Say Hello, Kiss Goodbye - Jacquelyn Middleton Page 0,147
she… ? Her eyes bulged before she could blink away the surprise. “Uh…” Smile fading, she reached up, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “No, I don’t think that’s…how do you—”
“What am I missing?” asked Tarquin. “Who’s Brooke?”
“Darling, you don’t know?!” Kiki tsked, pointing with her phone. “Brooke is pretty important to Leia.”
Breaths lodged in Leia’s chest. “She was important.” Fuck! I DO NOT want to get into this here!
Tarquin scratched his temple, his gaze hopping between his mother and his girlfriend. “Leia, who is she?”
“Tarquin, I was going to tell you—”
“Going to?” Kiki feigned surprised indignation. “My god, you’ve obviously not told my son about the twins either!”
Shit! I should’ve told him. Why didn’t I tell him? Leia dipped her chin and let go of his hand, her arms folding protectively around her souring stomach.
Tarquin froze. “Twins?!” He blinked slowly, leaning in. “Leia, you have children?”
A lump knotted her throat. Shaking her head, she glanced up. All the joy had drained from Tarquin’s face. “Your mom’s taking everything out of context. I can explain, but not here—”
“Explain how? By lying?!” Kiki elbowed her son. “See? These money-hungry trollops latching onto you boys—I’m SICK of it! I had a bad feeling about this cheater.”
Tarquin flinched. “What?!”
Shit. Leia closed her eyes.
“I called an old friend in Manhattan,” said Kiki, scrolling through her phone. “He’s a fashion PR, knows everyone.”
And everyone’s business, I bet. Anger blazed through Leia as she dug her nails into her sides. Kiki’s using my past as a battering ram, smashing me and Tarquin apart. She opened her eyes. Well, she’s messing with the wrong woman.
Leia broke her self-soothing hug and edged closer. “Tarquin, you know me.” She grasped his hand, her gaze imploring him to listen as she kept her voice low and controlled. “What she’s saying, whatever bullshit this PR person told her—it’s not what you think.”
“No?” Kiki sneered. “So, you’re going to deny that you spent three weeks in a mental institution last September?”
Oh… my god. Leia’s breath hitched. I was going to tell you, but not like this.
Tarquin stiffened, his expression somewhere between wariness and worry. “Leia…”
He’s horrified. Lightheadedness swooped in, swaying the room around her. Leia tightened her grip, holding on, keeping him close. “I needed help.”
“And probably still does!” Kiki foisted her phone forward. “Tarquin darling, see…” A tabloid photo glowed on its screen in full, finger-pointing color.
A tall female bowed her head, her face partially hidden under Jackie O sunglasses and the bill of a blue baseball cap. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, which splayed over the hunched shoulders of a gray Roots sweatshirt while the ragged hems of her shapeless jeans dragged on the ground. An older man—her father, maybe?—walked alongside, his expression somber and his arm protectively wrapped around her waist as they entered a Brooklyn mental health facility.
Tarquin has seen me in those sunglasses, and that sweatshirt is on our bed at Rupert’s farm. Nausea swirled in Leia’s belly as he gaped at the photo, tears brimming in his eyes. He can have no doubts now.
“Granted, this girl had dyed blonde hair and was known as Leia McClelland”—relishing the destruction she’d unleashed, an unkind grin crept across Kiki’s face—“but you used your rich husband’s surname back then, didn’t you, Leia? Poor chap. He certainly had his hands full with you: depressive episodes, panic attacks, arson—”
“I didn’t set the fire!”
“Well, you would say that, wouldn’t you?” Kiki rolled her eyes. “This girl is unstable, Tarquin! Do you really fancy playing house in London with someone certifiable? You’ll end up like Nikolai—disgraced in the papers, your reputation in tatters. Or, heaven forbid, she causes any harm to Ava and Poppy. Just saying it sends a shiver up my spine.”
Tarquin tensed up, pulling his hand free from Leia’s.
Take a bow, Kiki. You’ve done it. You’ve used the stigma of mental health to rip us apart. Tears prickled the back of Leia’s throat, but she fought them hard. She wouldn’t give Kiki the satisfaction of watching her fall apart. “Tarquin, I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah. So am I.” He swallowed hard and scrubbed both hands over his face, blinking back tears. Throwing a glance to his left, Tarquin’s eyes snagged on Rupert clutching Poppy, his brother’s brow furrowed, caught up in the confrontation. “Well, Mum, I guess you better keep Ava and Poppy away from me too, then.”
“I beg your pardon?”
What’s he doing? Leia bit her lip.
“By your definition, I must be crazy, too. I suffer