Tell Me You're Mine (The British Billionaires #1) - J. S. Scott Page 0,98
Something happened to Dylan. He lost someone he loved. My brother suddenly dropped out of his life, became reckless and started doing some crazy things that he would have never even contemplated doing before. He’s out of his mind on alcohol the majority of the time. In the beginning, I gave him space, let him act out without suffering the consequences. He wanted me to help him disappear completely from the public eye, and I did everything I could to make that happen.”
My mind was reeling, trying to take in everything Damian was telling me.
Why would he lie about something like this? But I knew Damian wasn’t lying this time. All of the information was too easily verified not to be the truth.
And yet, my brain was having a difficult time accepting it.
“So are you trying to say that the orgy picture was Dylan and not you?” I scrutinized his expression, trying to read his eyes.
He nodded. “Yes. I gave Dylan my promise that I’d keep him out of the public eye. I thought he might be getting better when I saw him at our residence in Beverly Hills, so I didn’t want to out him. This Dylan isn’t the brother I knew, Nicole. Dylan used to be a man I respected; a man worthy of everyone’s trust. I wanted my twin brother back, the man he was before he went off the deep end.”
I lifted a brow. “So you took the blame, and didn’t feel like you could trust me with the truth?”
“Yes… No… Fuck! I don’t know what I was thinking, Nicole. You and I barely knew each other. And I’d given Dylan my word that I’d do everything possible to make him disappear while he was trying to get his head on straight.”
I kind of got what he was saying. Damian had no reason to trust me back then. One slip to the media, and reporters would have been all over Dylan like rabid hounds.
“Why didn’t you tell me once we got here? Or after we’d already performed every possible sex act together?” I asked, unable to keep the hurt out of my voice.
I knew Damian, and I understood why he’d never wanted to break his promise. For a guy like him, his word was even more serious than a written contract, especially when he gave it to someone he obviously loved.
“I think my motivations were entirely selfish by that time,” Damian said morosely. “I was afraid you’d walk away. No matter how many excuses I came up with, that’s the truth.”
The icy wall I’d erected around my heart over the last few hours cracked just a little. I knew Damian had to be telling me the truth about Dylan. It was really the only thing that made sense, even if the story did sound completely crazy.
I’d been confused when I’d seen Dylan in bed with that woman because I’d thought I knew the real Damian. Him hopping into bed with another female during his mother’s gala had been so contrary to the man I’d come to know and love. If I hadn’t seen it for myself, I never would have believed it.
None of the bad stuff is Damian’s doing. Well, except the lying. That’s pretty bad.
I felt like the last piece of the Lancaster puzzle was falling into place. Everything that hadn’t seemed like Damian hadn’t really been Damian. It had been a man who wasn’t Damian at all.
I took a deep breath and let it out before I asked, “Why have I never seen any sign that you have a twin? Nothing. I did a deep dive on the internet for the last few years, and there’s no mention of him at all.”
“I paid a pretty savvy company a ton of money to make Dylan disappear from the internet two years ago.” Every word coming from Damian’s voice was pulsating with regret. “I knew bringing you here was a risk, but I tried to make damn sure that you didn’t talk to anybody who would mention Dylan’s name at those charity events we attended. I told you at the gala that we needed to talk after it was over. I’ve known for a while now that I couldn’t take the risk of you finding out the truth from anybody but me.”
I sat there silent for a moment, trying to take in just how much work it must have taken to pull off this entire ruse. “So the PR agent actually got played,” I said in