Accidental Knight: A Marriage Mistake Romance(66)

She huffs out a breath. “Oh, please! I’m not a murderer. That old bastard hated me as much as I hated him, you know.”

“And why’s that, Mom? Because you lied to him from the beginning? Said you were pregnant so Dad would have to marry you, when you really weren’t, just so you could get your hands on the Reed fortune?”

That strikes a nerve. Not even the layers of her makeup can hide how red her face glows.

“That’s all you’ve ever wanted, and whenever Gramps wouldn’t give you more, you used me to get it.” I take a step closer, coming out from behind the desk. “Do you honestly think I didn’t know what you were doing? Forcing me to lie to him? Saying I wanted to move when I didn’t? Saying I wanted a new house or car? Kids don’t want those things. He knew it, and so did I. He knew you were an abuser.” Stepping between her and the desk, I grab the folder. “I know what you’re doing now, too, and it’s not what’s best for me. Or for anyone. It’s just what you want.”

“You don’t know what’s best for you. You never have!” she shouts.

“Really?” Rather than handing her the folder, I rip it in half. I’m so angry the thick folder comes apart in a sudden, shearing rrrrrip!

For a split second, I regret it.

Only for a second.

The fury flashing in her eyes scares me. I’ve had my face slapped by her before, but can tell right now, she wants to do worse.

“You sick, selfish, ungrateful little –” she sputters, seething so much words won’t form.

I take a step back as she raises her hand. The backs of my thighs hit the desk.

Knowing I can’t escape, I twist and duck, trying to shield myself from the inevitable, knocking her purse off the desk in the process.

Then out of nowhere, there’s thunder. A man’s voice.

Drake.

“Don’t. Don’t even think about laying a finger on her,” he snarls, fury coiled in his chest like a snake ready to explode as he walks past her, his huge arm snaring my waist. “Touch her, and I’ll drag you to your car.”

Holy hell.

I don’t know how he arrived so quickly, but he did, and that shatters the fear that had me frozen.

“Try it, you brute! See what happens. This...this isn’t any of your business,” Mother growls, confusion crossing her face as she tries to sound supremely offended. “It’s strictly between my daughter and me.”

He pulls me closer to his side. “Bullshit, lady. Takes two to tango, and you’re old enough to know it. Look at her. She doesn’t want any part of what you’re offering.”

“You’re wrong,” Mother insists. “And you have no right to even be in this house or anywhere on this property. I wasn’t born yesterday. You’re nothing but a con man, trying to snatch everything you can before poor Annabelle figures it out. Now get the hell away from my daughter. Stop turning her against me.”

Drake glances at me, and then at the floor. He stiffens before he looks back at her.

My gaze goes to the floor, wondering what made him go stock-still.

Then I see it.

Crap. Apparently, when I knocked off her purse, I’d also sent the red folder tumbling off the desk. Our marriage certificate is face up, next to Mom’s purse.

Needing to grab it before she notices, I move, but Drake grabs me first.

“She may be your daughter,” he says, “but more importantly, she’s my wife. We’re hitched, and your reign over her is over.”

“Your wife!” Mom’s wide-eyed cackle turns into a croak. “That’s...preposterous. Totally impossible!”

He nods toward the floor. “Go on. See for yourself. There’s a marriage certificate right there.”

Mom glances down, and the blood drains from her face as her chin drops. “What the—”

I bend down and grab it before she can, knowing she could rip it in two as easily as I had her folder. I pick up the red folder, too, glad nothing else had fallen out.

Shock curdles her face. “Married? Since when? Since how?”

“More than a month ago,” Drake says, pulling me closer to his side.

It’s true the proxy marriage was set up well before I’d signed, while Gramps was alive.

Mom glares at me. “I don’t believe it. This has to be a hoax. You didn’t even know him a month ago!”

“How do you know?” I ask her. “How are you so sure this little visit here is the first and only time I’ve ever met Drake? You don’t, Mom. You don’t know much because you’ve never cared enough to find out.”

Drake releases my side and before I even realize what he’s doing, he’s sliding a ring on my left ring finger.

“You heard her. Our secret’s out,” he growls. “You might as well start wearing this all the time, darlin’. No need to keep 'Mom' in the dark anymore.”

Three things happen at once.

My heart nearly stops as I look at the ring, a wide gold band with a large oval cut diamond in the center.

Mother is speechless for the first time in her life. She’s staring at it, too, and the way her eyes nearly pop right out of her head tells me this diamond is real, and expensive. The way her lips pinch together in a raw, furious thunder line, says it might even be worth more than the one she’s wearing.