Dane welcomed his mother when she entered his office. Ever since the divorce announcement, Bridgette had grown quieter. He’d worried that she’d suffered from depression. But if she did, he couldn’t tell since only the reserved demeanor was the change. Otherwise, she met with him, chatted, and talked about their lives. And more frequently she joined Vonna and Lydia for several all-ladies events. They’d formed their own clique and he was thankful to Damien’s and Dallon’s mothers for their united show of support.

“Didn’t expect to see you.” Dane settled into the chair opposite hers in his office.

“I had to drop off paperwork to Philippe.” She brushed at her dress, an action that he wasn’t sure was symbolic about her divorce or due to something on her clothing.

“That’s what lawyers are for.”

“We’re not enemies,” she said simply.

“Not yet, at least.” Dane never saw himself in the position as his brothers with watching Philippe extricate himself from a marriage. In his mind, he’d expected that his parents would stay together until death do they part. But what shook him was the unexpected end. They seemed normal. No tears were shed. No angry hateful words spewed. His mother committed to her role as wife and public persona for Philippe. “When did things go wrong?”

His mother’s pained expression cause him to regret his intrusion into her privacy.

“Sorry. You don’t have to answer. You’re not on trial.”

“I asked for the divorce,” she said in almost a whisper.

“Really?” Dane couldn’t hide his shock or curiosity over the matter. “What’s going on?”

“Maybe we can talk later.” She picked up her pocket book.

Dane stood with her. “I’m not going to stop you, but running away from the issue won’t help either. Seems like we are doing that a lot in this family. And not for the better.” He motioned toward the chair and waited for her to sit before rejoining her. “I always thought it was dad.”

Bridgette shook her head. “It was me.”

Dane sucked in his breath. The roles of parent and child felt switched. As thousands of questions popped up like weeds, he tried to approach this new development like a challenge in his business meetings. Except, his attitude to solving any business dilemma meant that his emotions were dialed down and common sense reasoning was applied. In this case, the opposite held true.

“It’s not another man. Or woman,” she said primly.

“That’s not where my mind went.” Call him naïve but he’d never suspect his mother of cheating on his father. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t hold the same respect for Philippe. As Dane grew older, the gloss on his father’s veneer was less polished and the pedestal was less sturdy.

“I thought I knew your dad. Granted I was starry-eyed and willing to create my own version of perfection. But then life has a way of shaking you awake. And when Lydia had her hip replacement surgery, I visited her during her recuperation. She was always kind to me. Now I know why.” Bridgette stopped talking and picked up the empty glass.

Dane took the glass and noticed the tremor of her hand. “I’ll refill it. You can continue … when you’re ready.”

He heard a long sigh. But he gave her space to tell her story. Taking his time to get her water, he quietly observed her. Her back was stiff as she sat almost on the edge of the chair. Her fingers were interlocked and resting on her lap. She looked uneasy. One wrong thing said, one loud noise shattering the air, and he suspected that she’d bolt right out of the room.

“A long time ago when Damien was a teenager. Selfishly I told your father that I didn’t want him to stay with us for the summer.”

“Why?” Dane felt disoriented by the conversation so far. Every time he thought he knew where his mother headed, she took sharp turns that left him clueless. “I liked having Damien at the house.”

“You and your brother fought a lot.”

“But that’s what brothers do,” he defended.

“From my eyes, I thought that he disrupted your world. And your father always seemed so intense with him that I saw that as a threat.”

“A sixteen-year-old threatened your feelings?” Dane placed the full glass on the table. Some of the liquid sloshed over the side. He didn’t care.

“So your father didn’t have him stay at the house. Instead, he arranged for a hiking trip. I couldn’t complain about it, although he’d never taken you on a trip. But I thought that was end of it.” She took a sip of the water and cradled the glass in her hands. “Your father didn’t return home for two weeks after he was supposed to return. He told me that he had business matters to attend to in Switzerland.” She shrugged. “We weren’t the type of couple to talk about his work. I was in this box where when he wanted me, and he’d open it to let me out.” She laughed with no sign of the humor. “And as long as I got the gifts, then I guess I was okay.” This time her laugh had a bitter edge.

“But when I visited Lydia in that hospital and we grew closer, I started asking her things that I would never have asked her or Vonna.” His mother shook her head. “But I asked and asked some more. And Lydia warned me that she spoke the truth whether it would hurt or not. I said that I could handle her honesty.”

Dane didn’t respond to his phone persistently buzzing on the desk. Nor did he respond to the office phone. Nor did he allow entry to whoever was knocking on his door. He’d already locked it to prevent any interruptions. His mother wasn’t leaving until she told him everything. In this case, he might not be able to handle her honesty, but he had to know.

