Chapter 5 - JULIAN DOESN’T STOP ME
Julian did not make a dramatic announcement.
He did not order Richard to apologize.
He did not tell me I was secretly wealthy.
He asked one question.
“Can I speak with you?”
I looked toward the gate.
“No.”
He nodded immediately.
That response mattered.
“Then take my number.”
Richard came toward us.
“Julian, this is a family misunderstanding.”
Julian looked at the frosting still covering my hair.
Then at Lily crying against me.
“What part did I misunderstand?”
Richard’s face tightened.
Olivia stepped in.
“Maya is emotional. She does this.”
I laughed.
Not loudly.
Just enough.
Julian looked back at me.
“Was Claire Bennett your biological mother?”
“Yes.”
“Did Ruth Bennett raise you?”
My stomach tightened.
“How do you know my grandmother?”
He exhaled.
“Because Ruth was my mother’s housekeeper for sixteen years.”
That hit differently than “my sister.”
Julian saw my confusion.
“Claire was my half-sister.”
Richard interrupted.
“This is absurd.”
Julian did not even look at him.
“My father had a daughter from his first marriage. Claire. My mother hated the arrangement. Ruth helped raise both of us.”
“What happened?”
Julian looked toward the party.
“Not here.”
That was the correct answer.
I gave him my number.
Then I left.
No private jet.
No convoy.
No instant rescue.
A rideshare took Lily and me to my friend Rachel’s apartment in Queens.
The suitcase barely fit in the trunk.
That was what leaving looked like.
Small.
May you like
Awkward.
Frosting still behind my ear.
