“Our mother didn’t abandon you,” Reeve says. A host of different emotions is splayed on his face, and I know this is a lot to process for him. “She died giving birth to us.”
“So I’ve just discovered.” Dillon scrubs his hands down his face.
“You just found out too?” Reeve asks, sitting up straighter.
“It’s been such a shock.”
I regard Dillon warily, trying to figure out if he’s being honest or lying.
“I know.” Reeve nods, biting on his lip. “Simon was wrong to do what he did to you. To us.” His voice breaks, and I reach out, threading my fingers in his. Dillon’s eyes track every touch, making me feel self-conscious. “It’s just another reason in a long list of reasons why he was a shit dad.”
Dillon leans forward on his elbows. “You didn’t get along?”
Reeve shakes his head. “No. He might have kept me, but it was in name only. He could hardly bear to look at me sometimes.”
Dillon looks to the ground, and his knee jerks up and down. When he lifts his head, after a few beats, he looks calm and composed, and I’m immediately on guard. He smiles at Reeve. “Well, he’s not here now, and there’s nothing to stop us from getting to know one another. Brother to brother.” His eyes dart briefly to mine. “Twin to twin.”
“I would really like that,” Reeve says, oblivious to my mini meltdown.
What the fuck is Dillon playing at? Is he serious about getting to know his brother? Did I genuinely mean so little to Dillon that our history doesn’t matter at all and that’s why he’s not mentioning we know one another? I shouldn’t care about that. Not if it means Reeve has a chance of getting to know his twin, but what kind of relationship will they have if it starts on a lie? Like I said to Audrey recently, a lie of omission is still a lie. The bigger issue is, I know something Dillon clearly doesn’t, and that knowledge could change everything. I need to keep my son away from him, at least until I investigate the situation and what it might mean.
I chew on the inside of my mouth, thoroughly confused and scared. My head is such a mess right now, and I don’t know what to do. Where to go from here. This is so bad.
“I would also really like it if you’d accept half of my inheritance,” Reeve says, and I’m a little surprised he brought that up already. We have talked about it, but I didn’t think he would mention it today. “It rightfully belongs to you.”
“I don’t want anything from that man,” Dillon hisses, digging his nails into his thighs. “And I don’t need his money anymore.”
Reeve gulps. “It’s not just money. There’s some property and shares in Studio 27. You don’t have to decide now. We can talk about it again.”
“I need to go,” Dillon says, standing abruptly.
He’s pissed; that much is clear. Relief threads through me as I just want him out of my house. At some point, I’m going to have to speak to him, but not now. Not when I can’t think straight. I can’t leave it for too long though, in case he decides to tell Reeve, but I need at least twenty-four hours to try to wrap my head around the implications of today’s monstrous reveal.
“You can’t stay a little longer?” Reeve’s disappointment is clear on his face, and I want to cry.
Fuck you, fate.
Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you.
“We have time booked in the studio, and the guys are already waiting on me. But let’s meet up at the weekend, yeah?” Dillon steps in front of Reeve, his anger now firmly hidden behind a wall I’m accustomed with. “It was good meeting you.”
“I wish we hadn’t lost so many years.” Reeve stands, and the strained look of anguish on his face almost undoes me.
In a super surprising move, Dillon pulls Reeve into a hug. “We have plenty of time to catch up,” Dillon says, fixing me with an ugly sneer I haven’t seen in years.
All the blood in my body turns to ice as I stare at the man who still owns part of my heart. He—
“Daddy!” Easton bursts into the room, dashing toward Reeve. My heart stutters in my chest, and I can scarcely breathe over the knot of anxiety blocking my airwaves. “I made extra cookies for my sister. Look!” He holds out a napkin with two cookies as Reeve scoops him up into his arms.
“Yum.” Reeve chuckles as cookie crumbs sprinkle over his shirt when Easton waves his hand around.
“Who are you?” Easton asks, fixing his wide-eyed blue gaze on Dillon.