“When your father was missing for those weeks it was because Damien was in the hospital. Philippe decided to make a man of him with a ridiculous challenge that left Damien alone in a forest. He was attacked, mauled, and injured.”

“His foot.” Dane recalled the ugly scars on Damien’s ankles. Damien had blamed his rugby days on the injury. And because his brother was such a badass with a quick temper, Dane accepted the reason.

“Almost his entire left leg from hip to heel.”

“And no one knew?” Dane felt the rising anger.

“Only Jacques. He rescued Damien. Your father wasn’t even there.”

Dane gritted his teeth. The surge of anger turned his skin hot. No wonder Damien and Jacques were close. No wonder Damien hated Bridgette … and him. No wonder Philippe catered to Damien’s behavior to assuage his guilt.”

“When I learned the truth, I couldn’t sleep. Every day since then I want to make amends to Damien without telling him that I know his terrible secret. He held it in and didn’t even tell Lydia. It was Jacques who told her when Damien was recently fired.”

“By me.” Dane wished the floor to open so he could dive in.

“I’ve got a lot of making up to do,” his mother stated.

“Does Lydia know your part?”

Bridgette nodded. “And she forgave me.” She touched her heart. Only then did the tears appear, hovered, and rolled down her cheeks. “I confronted your father. At first, he denied it. Then when he started berating Lydia, I wouldn’t let him. We had our first argument ever. And I couldn’t stop seeing this man as a cold-hearted monster. But then there is a side to him that truly loves all of you. And I can swear that he has never treated you like that.”

“And what now? You have regrets for asking for the divorce?”

Bridgette didn’t answer.

Dane shook his head disgusted by so much. “I need a moment to process this horrific story.”

“Your father and I can set things right. I’ll have a dinner for us, as a family. And Philippe can apologize. Damien can see that his father is a changed man and that I meant him no harm. We can continue on without waves.”

Dane stared at his mother unable to digest her rushed plans for fixing the wrongs.

“What day will you be available?” she asked.

“Can you push on the brakes?”

“Why?”

“Have you ever been abused?” he asked.

“No.”

“Assaulted?”

“No. Stop asking stupid questions.”

“Take your feet out of your Manolo’s for one second and walk in Damien’s shoes. He was abused maybe not directly by Philippe’s hands, but the level of emotional and verbal abuse are of epic proportions. Do you really think a damn meal and simple apologies that are more than a bit late will do anything, except make him angrier?” Dane practically shouted at his mother. His own shame gnawed at him.

Now he also recalled that Damien’s trips to the hospital weren’t about a physical ailment. Jacques had hinted as much but he had been so willing to see the worst in his brother that he interpreted any support for Damien as suspicious and enabling his brother’s stupid behavior.

He handed his mother a box of tissues from the bookshelf. “This situation is not about you and dad. It’s not about your redemption. You’ve done enough. Make friends with Damien, if you wish, but don’t use this to force the issue. Dig deep in your heart for the right reason to do it.” He took a deep breath. “And I must do the same.”

His mother wiped her face and composed herself. After she’d repaired her makeup, she snapped the compact mirror closed and looked at him. “You’re right. Everything you said was so right.”

“I know you can do it,” Dane said, although once again, he didn’t think his father was capable of doing the right thing for the sake of his family.

“I’ll go now.”

“And dad, what about him? Are you pulling the divorce?”

She didn’t answer.

Dane raised his hand. “That’s for you to work out and decide, I guess. I’m not going to stand in your way with speeches to make you feel guilty.”

“Thank you.” His mother kissed his cheek and left the office.

Dane stretched out his legs and leaned his head back on the chair. “Why does loving someone have to be so damn complicated?” The predicament fits whether it was about his family or Yasmin.

While he asked the question after listening to his mother’s revelations, the question had a purpose for whatever was happening between him and Yasmin. Because just like he had the bad feeling about his mother’s situation, he sensed that the fantasy with Yasmin was coming to an end.

He checked his phone and played back the voicemail: Hey it’s Dallon and Damien. Dad’s calling a meeting at his house in an hour. We don’t know what’s going on. All he said was Mariman was coming on his turf. That’s Yasmin’s people, right? Anyway, call us back.

Dane had to listen to the message twice to get his brain to untangle from his mother’s issues to the latest crisis. Mariman was coming on his turf? What did that mean?

Why didn’t Yasmin tell him?

The foreshadowing that he’d fought to keep at a distance now stormed through the door. Whatever was about to happen wouldn’t be a good thing. And he didn’t need Yasmin to confirm that whatever her mission had been when she arrived, the timeline was here and now.

Nevertheless, he called her. When her phone went to voicemail, he listened to her curt greeting and waited for the prompt to leave a message: I guess you think this is checkmate. But don’t get comfortable believing that your plans will go through. Not by a long shot.