Maybe that was what sickened her most. She’d wanted to believe there was no hidden agenda. She’d wanted to believe that when he’d said he wanted a child, that maybe that was the only stipulation.
Like a damn fool, she’d been ready to give everything to him. Her heart, her life, her future.
Lucas had his back to her, staring out into the night. She wanted to know what was going through his mind, but at the same time, she didn’t know if he’d just spout off more lies and keep the real truth hidden like he’d been doing.
“Sterling is a bastard and, yes, I did see you as a way to get back at him if you turned out to be his daughter.”
He turned to face her, shoving his hands in his pockets. “But so much changed between us and... Damn it. He’s not your father.”
Paisley heard the words, attempted to process them, but could she believe anything he said at this point? How could he be so sure about Sterling? Who had he spoken to?
She had so many questions, but would he give her the answers she wanted, the ones she deserved?
On shaky legs, Paisley made her way across the room and rested her hands on the back of the leather chair. As much as she felt she needed to take a seat, she wanted to look like she was strong, in control—though she felt anything but.
“Why should I believe you?” she asked.
“I’ve been going through the boxes you’ve brought,” he started. “I searched through some of Lynette’s old planners last night and another letter slipped out. She wrote it to a Jeb Smith, but never mailed it. The letter said—”
“I want to see it,” she demanded, barely holding her emotions together.
“Paisley—”
“Now.”
Lucas stared at her a minute before he crossed the room toward her and pulled a folded paper from his pocket. Without a word he handed it over. Paisley attempted to calm her breathing and will her hands to stop shaking before she opened the note. Anything inside here was clearly going to alter her future, and now that it came down to it, she wasn’t sure if she was ready to know the truth.
Carefully, she unfolded the letter and read each word her mother had written. The emotions flooded her from so many angles. Seeing her mother’s beautiful cursive writing had a knot of loss forming in her gut. But Paisley pushed through that pain as she experienced another round from the fact this Jeb Smith could be her father.
Paisley had never heard that name in her life, but from the way her mother demanded child support, Paisley wondered if this was real. At this point, she wasn’t sure if even her mother knew who the father was.
The only thing that was clear now was that Lucas had lied to her and that hurt more than not knowing the truth about her father.
“I don’t believe this or you,” she stated, refolding the paper and tossing it into the chair in front of her. “Sterling makes sense. He’s the type of guy my mother would’ve gravitated toward and he’s already been rumored to have had affairs.”
The muscle in Lucas’s jaw ticked, his lips thinned. “He’s not your father. I went to see Jeb today and he was fully aware of you. He even had photos of you as a child. Apparently Lynette had given them to him.”
Paisley’s vision wavered. Black dots swam before her. She shook her head, gripping the seat back and closing her eyes. There was a man out there who knew he was her father...and hadn’t sought her out. There was a man her mother had known for sure and hadn’t said a word about to Paisley.
The emotions were too strong, her heart too raw to attempt to process what all of this meant. Had anyone in her life been truthful? It hit her then, hard, that she truly was alone.
Lucas reached out to her and his hand rested on her arm. Paisley jerked away as she focused on him.
“Don’t touch me,” she murmured.
The last thing she wanted was attention out of pity. She was alone, right? There was no need to lean on someone who was just using her. She would get through all of this, somehow, and come out stronger.
But first she needed to go home, be by herself and have a much-needed breakdown.
“You looked like you were about to pass out on me.”
She rubbed at her temples, then shoved her hair from her face. “I don’t need your help with anything anymore. Not the truth, not my health, nothing.”