Stealing Rose (The Fowler Sisters #2)(70)

“I’m going with my gut on this one,” she says. “And my gut is telling me to leave. For good.”

“And what are you going to do after you quit Fleur?” I ask. “What then?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. Hang out with you? We can stay here, in London. Together.”

Yeah. That is the last thing she should want and I know it. But how can I convince her otherwise?

Chapter Twenty

Rose

Hours after my discussion with Caden I’m still fuming. He was just so smug. So rude. Completely lacking any sort of understanding of my feelings, acting like a typical * guy.

And I didn’t really think he was that way. Yes, those first few encounters with him he’d been a complete ass, driving me insane but in a frenzied, angry, almost sexual way. Yes, definitely in a sexual way because though he made me angry, he also made me yearn.

Earlier today, though? He’d been almost condescending. Awful.

Worse? He never said a word when I mentioned I wanted to hang out with him once I quit Fleur. Acted like I’d never even said it. All of a sudden he was all smiles and kisses on the cheek as he said he needed to go. Who does that?

Whatever. Men. At the moment, they suck. I’m also blaming my irate, irrational anger on PMS. That has to be a contributing factor.

“You look ready to tear someone apart,” Violet says as she enters her office. I’m sitting across from her desk, trying to read over a report on my iPad but failing epically.

We’ve been sharing her office since I’ve been in London. Today she had a marketing meeting to attend, and I’m tempted to ask if Hugh was in the meeting with her—why I don’t know—but she would jump on my question and tell me I needed to go on a date with him or something equally insane.

Though maybe I should consider going out with Hugh because clearly, Caden is leaving. And Caden is an *.

He is not an *. You’re just hurt because he didn’t acknowledge your girly feelings. Get over it.

I don’t want to get over it. The anger is fueling me and I like it. It makes me feel strong.

“I’m grumpy,” I warn my sister. She settles behind her desk, her expression impassive, and when her gaze meets mine I know there’s something on her mind.

“Maybe that’s the mood you need to be in when I tell you what I’ve just discovered.” Violet rests her hands on top of her desk, clasping them together.

I decide to beat her to the punch with shocking news. “I have something to tell you too.”

Her eyes narrow. “What is it?”

“Did you know Mom was having an affair with someone else? And that when he broke it off with her, she fell into a downward spiral and became so depressed she finally killed herself?” I throw it out there, in all its brutal, harsh glory, and Violet blinks at me a few times, her cheeks going pale.

“How … how did you discover this?” she asks, her voice small.

“I have her diary. The last one she wrote in. Everything’s there, in her own writing.” I feel bad, telling her like this, but I had to get it off my chest. It’s been driving me crazy, holding in this secret.

“I already knew.” She nods when I gape at her. “Father told me a while ago. He asked that I never mention anything to you, so I respected his wishes.”

“What?” Why am I the last to know everything? Unless … “Does Lily know?”

“Yes.”

Holy crap. I just … I don’t understand why I’m always kept in the dark. I can’t believe I let this eat me up inside when everyone already knew. God, I hate secrets. “So you knew she was having an affair. And Daddy knew, too.”

Violet nods again. “I guess the marriage wasn’t good for a long time. Ever since … after you were born, it went downhill fast.” She acts like it’s no big deal, but her words are like a fierce blow to my stomach.

“Downhill fast?” Great. So it was my fault? I can’t take this. May as well urge her on to blurt out her bad news. “What were you going to tell me?”

“It can wait.” The smile she gives me is false. Bright and cheery, though her eyes are dim and dark. “Let’s talk about it another time.”

Meaning she doesn’t want to make this conversation worse. Everything within me goes still. Now I must know. “What is it?” I ask cautiously. It must be something else about Daddy. Or Pilar. Or maybe Daddy and Pilar. God, if they ran off and eloped I’m going to lose it. Completely lose it …

Violet interrupts my thoughts, her voice soft but the words deadly.

“Your boyfriend is a thief.”

I stare at her for a moment, my brain trying to process what she just said. Caden and thief. The words together make no sense. None. I’m caught so off guard, I start to laugh, because I don’t know how else to react.

“This isn’t a laughing matter, Rose,” Violet says sternly, but her matronly tone only makes me laugh more. She’s glaring at me, her mouth working, her jaw clenching. “I’m serious!”

Okay. I need to straighten up before she smacks me. “Oh, come on. You can’t be for real, Violet. A thief? Really? Where did you hear that?”

She sniffs. “I did a little investigating. So did Ryder. Talked with people who know Caden, or know of Caden. We share a lot of the same social circle. Or at least we used to, when we were younger. Turns out rumors have floated around him and his family for years.”