I glanced over my shoulder to make sure my mother wasn’t going to walk up and hear me—prying as she called it.
“No, I still wouldn’t have thrown her out. I was fully prepared to leave.” He sighed and took a sip of his whiskey. “She left on her own once I told her that I had met someone new.”
“And took her half of everything?” I looked around the room. “Including the photographs?”
“It would seem so.” Edgar nodded.
Edgar’s story didn’t line up with what Damien had told me, but I didn’t get a chance to ask him any more questions because I heard my mother’s footsteps approaching.