I take a deep breath, steadying myself. The words sit on my tongue, heavy and unfamiliar, waiting to be spoken for the first time. “Ella is an issue for them because she’s not a Nicks.”
Tiff lets out an annoyed breath. “Well, I certainly didn’t make her on my own.” She shakes her head in annoyance and looks away. “You don’t think I don’t already know they don’t recognize her?”
I shake my head, annoyed that I’m fumbling this so badly. “No. You’re right. I didn’t mean that. I meant the DNA test—”
“Proves she’s yours.” Tiff’s voice is shaky; her eyes are dark and unrelenting. I can feel it. She’s ready to take me down if she needs to, and fuck, it’s kind of sexy. Not that I should be thinking about that right now. “She’s one hundred percent your child.”
“You’re right.” I meet her gaze directly. “She'smine, but I’m nottheirs.At least not biologically.”
Her expression shifts from confusion to disbelief. “What?”
I close my eyes, drag in air like it will make this easier. Then I drop it. “I'm adopted, Tiff.”
Silence. The word hangs between us as I let the repercussions sink in.
Funny, I expected to feel shame and embarrassment over the admission. I’ve never told anyone else, but I don’t feel shame. I almost feel relief that finally someone is willing to listen to me. “I was never supposed to know. They burned the paper trail and buried every shred of proof I needed to confirm it.”
She stares at me, and for the first time today, I see something other than hardness. Sorrow, or maybe I’m projecting. It’s probably just confusion.
“B—but that makes no sense.”
“It does when you realize my grandfather is a nutjob who gave my father an ultimatum. Produce a son before thirty and keep the empire.” My voice is emotionless, but my knuckles are white on my knees. “My father’s infertile. They still wanted the money, so they bought me a last name.”
“Theyboughtyou,” Tiff spits out before sucking in a breath as though that will take back what she said. Her gaze diverts to her own hands, then she adds quietly, “You make it sound like a transaction.”
“It was,” I say, hating how bitter this makes me sound. Did I have a bad childhood? No. I was brought up with everything I could ever ask for, but I always felt like there was something missing. Like maybe there was something more to my life than just marrying Honey and taking over the law firm. I never asked questions; I just supported everything my father wanted because that’s what I thought a good son would do.
It was only after I found the one piece of paper left—my real birth certificate—that I realized the truth. That’s when it all started to make sense. The feeling of being alone when I’m surrounded by people, the reason being in this family didn’t come naturally to me… it was all there on that little piece of paper.
“There was a contract. My adopted mother faked a pregnancy.” I scoff. “She spent a year in Italy and came back with me—their heir. The one thing they needed to ensure they could buy my father’s law firm.” I laugh, but it’s low and ugly because this is far from funny. Ridiculous, yes, but not funny.
Her fingers toy with the corner of her textbook, and she turns the edge, curling it softly. “And that’s why they didn’t want you to know about Ella?”
“Yes.” I turn to face her fully now. “The DNA test proves she’s mine, which in turn proves I’m not theirs. It’s never been about custody. It’s been about control, and the desperate need to stop any of our relatives or my grandfather from finding out the truth.”
Tiff’s mouth opens as though she’s going to say something, but nothing comes out. Instead, she snaps her textbook shut and presses it to her chest. “You realize how insane this all sounds, right?”
“Yeah.” I lean forward, planting my elbows on my knees. “I know exactly how it sounds. Melodramatic and unbelievable—hell, if you had told me any of this the night before I met you, I would’ve laughed in your face.”
“Before you met me?”
“Yeah. I was… I was in a bad place that night. I’d just found my real birth certificate, which confirmed my parents had been lying to me my entire life, and nothing made sense anymore. Nothing, except you.” She takes a sharp inhale, but if I’ve learned anything over these past few months, it’s that this might be the only time I can actually say something, so I don’t stop. “Meeting you was the first thing in a long time that felt real. My world stopped spinning just long enough for me to breathe.”
Her eyes widen a fraction, and she swallows but says nothing.
The silence stretches, and when I realize she’s not going to say anything, I drag a hand through my hair and let my nextconfession come out. “You were the first girl I cheated on Honey with.”
Tiff scoffs, and her lip curls ever so slightly. I probably just wrecked all the progress I made, but I’m tired of hiding behind someone I’m not. I’m a fucking mess, but I want to be better for her.
“You were gone when I woke up,” I continue, “and I got bitter. Angry, even. Meeting you and being with you made me realize how superficial it all was. Everything was a lie, and I stopped giving a damn about the golden-boy life I was supposed to shoulder. I hurt Honey because it was easier to torch the life my family planned than admit it was already ruined.” I grimace, my stomach turning. “Fuck, I hurt her so much, and it didn’t make me feel any better.”
I stare at the ground, at my hands, anywhere but her face. “I hopped from bed to bed, looking for someone—anyone—who could make me feel even half of what I felt with you. No one ever came close.”
I pause, realizing how much I've just unloaded on her. “I know I'm dumping everything on you at once. But I'd rather you know all of it now—the worst of it—than find out later I was still hiding shit. I'm done with lies.”
That takes her by surprise. Her shoulders soften, and she shakes her head.
“You’re telling me I was the first?” Her voice is quiet, but there’s an edge to it. “And you expect me to be happy about that?”