A Cut so Deep - Dani Rene Page 0,87

for the door. I can’t think straight. My mind is swirling with thoughts of my real mother, of my father.

“Twenty-four hours, Nesrin.” Marcia’s voice comes from behind me, cool and calm, but the threat in her words hangs heavily on me. I pull open the door and step out into the hallway, only to slam into a body that’s hard as steel.

Finn.

“Whoa, little sis,” he says with a chuckle, but the moment he really looks at me, noticing the tears making salty tracks down my cheeks, his arms pull me in. “What’s going on?” Gently, he pulls me down the hall as we head into the gym where Cass is working out. Damien is nowhere to be found, and I don’t know if he knows about my real mother or not but, right now, all I want is to be alone, to find my release from the pain that’s collecting in my chest.

When emotions overwhelm me, it’s the only thing that helps. But over the past few weeks, Damien has been there. He’s been my solace in the dark, and now that he’s hiding in his room, preparing to leave me, I don’t know how else I’m going to cope.

“What’s going on?” Cassian is at my side, and both of them seem to be holding me up, but I can’t find the words. “I’ll be back.” Cassian’s out the door, leaving me with Finn, who sits me down on the bench against the wall. He leaves to grab a bottle of water from the small cooler and hands it to me, once he’s opened it.

Quietly, I offer a nod of thanks, before pressing it to my lips and taking a long drink. I don’t know how to tell them what I’ve just learned because I can’t come to terms with it just yet.

I saw Mallory today, and she said nothing. Even though we spoke for a couple of hours about why she’s here, how she met Creed’s dad, she never once gave me a reason to doubt this was all a coincidence. But as my mind plays out scenarios, I wonder if the woman who raised me as her own, Marcia, married Bradford for this reason, to one-up her sister, my mother.

“Nesrin?” Damien’s voice cuts through the cloud of sadness that’s taken hold of me. He’s on his knees in front of me, his hands finding mine, holding them to his mouth. Blue eyes peek up at me, regarding me with pain, dancing like flames in the depths.

“I… I need to leave,” I tell him, as I consider my options. I can’t live here. And I certainly don’t want to live in a house with Creed Haven. Even though he’s done nothing to me personally, I know that if I have any chance at a life with Damien, I need to make a choice. I don’t have to go to Oxford, there are other schools in London. I can apply for scholarships.

My grades were always perfect, and I know if I took a chance, I’d be able to get something. I am even willing to work part-time if I need to. Anything to be away from the lies that seep from the veins of the women I believed to be my mother, and my aunt.

“What happened?” Damien asks, and I realize he’s been waiting for me to speak for a while. “I need you to talk to me.”

I stare at the floor, focusing on the mat that covers the area where Damien is kneeling. It’s soft, smooth, and I try not to think about my world falling apart. But I need to tell him everything. He has a right to know.

“My mother, I mean… Marcia.” My voice breaks, but I swallow past the lump in my throat and meet his intense gaze. “She’s not my mother.” The confusion in his expression is evident from the furrowing of his brows. “She took me in when I was born. My mother… My real mother is Mallory.”

“What?” All three guys utter in unison, Cassian and Finn flank their brother, arms crossed, gazes locked on us. They’ve accepted me as one of their own, as their little sister, which made me feel like I’d found my place in the world.

“She just told me how Mallory had an affair with my father.” I shake my head, still disbelieving the soap opera that my life feels like. “Mallory was worried because she wasn’t married. My grandparents were strict. I knew that, even though they died when