Perfectly Flawed (24 page)

Adrianna gritted her teeth and gripped her hands together.

“You will stop seeing him.”

The rage Adrianna had been struggling to restrain exploded. “I will not. I’ll see whoever I want.”

The look in Hannah’s eyes turned ice cold. “You will stop. Because if you don’t”—her mother pointed a bony finger at her—“I’m prepared to tell him everything.”

The floor shifted under her, and Adrianna felt her cheeks heat with fury and horror. “You wouldn’t. Even
you
wouldn’t do that.”

“Oh, don’t doubt me. Do you think he will want you then?” Hannah paused. “He will know of your shame. I don’t think you want to see the look on his face after I tell him.”

The image of Sean’s face, his look of love wiped away, turned Adrianna’s stomach. Her mother’s words cut deep. She wished she would have already told him, and she might have if the time had ever been right. It was a difficult thing to talk about though.

“Yes. Make no mistake. I intend to do just that—let Sean know who you are, what you are, unless you stop seeing him. You’ll accept Kevin’s offer to go to the company dinner tonight. You’ll give him a chance, Adrianna. You’re my daughter, and you need to start behaving like it.”

“You can’t make me do that.” Though in shock at hearing her mother’s threat, Adrianna still fought—for her very life and happiness.

“If you care about Sean you will go.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Your father is very influential in this community. A word in the right ears, and Sean’s business would be gone. His life will be ruined, at least in this community.”

Adrianna’s cheeks burned.

“Oh, you think we don’t know about Sean. We know everything. Patrick Reid, a schoolteacher—his brother, his mother, we know everything. And doing business in Boston requires connections. You think businesses can thrive here, put themselves out on social media, without us knowing about it?

“Sean has accumulated some influential clients, I’ll give him that. But those clients have developed loyalties over the years, and word of mouth is powerful. Even the office suite Sean secured. Did you know the real estate tycoon that owns that building is an ally of your father’s?

“You’re so naïve, Adrianna. He won’t be able to get any clients. It would be over. Your father would see to that. Do you want that for him? Do you want him to blame
you
for his failure? Could you live with that?”

Adrianna couldn’t take that chance. Her father had been in business in the Boston area all her life, and his father before that. Combined with her mother’s influence, who knew what they could do? They were both ruthless, and not an enemy she wanted anywhere near the man she loved. Her parents would do anything to get what they wanted. Adrianna’s feelings, her life, meant nothing and never had.

“You will cut off the relationship, Adrianna, immediately—before it goes any further. Do you understand me? You won’t see Sean again.”

Adrianna nodded, struggling to find a way out, an effective counter threat, but found none. The only solution was to sacrifice herself, her happiness for Sean’s.

Her mother cut to the quick with her final demand. “And you better make it convincing. Make sure you leave Sean no choice. I don’t want him coming after you. Make it clear that it’s over permanently. He should realize that he wasn’t good enough for you from the start. He’s not in our class, no matter what business he pursues. He never will be.”

You aren’t good enough
for him
.

Chapter 28

The one thing Adrianna had tried so hard to forget had come to life, embodied in her mother’s harsh words.
“I’m prepared to tell him everything.”
Sean was so kind and so loving. But would he be if he knew the sordid truth?

Maybe he would. Sean wasn’t like any man she’d ever met, or ever would. Adrianna felt ruined by something that happened in her past. Something she could never change, could never undo. Possibly, she should have just told Sean. But she hadn’t been able to.

Even under the duress of her mother’s threat, Adrianna considered telling Sean before her mother could get to him. Hannah would never let her forget. Sooner or later, her mother would reveal everything; better that he hear it from her first. But it was too late, even for that. It wasn’t a singular threat; her mother had also stated her intention to destroy Sean, and his business prospects, if the relationship wasn’t ended.

Adrianna loved Sean with all her heart and she had to keep her parents away from him. Hannah’s ranting contained more than idle threats. Her mother’s obsession with respectability, or whatever her perverted concept of it was, had seen more than one casualty. It was death to cross her, and Adrianna’s father even more so.

At all costs, Adrianna must convince Sean to go. She couldn’t take the chance that he’d see through the ruse, or believe that she didn’t mean it when she told him it was over. The task was a difficult one, but protecting the man she loved was paramount. There had to be a way.

Sean would see through her if she tried to convince him that she didn’t love him anymore. And the thought of lying to him about that was distasteful. She might be many things, and she might have made mistake after mistake, but she’d never lied to Sean about how she felt. His honesty called for like sentiment.

Adrianna had damaged her own life. The important thing was that she couldn’t destroy Sean’s. The torment she’d suffered would haunt her into her grave. But how was she to convince him it was right to end things between them? It wouldn’t be easy, but she had to come up with a way to make him believe he should go away.

