SWNOVELS Chapter 15
Gifts
Chapter 15 — A Pawn in their Game—1
Alden narrows his eyes at me and looks back at Kent. I'm a little shocked, I
admit, that he hasn't addressed me yet. I stand awkwardly in front of him and
Daniel quietly takes my hand, giving it a squeeze of support.
“Is this for real, Lippert?” Alden asks, a threat behind his glare.
Kent nods slowly. “We did a test. It's a 99% genetic match for paternity. I can
show you the paperwork upstairs, and you can have it verified by your own
doctors. But, with that kind of proof at hand, Alden.” He spread his hands out,
hoping Alden takes him at his word. “Why would I lie?”
Alden nods and returns his gaze to me, staring for a moment. Then, he shocks
me again by breathing out a huge breath of air and rubbing a hand down his
face. “Damnit, but you look like your mother,” he mutters.
eyes.
My mouth falls open when I see the glimmer of tears in his My heart goes out to
him, then. He's a solid rock of a man, but I can see that deep feelings run
beneath.
“Where is she?” he demands.
Surprised, I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. “She died,” I say,
grimacing inwardly at my bluntness. Alden’s face falls minutely. Surely, after all
these years, he knew it would be unlikely that she would be alive, but still — he’s
upset by the
“When?” he asks.
“Years ago,” I whisper, sorry to be the one to tell him. “I was young — I had just
turned six.”
I feel horrible — I had no idea that he cared for her as much as he clearly does. I
had assumed she was
what had Fiona called
herself? a goomah. His mistress, or his girlfriend, not someone he really I cared
about.
“How?” He asks, crossing his arms over his barrel chest.
“A car accident,” I say, my voice hardly more than a whisper now. “They said...
they said she went fast. No pain.”
He nods sharply and then turns his head away, gathering himself together. “And
where has she been laid to rest?” Alden asks, not looking at me.
“In a small cemetery by our home — in the churchyard. I can take you there, if you
like,” Isay, my voice gentle.
He's angry then, instantly, his emotions snapping from sadness to anger at the
flip of a switch. He turns his burning eyes to me. “In a churchyard?” He shakes
his head. “He didn’t respect her, then, the man she left me for,” he growls. “To
bury her in a churchyard, when she deserves to lay in state, in a mausoleum.”
I find my own emotions turning, then, from pity to anger. How dare he suggest
that David was anything but an angel in our lives?
actions as I take a step forward. Daniel holds my hand tighter, in a warning that
comes too late —
“He was nothing,” Alden growls.
“He raised me
“He KEPT you from me,” the words rip from Alden’s mouth.
Realizing my mistake, I cower back, my eyes going wide. Alden takes a heavy
step towards me, intimidation in every muscle of his body.
“Tell me the truth, girl,” he says, taking another step. “Did he know about your
parentage? Did he know where she came from, who your real father was?”
Unable to deny it, I stay silent, keeping my face still.
“I thought so,” he says, narrowing his eyes at me. “He kept you from me, my
daughter, not his! And he should die for it.”
I realize, suddenly, that I'm afraid of this man. That if this is what he’s like the first
time meeting his daughter, then I can’t imagine the kind of things my mother must
have gone through. She must have experienced moods that made her decide to
pack up and leave him, to give up everything she'd ever known to keep me away.
B
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Gifts
Chapter 15 — A Pawn in their
Game-2
And yet here I was, in the place she'd so desperately left. Why did I let myself get
so wrapped up in this world? I cower away from my father.
“Enough,” Kent's voice rings out behind me, cool and calm.
Alden turns angry eyes to him but Kent holds his ground.
“I'm pleased to announce,” Kent says, his teeth gritted, making clear that his
pleasure is only a formality. He nods pointedly at the ring on my hand, “that our
agreement, years ago, to unite our families through marriage is holding strong.
Your daughter is engaged to my son. I anticipate that the wedding will be swift, in
the next few months, if it can be arranged.”
My father’s growl is low in his throat. “This is a trick,” he says. “How can they be
engaged, when you just found her yesterday?”
Daniel is quick to answer. “We met before, by some miracle,” he says, giving
Alden a small but earnest smile. “We were already dating, actually.”
No mention, conveniently, of the fact that we broke up.
I look between Daniel and his father, and then over at mine, and suddenly realize
that Daniel is in on this. He and his father carefully planned this meeting, this
conversation. In one swoop, they gave Alden back his daughter and claimed me
as their own.
I am suddenly angry again. It doesn’t matter what I want at all, whether or not I
want to marry Daniel. Because Daniel, too, is a player in this game, moving me
around like the pawn that I am.
I open my mouth to protest, but Alden interrupts me.
“Good,” he says, looking between the three of us, perhaps realizing that he has
no real leverage in this game. “This is the best arrangement. A uniting of the
families.”
He turns his attention back to me and I see his face soften again. Truly, he is a
man of many moods and swift changes.
“It is wonderful to meet you, daughter, on this the occasion of your engagement.”
He gives me a formal little bow and raises my left hand to his face, kissing both
my fingers and the ring.
When he releases me, I give him a small smile. Then, I surprise myself by
speaking, despite my wariness around him. “I — I'd like to know more about my
mother,” I say in a rush.
He raises his eyebrows, surprised. When he says nothing, I
continue.
“David — my dad — he didn’t talk about her a lot. I think talking about her past
made her sad. But, if you wouldn't mind, I'd...like to know more.” I twist my
fingers together, anxious.
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He nods slowly, putting his hands in
. elt pars
his pockets. “And I'd like to know you
more, Fay. You are my daughter, my
) :
blood. It's only right we should spend
some time together, get to know
[ ” :
each other,” he glances at Daniel here
u
for a moment, “though I understand
your fiancé is your priority now, as a
husband The content is on
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chapter there!
should be ”
I look between them, not understanding the politics. But Alden continues before I
can figure it out.
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uw ) . "
We'll spend some time together,” he
says, rocking back on his heels and
considering me, a little fondness on
: “
his face. “Get to know each other.
And, though it may take me some
3 » > ;
time,” he rubs his hand across his
: : : : “pr
chin, frowning and considering, “I'll do
my best to tell you what I can of your
mother. She was...a remarkable
” .
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chapter there!
1 give him a small smile and his eyes go sentimental, soft. “Beautiful, Fay,” he
says softly. “You're beautiful, like her.”
I bite my lip, tears coming to my own eyes.
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One thing was for sure — I wanted to
know more about my mother, about
what drew her into this world, what
forced her out. Knowing more could
open so many doors to the mysteries
of my life, my identity. The content is
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chapter there!
But at what price would that knowledge come?
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