Hollywood Heir (Westerly Billionaire #4)(60)
She turned and caught him watching her, and her smile fell away. She had her doubts, too.
There was a time when that would have been enough for him to delay sharing everything with her, but she deserved a full disclosure.
Everything.
And if after that she decided she didn’t want to see him again, he would somehow find the strength to respect that.
Chapter Fifteen
With kids running ahead of them, Reggie and Alice with them, there was nothing intimidating about entering the tunnel entrance that led beneath the barn. Even Bella looked relaxed as she walked beside Sage.
Eric spoke as he entered. “I’d appreciate your discretion regarding the existence of what you’re about to see. No one knows about it.”
Bella gestured to the children. “How secret could it be?”
“Not only are my children a vault with shit like this,” Reggie said with indignation, “but Axton helped me design it. People don’t trust kids anymore. But I’d put my faith in any child in the kids’ classes before half the adults I know.”
“Amen to that,” Alice said.
Sage directed her question to Reggie’s oldest. “Which part did you design?”
He chattered away as they walked about the initial design, planning the electrical and plumbing, and placement of certain things. The tunnel opened up to a large area. One side was for the storage of Wayne’s Ford and a collection of old things that looked like they belonged at a garage sale. The other side was flanked by large wardrobe units and a sizable mirror above a sink and table.
The children dragged Sage from one area to the next, explaining what was in each and which part they’d played in building the automated system. Sage considered herself well educated, but she didn’t know half the terms the children used regarding how it all worked.
Reggie looked about as proud as any father could. “Some families play Scrabble. This is our game night.”
Sage walked over to the makeup area. There, in a clear box, was the silicone scar. She ran her hand over the outside of the container. “Was it research for a part? Or some sick game?”
From close beside her, Eric answered, “Neither.” He took her hand in his and turned her toward him. “To understand why I did it, you have to understand what I was seeking.”
She tightened her hand around his while searching his face. “Then tell me.”
In the background, she heard Alice ask Bella if she’d like to see the upper part of the barn. Bella must have agreed, because a moment later only Sage and Eric were left in the room.
Eric’s eyes darkened with emotion. “I’m not proud of a lot of what I’m about to tell you, but each piece fits into the next, and without it the rest doesn’t make sense. You might decide it makes no sense anyway, but at least you’ll know.”
Sage held her breath, waiting for him to finally let her in.
To her surprise, he started his story back in Boston. The childhood he described had been a privileged one, but only in the material sense. He spoke of his parents’ divorce, which had torn his family in two, how he became someone who felt he didn’t fit into either family until ultimately he left both behind. He outlined his tumultuous relationship with his grandmother and swore he would never forgive her for her latest interference.
He told her how Water Bear Man started as a favor for a friend and his fiancée before it took a dark turn. He explained how he’d never felt worthy of the money and fame that had come to him so easily and how he’d donated the proceeds of the first movie simply because it disgusted him.
He shook his head. “I feel like a thirsty man surrounded by salt water. I can’t walk down the street without being mobbed. I can’t take Reggie’s children to the zoo or the beach. Not as Eric. Every woman I date, every person I meet, sees me in terms of what I can do for them. I could have a thousand people here if I said I was hosting a party, but not one of them would care that I love black-and-white movies. They wouldn’t be able to tell you a thing about me outside of my career. I started to feel like I didn’t exist anymore.” He nodded toward the superhero suit. “He took over my life, and I hated him for it.”
“I can understand that,” Sage said.
“At first I stopped doing appearances; then I withdrew more and more. I couldn’t sleep, so I took pills to help. Then I couldn’t get out of bed, so I took pills for that, too. The pills stopped working, so I moved on to stronger drugs that would. I was in a bad place. Very bad. Like, I started hoping I wouldn’t wake up. Had nothing changed, I probably wouldn’t be here.”
This was the pain she’d sensed in him; this was what he hid. “I’m so sorry.”
He caressed her cheek gently. “My sister Rachelle came to London and pretty much kicked my ass into a rehab clinic. I don’t know how to even begin to thank her and her husband.”
“I’m sure seeing you doing better is all the thanks they need.”
Eric shook his head. “No. See, that’s how I used to think. Somewhere along the way, I let my focus become all about me and how I felt. I knew I could do better. I knew there was another way, but I couldn’t find it as Eric or as Water Bear Man. I needed to step outside my life and discover who I am without all this. So I disguised myself with a scar, rented an apartment. I needed time as just me. Not the heir to a fortune, not a joke of an actor, not any of the versions of me I hated.”