Chapter 25

 

It sounded easy, but for Ethan, it was the most difficult thing to settle. He’d left the mansion in turmoil. On the one hand, he was angry with Kristen and hurt that perhaps he’d expected too much from their marriage.

They’d signed a contract that the marriage was supposed to be one of convenience, but when she lost her memory, everything changed. He could not stop the relationship from cannonballing into something else. Something beautiful. Now, all that may have been only in his head. Still, he wanted to protect her, to keep her from harm. There was one way to stop his mother and that was to prove she tried to kill Kristen and that she orchestrated Hailey’s kidnapping.

After speaking with his mother, Ethan returned home contemplating her words. Kristen was already asleep when he slipped into bed. He watched her sleep for a long time while thinking about Helen’s proposal.

This wasn’t just about stopping the lawsuit, he thought. It was about putting an end to all the bullshit. It was about stopping Helen. The only way he could do that was to get close to her, earn her trust.

 

*

 

Kristen turned, her eyes fluttering open. With a yawn she stretched, her eyes setting on Ethan. He was picking clothes from the closet and dropping into his duffel bag.

She eased herself from the bed and stood. “So, this is it?”

He turned his head. “Yep.”

“I suppose I shouldn’t be upset. Our marriage was supposed to be one of convenience because of Hailey.”

Ethan’s back stiffened and he paused what he was doing. “You remember?”

“I found the contract last night while searching for the court papers for Hailey’s custody case,” she told him. “I was such a fool thinking that our marriage was real. No wonder you’re so quick to jump ship. Two brothers, both fucking fake!”

Ethan dropped the last shirt in his bag and turned. “Aren’t you being a little over-dramatic here?”

“Over dramatic? You made a fool out of me!”

“Pray tell, how did I make a fool of you?”

“You could have told me that we weren’t supposed to cross the line. We agreed that it was supposed to be in name only.”

“You came on to me, remember?” Ethan snapped.

Kristen's nostrils flared. “Now it’s my fault? I didn’t remember anything. You took advantage of me.”

“So those feelings you professed to me, they were all a lie?” Ethan asked, his face dark.

“Does it matter to you now? Look at you, your bags are packed and ready to go. What does it matter now whether they were real? You wouldn’t care.”

“Then what’s the big deal?”

“I feel used Ethan, by your entire family! First, it was your brother, now you and your mother. How much more am I supposed to take?” A pained expression crossed his face, but Kristen wasn’t done. “I can’t take any more pain. I thought that perhaps I’d found my happy ending. It was all a lie!”

When Andrew died, Kristen never felt the grief she now experienced seeing Ethan packing his bags. Her heart seemed to have stopped as a dark cloud descended on her. She did feel used by the entire Broderick clan, but the pain she was now feeling was much more than she could handle. A sharp pain stabbed her core causing her to grimace. Her hand flew to her chest as the ache intensified. Kristen stumbled back.

Ethan rushed forward trying to steady her and she brushed his hand away.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice gentle.

Sitting on the bed, she waved him away. “I’m fine. As if you care.”

Kneeling by the bed, he chose to ignore her last comment. “Kristen, you’ve got to tell me what happened all those years ago. Tell me everything.”

Their eyes locked as she tried to steady the uneven drumming of her heart. She closed her eyes to shut him out, but she could still feel his presence.

“Kristen, if you feel so betrayed by all of us, even Andrew, why are you keeping his secrets? Were you that much in love with him?”

Her eyes shot open and she gave a sarcastic laugh. “Love? Is that what you think this is?”

“Then what is it? Why don’t you tell me why he drugged us? You bottle everything up inside and I can see it’s eating at you.”

Inhaling a quavering breath, she straightened her shoulders. “Maybe you’re right. If I tell all, it would certainly end this thing with Helen. She’d leave me alone once and for all.”

“You mean, this secret of yours would stop my mother?”

“I think it would break her.”

As soon as she replied, Ethan stood and he began unpacking his bag. Kristen was confused.

“What are you doing?” she queried.

“Unpacking, what else? She promised to drop the lawsuit if I moved back home and joined the company.”

“That’s why you were leaving?” she felt like an idiot. Her face became red with embarrassment when Ethan looked directly at her and nodded.

“And you believed her?”

“No, but that would have given me an opportunity to make her trust me again.”

“Look, Ethan, I don’t want you working against your mother on my behalf. She’s still your mother, regardless of what she’s done.”

“It’s too late for that. If I’m to salvage any relationship I have with her, she needs to be stopped.”

“So, you’re not leaving?”

Ethan rested a hand on her shoulder. “Kristen, I know when you said you loved me you weren’t in your right mind. Still, I want to make this work.”

“What are you saying?” she whispered.

“I want this marriage to work… a real marriage,” Ethan replied. “Tell me everything from start to finish about my brother and I’ll forget that you hid my daughter from me.”

“I want us to be a family too, Ethan. It’s just so hard,” she stood and stepped into his arms.

He held her close as she wrapped her arms around him. “I know it’s hard, but he’s not here anymore. Whatever it is, we’ll handle it together.”

Kristen wanted to tell Ethan everything, but first, she needed the security of him. The relief she experienced by him not leaving made her body tingle. To show her elation, she tipped her head and pressed her lips to his. He opened his mouth and deepened the kiss by taking her tongue.

His erection pressed into her belly as she pressed closer to him. They tumbled to the bed where she quickly unbuckled him, helping him from his jeans.