It felt as though Adrianna’s life had risen like a tidal wave to swallow her up, leaving total destruction in its path. Alone at her desk, staring at her computer screen, hopelessness swamped her. Though she’d been unwilling to face it, her fate was inevitable.

Then she began to type:

Dear Sean,

If what we had means as much to you as it did to me, please hear what I have to say.

You need to let me go.

I love you. I will always love you. That’s something I cannot lie about. Forever, I’ll treasure the time we had together. I’ll never forget you.

I’m not cut out for a life with you. I don’t fit. As much as I wish it were different, it’s not. And there’s nothing I can do to change it. I could pretend, for a while. But it would never work. I am who I am, and I don’t belong with you. Irrevocably, I’m entwined with my family, my past.

Please don’t worry. I won’t cut. I promised you I wouldn’t, and I will be true to my word.

Don’t come after me. This is hard, but it’s the best thing. I’m sorry to hurt you this way. It was never my intention. You’ll get over me, and find a woman deserving of you, someone who is right for you.

I ask that you honor what I say, and have faith that this is the correct path, for both of us. In time, you will see that I’m right.

Love,

Adrianna

*****

After the talk with his mother, Sean was thoughtful, and pondered lingering questions about Adrianna while he showered to get ready to go see her. He wore a short-sleeved shirt and jeans. One thing Adrianna enjoyed was dancing, and he wanted to see her happy. He’d text Nic to pick up Tomas and meet them at the club.

The letter was delivered to Sean by messenger. When the bell rang, it startled him as he wasn’t expecting anyone. Opening the door, he saw a uniformed man with a clipboard. “Delivery,” he said. Sean signed, took the envelope, and shut the door.

It puzzled him that someone had sent a message in such a personal fashion. Sitting on the leather sofa, he ripped the seal and slid a letter out. As he read, Sean panicked. No, it couldn’t be. Adrianna wanted him to believe that she could never be a part of his life. He let the paper slip out of his hand and drift to the floor.

Delivered such a crushing blow, all he could do was stare. Disbelief was all he felt. He knew her. They’d been together just the night before. Yet she never wanted to see him again. God, she’d probably go back with Kevin.

Sean leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands covering his face. Numb, he couldn’t react. The pain in his heart surpassed any he had known. There was no way to recover from Adrianna leaving him. He never would. Envisioning life without her was impossible. And worse, he couldn’t bear to imagine the fate she’d agreed to.

Gloom settled over him. Adrianna wanted him to agree it was over; she had been clear, “
I ask that you honor what I say…”
What she asked of him was too difficult, but she had offered no alternative. She was gone.

Minutes passed, though Sean had no concept of time. In shock, he staggered to the kitchen and rummaged for his whiskey. Without bothering with a glass, he finished off the bottle, wishing for more. It was going to take a lot to wipe out the pain, give him any reprieve from the gaping hole inside him.

Jolted back to reality, he put the empty bottle on the counter. This was all wrong, very wrong. And it wasn’t just that she’d begged him to let her go. Sean knew the strength of the love between them. It would have taken more than a change of heart for Adrianna to write such a letter. Something must have happened.

Determined to find out what, Sean grabbed his keys and jogged to his car. Having made the trip many times, he pulled in front of Krista’s house in a matter of minutes. The prospect of finding out the truth,
not what Adrianna wanted him to believe
, gave him purpose.

Krista opened the door, her expression similar to how Sean felt—depressed.
“Hi, Sean.”

By her attitude, Sean deduced that Adrianna wasn’t there.

“Come in.” Krista opened the door wider as an invitation to Sean.

He followed her to the kitchen and sat down. “Do you know where she is?”

“Not really. I think she went out with Kevin.”

“That’s bad.”

Krista didn’t disagree.

“You know he hits her?”

Krista nodded her head. “Yes, she told me. I’m so sorry.”

“I can’t force her to be with me.” Sean stared at the floor. “I thought it was going to work out. But Adrianna ended it. She says that she can’t fit in my life…that she never will.”

Krista said nothing.

Sean clenched his fists. “I’m worried about her. It’s not safe with Kevin. But she’s made her choice. I just wish I understood why. But I don’t, Krista. I just don’t.”

Krista rubbed the back of her neck, sighing in distress.

“Talk to me, please. You’re her aunt. I know you care about her.”

“I do, Sean. And it’s not my place to tell you anything. But I’m concerned too. More than you can imagine.”

“Then trust me. Tell me what’s going on.”

Krista looked across the kitchen as if remembering. The sadness in her eyes revealed that it wasn’t a good memory.

“I’ll tell you what I can, Sean. I know you love her. I have no doubt of that.” Krista hesitated before going on. “I’m one of the few who know what happened. And I shouldn’t even know. My sister told me once in a rare moment of weakness. And she told me in confidence. Adrianna doesn’t even know that her mother revealed this to anyone.

