Blinding Trust (Mitchell Family, #7)(48)
“Piper, I will give you what you want, but I’m not going to sit back and let him raise my child. I don’t want any child of mine growing up with this life.”
“You promised. You said it was a gift to me. Please don’t do this now.” She was begging him.
“You expect me to just sit back and watch you carry my child and say nothing? You expect me to be okay with you laying in a bed next to that piece of shit, when all I want to do is have you for myself?”
“Pete, I can’t leave him.”
“Don’t make me go public, Piper.”
“You would threaten me with that? After all that Zeke has done for you, how can you hurt him like that?”
“It’s simple! He’s hurt you, time and time again, while I had to sit and watch. I was the one who picked up the pieces each and every time that son of a bitch f*cked up. It was me who took you to the fertility doctor and it was my sperm they used to make that baby you’re carrying. What’s your husband going to do when he finds out he’s been sterile this whole time? How do you know he didn’t see those results himself? All he had to do was call.”
“He doesn’t know! He won’t find out! If you love me, you won’t tell him.”
The man stood up and I recognized him as one of Zeke’s bodyguards. “Piper, I do love you, but I’m not letting you do this any longer. If I can’t raise my own child, then neither will he.”
He walked away and left her crying. I didn’t know what disturbed me more; the crying or the affair. My phone started to ring and I knew I’d been exposed. Piper jumped and came running in the house. “Colt? That wasn’t what you think it was.”
“It’s none of my business.”
“You hate me don’t you?” She plopped down on a chair.
I sat across from her and folded my hands. “I don’t hate you. It seems like you’re hatin’ yourself.”
“Everyone thinks this life is so amazing. They have no idea how horrible it can be. Between the media and the fans, we never catch a break. Zeke can be a great guy. I know somewhere inside of him there is a good man. It’s just, he can’t get away from who he is.”
“I’m seein’ that.”
“I love my husband, but you see how he is. He doesn’t have time to be married. All we share right now is a house and a piece of paper. I don’t even know if he loves me anymore. Pete’s been there for me, every time something has happened between me and Zeke. When he told me he had feelings for me, I assured him that nothing would ever happen. Then I found out Zeke was sterile. You have to understand, I wanted a baby more than anything and I couldn’t get pregnant. Zeke wouldn’t have understood. He didn’t want to start a family, at first. That’s when Pete offered me a solution. He donated his sperm and we did in-vitro-fertilization. I never cheated on Zeke. I swear!”
As she continued crying, I cleared my throat, getting her to look at me. “My wife and I had a lot of problems conceiving. When she finally did get pregnant, she was kidnapped and held by a criminal. While tryin’ to get free, she was injured and lost the baby. We were devastated. Noah came into our life right after that happened. He was the miracle that Savanna needed to move forward. Children are a great gift, but bein’ a parent is the greatest gift of all. Listen, Piper, I don’t know how you feel about Pete. It’s obvious that he cares deeply for you. Zeke doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who is ready to just give up his life and start raisin’ a family. Do you really want your child subjected to this kind of lifestyle?”
She shrugged and wiped away the tears on her face. “I love Zeke, but he loves himself. As much as I want him to change, I don’t see it happening.”
“What are you goin’ to do?”
She looked worried. “Are you going to tell him?”
“It ain’t my place.”
She covered her face. “I feel so ashamed. No one was supposed to know.”
“Where I come from, marriage is sacred. I promised to love and be faithful to my wife and I meant that shit. I think you need to be honest with yourself before you can make decisions for other people.”
She nodded, while still crying. “You’re right. I know that’s what I have to do. It’s just so hard. Every move I make is plastered in the magazines. I feel like I can’t breathe. If this comes out, it could be career ending for Zeke. Right now, he has to have good media. He’s dug himself so deep into a hole that he may not be able to crawl out with dignity.” She grabbed a pack of cigarettes and lit one up. “I guess I need to quit these.”
“Piper, I ain’t sayin’ nothin’ to Zeke or the media, but I need to know somethin’ from you in return.”
“Sure. Anything.”
“What does Zeke really want from my son? It’s obvious that he wouldn’t just come around without a reason. I just don’t buy what he’s been telling me. If my son is in some kind of danger, I need to know the truth, so I can protect him.”
She took another drag of her cigarette and then put it out in an ashtray. “All I know is that Zeke came to me and told me he had a nephew he wanted me to meet. As you can probably tell, we aren’t exactly Fred and Wilma. Zeke goes weeks without even calling. Most of the time, I don’t even know where he is.”