With Every Heartbeat

Just hearing her say his name in that way and in that tone told me everything I needed to know. I looked up at her, and I knew Cora had been lying yet again.



“She doesn’t know,” I said when her seeking gaze caught mine. “Someone needs to tell her.”



I knew I couldn’t. I closed my eyes, unable to look her in the eye without wanting to break down, or break something…or someone.



But I also wanted to yank her into my arms and carry her from this apartment, this place that was causing her so much misery. Then again, I was afraid to go near her, too. The violence in me was so close to the surface. What if I reminded her of her father—er, the man who’d raised her as her father—and scared her?



Cora tried to get out of telling her, so I growled, “Tell her.”



Mr. Wilder’s face paled with panic. He wasn’t ready for his indiscretions to be made known, but Cora was already sighing and muttering, “Nine months before you were born, my dad fucked your mom.”



Surprise reined on Zoey’s face, but I could tell she still didn’t get it. Blinking repeatedly, she shook her head. “Excuse me?”



But then Caroline, whom I hadn’t even known had come in with Zoey and was holding her hand, gasped. “Oh my God.”



Zoey glanced at her, confused. “What?”



Caroline pointed at Mr. Wilder. “Cora’s dad looks exactly like...you.”



Zoey turned back to look at Mr. Wilder, who backed up a space until he stumbled into a wall. Her face paled and she shook her head. “Wait. What?” She glanced around the room, but when her gaze landed on me, I balled my hand and brought my fist to my mouth. I hated that lost expression on her face.



I still wanted to go to her, but I wasn’t sure how she’d receive me. I’d broken up with her after she’d almost been raped. She had every right in the world to hate me right now. Plus a vision of Cora’s throat right before I’d almost tried to strangle her swept through me. I was too violent for Zoey. Too much like the man who’d raised her.



She shifted her focus away from me, flitting it between Cora and her father. “That’s...that’s not possible. My father is... My father’s Ernest K. Blakeland.”



Mr. Wilder glanced down, but Cora sniffed. “No. Ernest K. Blakeland was simply married to your cheating whore of a mother. He knew her baby wasn’t his, but he couldn’t pin his anger on your mom because she went and died giving birth to you, which left only you for him to take his anger out on.”



“No,” Zoey whispered, but I could tell from the horror on her face that she believed every word. She shook her head. “Why didn’t you ever tell me this before?”



Cora threw her head back and laughed. “Tell you what? That our daddy was too chickenshit to claim you and risk losing all his money because his funds were tied up in Blakeland’s bank? He’d be destroyed if anyone found out he was your sperm donor. It didn’t even matter that I made sure he knew you were being beaten on a regular basis. He couldn’t risk losing his investments. Now...be honest. If I’d told you about him, and you saw how he was more concerned with saving himself than saving you, you never would’ve agreed to give me your kidney. Would you?”



Zoey clutched her stomach and sank closer to Caroline, who wrapped both arms around her in support. “But…but…why didn’t you ever tell me before that? Before you knew about your sickness?”



Cora shrugged. “It never served my purpose. I kind of liked you being blind to the truth.”



A half sob, half laugh left Zoey’s lungs. She glanced at her biological father, who shook his head and held true regret in his eyes. “Zoey,” he started, his voice full of apology.



But she held up a hand. “No, you don’t have to say anything. I understand perfectly. You’re just as egotistic and self-serving as she is. And you know what? I’m glad you never tried to claim me. I think I’d rather have been raised with manners beaten into me than raised to be like her.”



Cora sniffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “I suppose this means you’re not going to give me that kidney now, are you?”



This gut-clenching, defeated expression crossed Zoey’s face. But despite the fact that each piece of news seemed to beat her down, she still straightened her back and lifted her chin. “Of course I’m going to give you one. I said I would. Unlike you, I’m actually honest about the things I say.”



Her gaze met mine. I nodded my encouragement, more proud of her than I’d ever been. I wasn’t sure if I could’ve been the bigger person in this moment and helped a person who’d wronged me as much as Cora had wronged us. But I loved her amazingly selfless heart, anyway.