“Or what?” Cassie stared at him, her lip trembling as she waited for Noah to continue.
“Or…I don’t need you in my life.”
Cassie recoiled. The look on her face was one of utter shock and disbelief. She blinked and put a hand to her cheek as though Noah had just slapped her. Riley was certain the sting of his words hurt just the same but it needed to be said. Noah couldn’t have been anymore honest with her and whether or not Cassie chose to accept the truth, well, that was now on her.
“I can’t believe you would say that to me, Noah. After everything we’ve been through, you’d really just throw our friendship away over him?” She pointed angrily at Riley.
“I don’t want to.” Noah told her, “but really, what choice do I have? You can either accept that Riley is a part of my life now, or we’re done. I can’t make it anymore clear than that.”
“I see.” Cassie lifted her head and flung her hair back as she tried to regain her composure, and some dignity. “You’ve hurt me, Noah, you’ve really hurt me.”
“I’m sorry.” Noah said and the look on his face was of genuine remorse. The last thing he wanted was to lose his childhood friend but in all honesty, they had grown apart years ago and Noah felt that her showing up now and without forewarning was more about her parents throwing her out than her being in love with Noah. He was nothing more than a lifeline that she was desperately trying to hold onto as she watched her ship slowly sinking. As much as Noah cared for her, he couldn’t be the savior that she wanted, or needed.
“I suppose there’s nothing left to say then.” She looked to Noah, her eyes pleading, one last time, for him to change his mind but her attempts to sway him were futile.
“I suppose not.” Noah responded.
Cassie nodded slowly, as if answering some unspoken question then she smoothed out her skirt and walked past Noah and Riley, her head held high but her spirits sinking. Before she left the room though, she turned and addressed Noah once more. “You’re going to regret this, both of you.” With that, she turned on her heels and stormed out of the room.
An uncomfortable silence fell over the three remaining occupants. Riley could feel the tension in the air building as Lilian’s hateful gaze bore into him.
“Well, this is a fine mess you’ve caused.” She hissed. “Though I suspect you’re quite pleased with yourself. You’ve finally got what you wanted all along.”
“I never wanted to cause anyone any pain.” Riley told her. “That was never my intention.”
“No, your intention was to destroy this family and it looks as though you may just succeed. Anyway, now I have to go find Cassandra and see if I can at least undo some of the damage you’ve caused. If you’ll excuse me…”
Lilian moved to walk around the two men but Noah stopped her. “Actually, Mother, Riley and I came here looking for you. We want you to clear the air about a few things, if you can.”
“Clear the air?” Lilian crossed her arms over her chest and looked suspiciously between Noah and Riley. “About what, exactly?”
“My parents.” Riley said, looking Lilian dead in the eyes.
Lilian narrowed her eyes and sneered. “Boy, I know nothing of your parents, nor do I care.”
“But that’s not exactly true is it?” Riley stepped in front of her, effectively blocking her path as she attempted to step around him. “You at least knew my omega father, Eric. He was El’s caregiver, wasn’t he?”
“Eric Morgan?” Lilian shrugged, trying to remain nonchalant. “Yes, he worked here for a couple of months, taking care of Eleanor. After she left he was dismissed as we no longer had any need for him. I haven’t seen or heard from him since and I certainly never knew he was your father. He wasn’t even married when he was employed with us.”
“You never saw him again after that?” Riley raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips. “If that’s true, then why were they on Kings road when their car went into the river? Don’t you find it odd that they practically died on your doorstep?”
Lilian opened her mouth, ready to deflect Riley’s questions but suddenly found herself at a loss for words. Riley had her and he knew he had her. She backtracked, scrambling to find a way to explain away her own mistake.
“I don’t know why they were there.” Lilian said, becoming defensive. “It was an accident. It was snowing and the roads were icy…”
“So, you do remember the accident?” Riley’s eyes lit up. He’d backed Lilian into a corner knowing she’d have a hard time denying the truth now. To Riley’s surprise though, Lilian glared at him, her anger building and then she flat out admitted the truth to him. She admitted it as though it meant nothing, just some inconsequential piece of information that had momentarily slipped her mind. It was what Riley had been needing to hear, waiting to hear. No more lies. No more skirting around the truth as though the events of that night could have been erased from everyone’s minds if they just stopped talking about it.
“Of course I remember.” Lilian snarled. “It was the same night that my husband was murdered. It was the night of our annual Christmas party, the last one that was ever held at Reaney Hall. I’ll never forget that night for as long as I live. It was the worst night of my life.”
Noah narrowed his eyes. “Why would Riley’s parents be on Kings road the night father was killed?” Noah asked, his voice tense. “That was years after El left. Eric would have had no reason to be anywhere near the house.”
Lilian’s smug tone and demeanor quickly slipped away being replaced by a look of fear and uncertainty. “Why are you suddenly asking me about that night? You know it upsets me to talk about it.” Her eyes filled with tears and she did her best to appear as a wounded animal caught in the grip of a vicious predator.
“Mother, please.” Noah sighed. “Just answer the question.”
“Why?” Lilian snapped, suddenly, lashing out in anger at both Noah and Riley. “Is this some kind of interrogation, am I on trial?”
“I just want to know what happened to my parents.” Riley told her, trying to appeal to her more nurturing side. The side that loved and wanted to protect her child. “I deserve to know the truth.”
“Fine. Jim Hicks, worked for Stephen. They were both guests at the party.”
Noah’s shoulder dropped and he looked away briefly, a look of bewilderment rested on his face. “Why lie about it?” He suddenly demanded. “It makes no sense. This entire time you knew about Riley’s parents but said nothing, why?”
Lilian sighed heavily, shaking her head. “Because, I never made the connection until now. Stephen dealt with Jim, not Eric. I didn’t even realize that it was the same Eric. He and Jim were married after Eric’s time here. I knew him as Eric Morgan, not Eric Hicks.”
“Wait,” Riley rubbed at his temples, fighting the confusion that was building inside his head, “so, how did my father, Jim, end up working for Stephen Reaney in the first place? That’s way too much of a coincidence to be random.”
“It wasn’t random at all.” Lilian raised an eyebrow as she stared at Riley, her smug tone and expression returning. “Sit down.” She pointed to the sofa and Riley looked at her, a bit skeptical of what she was doing. Lilian groaned. “If you want to know what happened to your parents, then sit down, and I’ll tell you. Just be sure you really want to know because it won’t be easy to hear.”