“Years ago, when she was seventeen, something terrible happened. Adrianna has always been a sweet, loving girl. But it must have been hell living in that house. Hannah is my own sister, but I’m not afraid to say it. She can be cruel if it suits her purposes.

“The way her mother tells it, Adrianna was seeing Brian Wade. He’s the son of one of Mathew’s business associates. And Adrianna’s father is as prideful as her mother.
Maybe more.

“It seems Adrianna got pregnant.”

Sean hung on every word.

“It was bad. She was young, unmarried. And the father was a young man barely a year older than she was. Her parents were furious, and the fact that the son of a close associate was involved made it worse.

“Adrianna wanted to keep the baby. She rebelled against her parents, though they railed at her. The whole incident blew up. It was awkward for them. Hannah told me the young man that got her pregnant didn’t want a baby—nor did he want anything long term with Adrianna, as it turned out.

“It was a mess. The details are sketchy. But Adrianna lost the baby. It was traumatic for her, as you can imagine. It’s hard for any woman to lose a baby, but there was more to the incident. Her mother wouldn’t tell me more, and I never completely understood what happened. Or, why Adrianna couldn’t seem to recover.

“I can’t put into words how she looked after it happened. But I went to see her a few days later. Sean…she was never the same. The young girl I knew, so full of love, was gone. That was, until she met you. That’s the first time I’ve seen joy in my niece’s eyes, since that awful day.”

Sean ran his hands through his hair. “That’s what she couldn’t tell me. I knew there was more. And I think there is still more we don’t know. Krista…maybe that’s why she started
cutting.”

“I think that started earlier. Just the continual pressure from her mother, and the way her father treated her. It was too much for her. Adrianna didn’t know how to deal with it. I’m not sure when she started cutting. She hid it, even from her mother, for as long as she could. But the cutting got worse after she lost the baby.”

“And now she’s willing to fall into Kevin’s arms, a man who has already proven to be an abuser.”

Krista shook her head. “I don’t think that’s what she wants. I just think she doesn’t know what else to do. In her mind, I don’t think she feels deserving of you.”

“I don’t get it.”

“I just think that Adrianna is convinced that it was all her fault. That she failed—and not just failed herself. She lost her baby. I believe she feels to blame for the tragedy, whether there is any truth to it or not, and she can’t forgive herself.”

“Where are they, Krista? I have to find her.”

“She didn’t tell me. But her mother must know.”

After jotting down the address she rattled off, Sean hugged Krista then sprinted to his car. He realized he’d never been to the Brooks’ home before, and he wasn’t looking forward to it. But if her mother knew where they’d gone, he had to find out. Sean needed to get to Adrianna before something happened. No matter the cost, he would not leave her to what fate had in store.

Knowing Adrianna was emotionally damaged, Sean did not delude himself that there was a possibility she wouldn’t come with him. Or worse, that he’d be too late and Kevin would have already hurt her. He had to hurry. If only he knew where they’d gone—that was the first step. He had to stay cool to make sure that Hannah Brooks would tell him where her daughter was.

After ringing the bell, Sean waited for someone to answer. Impatiently, he stared at the tall, imposing wooden door. When it opened, Sean peered into the lighted foyer and saw a woman who looked a lot like Adrianna. She was slender and blond, but after getting a good look at her face, he could see she was nothing like her daughter.

Her blue eyes showed no friendliness, her sharp voice even less.
“Yes, what?”

“I’m Sean, a friend of Adrianna’s.”

The woman scowled and waved her hand. “Go away.”

“Please, don’t close the door. I need to speak with her.”

“Adrianna is not here.” The door began to close and Sean put his foot in front of it.

“It’s important that I see her.”

“That won’t be possible. Adrianna is attending a company function…where
you
won’t be welcome.” The disgust with which she said it only made Sean more determined.

“I don’t plan on attending. I just want to see Adrianna.”

“Sean, you don’t seem to understand. She doesn’t want to see you.”

“She told you that?”

The annoying woman shook her head. “Remove your foot from in front of my door or I’ll call the police.”

Sean stood back, and she slammed the door in his face. But he had what he came for. In her snooty, arrogant way, Hannah had made it a point to let him know he wasn’t welcome at the affair. But she’d let it slip that Adrianna was at a company function. Brooks Investment wouldn’t be hard to find. Back in his car, Sean checked his phone app for an address then accessed a map. It wasn’t far. That was the good news.

Brooks Investment was a sprawling layout of buildings. But since it was after hours, the lots were empty except for one in the back. That had to be where the function was. Heading that way, Sean spotted several couples in semi-formal dress. He was close. He’d find Adrianna soon.