Kian (Undercover Billionaire, #1)(29)

“I would have taken care of them both,” Kian said. Sal didn’t acknowledge his words. He just continued to read.

“I got into a really bad relationship and tried to end it. He’s not a good man. He’s threatened me, and I’m scared something might happen. I have nowhere to run to. Well, that’s not entirely true. I know Lily’s father would help her, but I’m so scared of losing my little girl. That’s how selfish I am. I’m willing to put both our lives in jeopardy just so I won’t lose her.”

Kian growled beside Roxie, and it took all her willpower not to turn and look at him, to comfort him. She was sure he was furious and hurting. Someone had attacked his little girl, and he would have protected her had he only known what was happening.

“Kian Forbes is Lily’s dad. I’m so sorry, Roxie. I was so mad at you. I was jealous that you had everything I’d ever wanted, and then you left. You walked away. You left Kian, who worshiped the ground you walked on, and you left me. How could you leave me? I needed you so much.”

Again, Sal paused as he gave a sympathetic look at Roxie. This time she didn’t try to hide her tears. These were the last words she’d ever hear from her sister, and they were full of pain and anger. Roxie felt lower than a squished spider on the bottom of a shoe. She was too ashamed to look at Kian now.

“So, one night I found him at a bar. He was beyond drunk with some of his buddies. I made my move. I walked over and threw it all out there, promising Kian a night he’d never forget. I knew he had no clue who I was, but that only made me feel more smug. He took me to a hotel and, well, the end result was Lily. When I woke up in the morning, he wasn’t there and, at first, I was furious. But when I sobered up, I knew I was nothing more than a free whore. Roxie, you were always going to be the one he loved.”

Sal sighed, but he didn’t look up this time to check on Roxie. She was grateful. This moment was too painful for her to say a single word. She really wished Kian wasn’t in the room with her. This was too intimate a moment, and she was far too raw.

“When I found out I was pregnant, the first thing I wanted to do was stick it to Kian in every way I possibly could. I was so arrogant. I had him—I had a Forbes in the palm of my hand. Not only that, but I had the man my sister loved. I was the winner, for once in my life. No one could take this from me. I didn’t love the baby growing in my stomach. It was nothing more than a tool to be used to give me the life I always wanted. I didn’t tell Kian. I wanted that baby in my arms to make a full impact on him when I walked into that hospital and smugly told him he now had to pay for me for the rest of my life.”

Sal stopped again and cleared his throat. Roxie was mortified at these words being so casually spoken. She wanted to stop him, but it was like a runaway train, and nothing was going to put the brakes on it at this point.

“Then Lily was born. The moment the doctor placed her in my arms, my life changed. She was no longer an object to be used to get what I wanted. She was my darling little girl. She looked up at me with those perfect eyes, and she opened that tiny mouth and let out a squall like you wouldn’t believe. I fell in love for the first time in my life. I was in shock at how much I loved this tiny, screaming human.”

There was a smile in Sal’s voice as he read these words, and there was a smidgeon of hope in Roxie’s heart that her sister had truly felt love, maybe for the only time in her life.

“I knew then that I couldn’t tell Kian about the baby. If I did, he wouldn’t support me; he would take her away. Sure, he might throw some cash at me like a street bum, but he would take this precious girl away from me. He wouldn’t want his daughter to be raised by trash like me. So, I decided in that moment I was going to change my life. I was going to get a great job and take care of my Lily on my own. I was planning on telling both you, Roxie, and Kian about Lily when she was older. But I was so ashamed of what I’d done and who I had become that I had to do something with my life to make you both proud of me before I could do that. I was beginning to get back on track, too.”

Sal turned the page and continued.

“Then I met Greg. He was charismatic and said all the right things. I even thought I was actually falling in love with him. I hadn’t ever been with a man before that I didn’t want something from. But I got pregnant and things changed. He began hitting me, and I started to grow worried that he’d hurt Lily, so I broke it off. He’s threatened to kill me, and I’m writing this because I think he might actually do it. You know I made a lot of mistakes in the past, and I was afraid to go to the cops. I was afraid they’d take Lily from me. I know that’s stupid, and I’m trying to work up the courage to do just that, but my past has been so bad. I can do it for my baby girl, I know I can. I just need some time to figure it out. That is, if I have more time. I just don’t know.”

Sal had to pause as he cleared his throat.

“I know you will take care of our daughter, Kian. I know you will love her. Please don’t tell her what a monster I was. Please tell her I loved her with all my heart, and she was wanted. I made Roxie’s life a living hell for a lot of years, and Lily is the only family she has left in this world. I know as Lily’s father, you have every right to take her, but you need to know that Lily and Roxie need each other. I’m leaving full custody of my precious Lily to Roxie Gilbert and Kian Forbes. Take care of her together. And though Kian isn’t the father of this precious baby inside me, I also leave her to Roxie Gilbert and Kian Forbes. I wish I had money to give you, Roxie. I wish I had anything at all worth keeping, but, sadly, I haven’t gotten my life on track enough to do that.”