Kian (Undercover Billionaire, #1)(28)

She took a moment to glance over at Kian, who was standing near the door of the office, probably to make sure she didn’t rise up and make a run for the door. She quickly looked away again.

Even if she were to marry a nice guy, Kian wasn’t going anywhere. The only doubt she faced was where she was going to fit in this picture. Maybe the reading of the will would help with that. Her sister had nothing monetary to give, so Roxie knew this could only have to do with custody. If her sister left custody of Lily to her, didn’t that mean she would get to keep her? Roxie had done Google searches and still didn’t know how the law worked. Who had more rights? She wasn’t sure. But looking at Kian and the confident smirk on his face wasn’t helping to ease her nerves.

“Go ahead and sit down,” Sal said. Roxie needed to pay attention and not get lost in her own thoughts. She didn’t want to sit and have Kian towering over her even more than he already was, but she feared her legs weren’t going to keep holding her up, so she did as Sal suggested and sat. She pressed her still-shaking knees together to keep from showing her nervousness.

“You too good to sit?” Sal barked at Kian. Roxie didn’t look in his direction, but she imagined he gave an eye roll. She did hear his steps as he moved in closer. Now that she was sitting, maybe he felt as if he could let his guard down enough to step away from the door.

He sat in a chair that was slightly behind her, giving him the advantage of being able to watch her without her seeing him. She was sure he’d positioned himself that way on purpose. Roxie was beginning to think every move he made was calculated.

“First off, darling, I have to tell you how sorry I am for the loss of your sister. I know you two haven’t been close in a long time, but she was your sister, and she was trying to turn her life around,” Sal said. His words instantly brought tears to her eyes, and she was too emotional to hold them back. They spilled over and soaked her cheeks. Sal handed her a hankie. An actual hankie. She hadn’t known those still existed.

She gratefully dabbed the moisture on her cheeks as she tried pulling herself together. She could fall apart later that night, after she’d managed to get Lily to sleep and the day fully sank in. For now, she had to keep it together. It took massive strength, but she stopped the flow of tears and looked at Sal.

“I’m sorry. It’s been a long day,” she told him.

“It’s okay to fall apart, Roxie. You don’t have to be strong for me,” he said before looking sternly at Kian. “And Kian won’t judge you for it, either.” That last part came out as a threat and nearly made Roxie smile.

“What I’m going to read might be a little hard for you, but your sister made me promise,” Sal told her before he opened a folder on his desk.

“I can just read it myself,” Roxie told him. She wasn’t sure she wanted Kian to hear what her sister had to say. There was so much emotion filtering through Roxie. She almost wished she could hate Pamela for sleeping with Kian. Though Kian might not have known who Pamela was, Pamela certainly knew who he was. She’d been jealous of Roxie’s relationship with him, once telling Roxie she’d managed to snag herself a rich one, and she’d better hold on tight. Roxie had been horrified at how cynical Pamela had become.

“No, that’s the purpose of the reading of the will; it must be read aloud,” Sal said. This time Roxie didn’t try to argue; she just nodded as she waited for him to begin. “I want to start by saying your sister actually wrote this about a week before she died. She was truly frightened in the end. She came to see me with this typed out, and she signed papers to make it official; she was planning on speaking to you both but never got the chance,” Sal said, his voice heavy.

Roxie wanted to ask a million questions, but she was hoping at least some of them would be answered with the letter. She said nothing as she waited for Sal to say what he needed to say.

“I did this pro bono for your sister because she didn’t have much money, and she was scared. I didn’t realize the seriousness of what was happening or I would have gotten more involved. I have to apologize to you both for that.”

“None of us knew. We can’t have ‘what ifs’ if we’re going to move forward and protect my daughter,” Kian said. Roxie’s gut clenched, and she clutched her thighs tightly while trying not to shake.

“Thanks for that,” Sal said, but there was pain in his eyes. “Let’s get started.” He looked down at the letter in his hand.

“Well, I have to say this sucks mighty badly, because if you’re hearing these words, it means I’m dead,” Sal read aloud. He gave Roxie a bit of a smile as he said this, and Roxie felt her own lips twitch the slightest bit.

“I never thought I’d be the type of person to write out a will, but then I had Lily, and my life was no longer as important as hers. I know, I know, hold the phone, that was actually me saying that. I’m admitting someone else just might be more important than me.”

Sal paused, and it almost felt as if Pamela was in the room with them.

“At first, I didn’t tell anyone who Lily’s dad was because I loved holding the power over him, even if he didn’t know I was doing it. I also loved the fact that I felt I had won some game I finally realized I was the only one playing. The truth is I was bitter and jealous and wrong. I was so wrong. I’m also scared right now. I’m having another baby, and I can barely take care of my sweet Lily as it is. How can I do this?”