Handle With Care (Shacking Up 5)

“She’s not part of this family; she needs to leave.” My mother points at Wren.

“Wren’s involved in this discussion, so she stays,” I reply coldly.

Wren squeezes my hand and moves in closer so her shoulder touches my arm, which gives me enough calm not to lose it on my brother or Gwendolyn. Yet.

“Oh for Chrissake! We need to have a private conversation, Lincoln. I’m trying to protect you, and you’re making decisions with the head in your pants instead of the one on your shoulders. Isn’t there a man in this family who uses his brain when it comes to women? She’s only with you because she wants your status and what’s in your bank account. She’ll drain you dry and make you miserable, like all bottoms-feeders do.”

“Sounds like you’re talking about yourself, not Wren.”

Her face turns a bright shade of red. “Don’t you dare to talk to me like that! I’m your mother!”

“You’re giving yourself a hell of a lot of credit there, Gwendolyn,” I scoff. “The only thing you did was give birth to me. Aunt Mimi and G-mom are the ones who raised me.”

“Penelope was the one who suggested you go to boarding school. That was not my decision. She took you away from me, and she wouldn’t have stopped there either, if she’d been given more opportunity to take the things that belonged to me.” Gwendolyn shoots G-mom a hateful glare.

“Things? That’s how you refer to your children, Gwen? I was saving Lincoln from a lifetime of misery,” G-mom spits angrily. “Too bad I couldn’t save Fredrick from the same fate.”

“Fredrick was the one with the wandering eyes! I stood by him the entire time.”

I snort my incredulity, uncertain if she believes the lies she spews, or if she’s been putting on an act for so long that she’s perfected the role of martyr. “I’m so sick of the bullshit, Gwendolyn. The lies end now.”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she sputters.

I slap the file folder on the desk. “Open that.”

“What is it?” My mother takes a reflexive step back, as if she’s afraid either me or the file is going to bite her.

“Open it and find out.”

“This is some kind of trick. I don’t know what you think you’re doing, Lincoln, but you’ll regret it. This woman…” She points to Wren. “She has nothing but bad intentions when it comes to you. I tried to tell you—”

“This has nothing to do with Wren, apart from the fact that you tried to blackmail her. Open the goddamn folder!” I yell.

She seems shocked by my outburst, although she shouldn’t be. If anything, my family is good at pushing every single one of my damn buttons.

She reaches out tentatively and opens the folder, revealing a picture of Hope. Her eyes go wide, wider than they were before, and her hand flutters around in the air. “Wh-where did you get this?”

“From Jacqueline. I met her this weekend.” I wait for her reaction, and I’m not disappointed.

Her spine straightens and an approximation of a sneer curls her lip. “Whatever she said, it was a lie. She tried to ruin our family!”

Armstrong cranes to see what’s on the table and frowns, then points to Hope. “Who’s that? Is she one of Dad’s girlfriends?”

“Shut up, Armstrong, or I will knock every single one of your overly bleached teeth out of your goddamn head.”

“It was just a question.” He takes a step back.

I turn back to my mother and pin her with a glare. “If anyone ruined anything, it was you. I find it more interesting that you thought you could keep this from us forever by blackmailing my girlfriend. You threatened to expose Wren’s family to the media for no other reason than to protect yourself, as per fucking usual.”

“I was protecting my family and the legacy we’ve built! Do you realize how difficult it’s been to keep all of this quiet over the years? All the time and energy I spent building connections and standing by your father’s side. We built this empire. As if I would let some middle-class ladder climber take it all away from me! That woman was reaching above her station, just like this one.” She flicks a hand in Wren’s direction.

I slam my palms on the desk. “Don’t you dare insult Wren. You kept our father tethered to you and made our lives miserable, so you could have a cushy life and endless amounts of money at your disposal.”

“That stupid bitch was going to take your father away from us, and I stopped that from happening.” She points at her own chest.

“He was in love with her.”

“He was reckless and infatuated. He wanted what he couldn’t have.”

I pin her with a look of disgust. “He wanted a life with someone he loved, and he had it, even with you standing in the way.”