“I won’t take up any more of your evening, so, have fun, win big and let’s raise some money.” The crowd applauses, and the chatter and laughter fills the room once again as they disperse, crowding around the roulette wheels and the blackjack tables.
“I think I’ll try my hand at those slot machines, seem to have a knack for them wouldn’t you say, based on my luck the first time I was here?”
“You definitely have a special touch.”
“Mm, don’t I just,” I say, suggestively.
“Who are you and what have you done with the Hayley I know and love? I do believe my ears in thinking this new version of her just turned something I said in complete innocence, into something sexual,” he jokes.
He pulls me into him, his arms around my waist, my hands flat against the hard planes of his wide chest.
“I love you,” I say.
“I love you too.” He smiles. “I’m going to go grab us some drinks.”
He pecks a kiss on my lips before winding his way through the mass of people.
He returns a few moments later with a drink in hand and a huge pink stain on his crisp white shirt.
“What happened to you?” I ask, trying my hardest to suppress a laugh.
“I turned around and knocked into someone, wine went all over me. I’m going to head up the suite to change shirts. Won’t be long.”
“Okay, I’ll be here.”
He hands me my drink, kisses me on my forehead and once again, disappears into the crowd.
I’m lost in thought, staring blankly into the crowd when a voice startles me.
“You’re good for him.”
I jump, turning to find Nathaniel walking up to me.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” He smiles.
“It’s okay, really.”
“I mean it though, you’re really good for him. Ellen and I are so happy to consider you a part of the family.”
“Thank you, it means a lot.”
“You know, the change in him since he met you has been incredible, he’s not as angry towards the world as he used to be. For a while there he had me worried, he would drink a lot, get into fights, any way to dull the pain I guess... I thought there was no way he was going to get over finding out about Nicholas...”
My blood runs cold.
Nicholas? As in... no, it can’t be.
“Who’s Nicholas?”
“I though he told you, about his real father?”
“Yeah, he did, but he never told me his name. His father is called Nicholas?”
My heart begins to beat faster, a small part of me knowing deep down that the answer Nathaniel is going to give me, is not one I want to hear.
Nathaniel nods. “Yes. Nicholas Payn. I didn’t think there was anyway of him getting past that. He...”
Every last bit of air is sucked out of my lungs like a vacuum.
My stomach lurches. I feel sick.
I zone out, Nathaniel keeps talking but I can’t hear what he’s saying, each word sounding muffled, as if I’m hearing them underwater.
“Nathaniel, will you excuse me for a moment, I’m not feeling well,” I manage to say before I take off, not waiting for his reply. I weave my way through the crowds, unsteady on my feet, heading for the restroom. Bile rises up in my throat, that sickening, tingling sensation working its way up the sides of my throat. I make it to the cubicle in time for the entire contents of my stomach to make an unwelcome reappearance.
How is this happening? How can one man be so significant in mine and Kyle’s lives?
How could Kyle have lied to me?
He knew. When I told him what happened to me, not long after we met, I told him the name of the man that assaulted me, and he never said a thing. He never once mentioned that the same man who raped me four years ago, was the man who fathered him.
Another wave of nausea hits me, my head hanging over the toilet, my eyes streaming from tears. I wipe my mouth with a tissue before I flush the toilet and get up to wash my hands. I rinse my mouth out with water and leave the bathroom in search of Kyle.
My heart pounds as I head up the elevator, tears burn in my eyes. The elevator dings and it opens on the floor of the penthouse. I pull the key card that Kyle gave to me out of my purse and let myself in.
“Kyle?”
“In here,” he shouts back, his voice coming from the bedroom.
I make my way towards the bedroom on shaky legs. Kyle is in the middle of buttoning up a fresh shirt when he turns to me and smiles. “Hey. I’m just on my way down.”
I say nothing, not knowing what to say, I just stare at him blankly, fresh tears burning the backs of my eyes as I fight to hold them back.
He searches my face, his brows knitting in a mix of worry and confusion. “Hey, are you alright? Have you been crying, what happened?”
He steps towards me and I instinctively take a step back.
And just like that, something snaps inside me. “Has all of this been a lie? A game to you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Nicholas Payn.”
At the sound of those two words, his face drops. He swallows hard. “Hayley, I-”
“You knew. You've been lying to me this whole time.”
“Baby, please. Just let me explain,” he begs.
“For two months, you've known that the man that raped your mother and fathered you, raped me too, and you didn’t say a word. After everything that has happened between us, how can you look me in the eye and lie so blatantly to my face? And what about us, was that all a lie too?” Tears seep from my eyes.
“Of course not. Hayley, I love you so much, I’m so sorry, baby.”
“That seems to be everyone’s favourite word doesn’t it. You're only sorry because you got caught, Kyle. If I hadn’t found out, would you have ever told me yourself, or just kept
