Bastards and Scapegoats (Twisted Legacy Duet #1) - CoraLee June Page 0,58

Greenwich.”

I swallowed and lifted my chin, staring at the blank wall in front of me. “Well, then I guess we’d be even then. I ruined your future, you’ll ruin mine.”

Mom took a steadying breath. “Vera. I know you’re upset. We both are. Let’s just calm down. Think rationally about this. You love school, don’t you? Greenwich is an amazing university. I did this for us, baby. I did this because being a Beauregard comes with a lot of benefits. Think about how good our life could be if we just fixed this. How good my life could be. For the first time in eighteen years, I don’t have to work three jobs. Joseph is talking about me getting my degree online. I could finally do all the things we talked about, Vera. I’m sorry I took it out on you, but I just want this so bad.”

“Even if you don’t love him?” I asked. “Even if he cheats on you?” I had to know.

“He’s hurting right now but, baby, I love him so much. I know he loves me too. He just needed a little shove in the right direction. I don’t mean to make you upset. You’ve always been my good girl. Always did the right thing. I just need you to do that again for me, baby. For us. I don’t think I could handle losing the love of my life. I messed up, I did. But I know we can fix this.”

I let out a sigh. “Fine. I’ll do whatever I can,” I choked out, though the words pained me. It didn’t feel authentic to my true needs. I trusted my mom to be honest about her feelings for Joseph. I wanted their marriage to work because he genuinely seemed to make her happy. She was misguided, but…

“Oh thank you, baby. Maybe I’ll come and visit soon, yeah?”

“Okay,” I replied. “That would be great.”

Mom went on to ramble for a bit more, talking about her new house as if we hadn’t just had a huge fight. As if she hadn’t just asked me to compromise my morals and happiness for hers. As if she hadn’t just broken my heart—again.

“I love you, baby,” she cooed.

“Love you too.”

I hung up the phone and tossed it on the couch cushion beside me before cradling my head in my hands. How could she possibly do this? Why? Maybe I needed to drop out now and find a new place to live. I could still apply for scholarships. It might have been too late to switch now, but if I applied now, then maybe next semester I could go somewhere else. I needed to prepare for the worst. I couldn’t rely on the Beauregards’ generosity. Especially since Mom lied.

My phone started ringing, and I half expected to see my mom’s name on the screen, but instead, it was Hamilton. I’d never called him back earlier.

“Hello?” I croaked.

“Are you okay? I heard about the article, and my phone has been ringing nonstop for comment.”

I tried to be strong. I really did. “Hamilton?”

“Yeah, beautiful. Talk to me.”

“You don’t think I lied, do you? You don’t think I planned this with my mother…” My voice trailed off as I became overwhelmed with emotion. It suddenly occurred to me that Jack was right all along. He was right to look into my mother’s past and question her motives. It made me sick to my stomach to think about.

“I don’t think you have a fucking malicious bone in your body. Don’t cry. I don’t do good with the emotion shit.”

I started crying harder. Fuck, what was wrong with me? And why was I leaning on Hamilton? “When are you coming home?” I asked before quickly correcting myself. “Um. Little Mama misses you.”

I could hear his smile through his voice. “Oh, she does, does she?”

“Yeah. I suppose I wouldn’t mind seeing you either.”

“Two more days. You think Little Mama can handle two more days?”

I sniffled. “Yeah. I think so. I can’t believe Saint came to campus and hounded me. I’m really freaked out.”

“Wait,” Hamilton growled. “What? He came to your school?”

I clutched my phone. “Yeah. He just showed up and started asking me questions. He’s so gross. Jared scared him off, but—”

“What did he ask you?”

Hamilton’s abrupt question caught me off guard. “He asked if I knew,” I replied with a sigh. “He said a lot of shit.”

“Can you remember anything specific?” Hamilton asked.

“No. It was like he just wanted to taunt me.” I listened to the sound