C10, PT. 1

Ariana stopped abruptly when Jasmine propped herself in the doorway. Her sister’s outraged expression instantly shifted to one of chagrined embarrassment.

“You wouldn’t hesitate to do what, Ari?” Her soft tone belied her inner turmoil. Thankfully, Kye and Bailey were oblivious to the brewing storm and were at the other end of the nursery on tiny chairs, watching a program.

Ariana averted her eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to hear that.”

“I know you didn’t.”

“Minnie,” Colette began in a consoling tone as Jasmine advanced into the room, her gaze fixed on Ariana.

“You think Roth would hurt the kids?”

Ariana jutted out her chin. “What am I supposed to think after what he did to Thea?”

Jasmine’s heart beat doubled. “He wouldn’t harm a child.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I know him.”

“You know him,” Ariana repeated flatly. “Yet you didn’t know Dad was blackmailing him and couldn’t stop him from hurting a defenseless old woman and putting her in the hospital.”

“Ari!”

Colette’s sharp tone startled Polara, who began to cry. Colette swiftly adjusted the baby and shot a quelling look at her middle sister.

“It’s Thanksgiving,” Colette said repressively. “I don’t think—”

For once, Ariana completely ignored Colette and demanded, “Do you know what Dad blackmailed Roth about?”

Jasmine hid her shaking fist behind her back. It galled her to admit the truth, but she wasn’t going to lie. “No.”

“I rest my case,” Ariana said grimly. “You don’t know what he’s done. Therefore, you don’t know what he is or isn’t capable of, and I’m not going to take the chance that he gets triggered by something and harms Kye or Bailey.”

“You think I would allow him near the kids if I thought he would harm them?” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bailey’s head whip around. The effort it took to rein in her temper made her eyes sting with tears, which pissed her off even more.

The silence that filled the room in response to her question cut her to the quick. All the warm, fuzzy feelings of homecoming and togetherness vanished and were replaced with an all too familiar pain.

Ariana held up a hand as she said, “I’m not trying to hurt you, but we all know when it comes to him, you’re blind and reckless. You jumped into an affair even though you had other obligations and responsibilities. When Dad confronted you, instead of righting your wrong, you compounded your mistake by marrying him to spite Dad. You didn’t consider how your actions reflected badly on us and brought our integrity into question.”

“Ariana!”

Jasmine didn’t glance at Colette to see if she looked as appalled as she sounded. Her eyes were locked on Ariana, who was flushed an unbecoming shade of pink and bristling with righteous anger. Ariana the peacemaker was nowhere in sight. She was hellbent on having her say, and no one was going to stop her.

“You held on to that marriage for three years before you finally admitted you made a mistake and asked Dad for help. But, within two weeks of Dad passing, you’re jumping back in the fire! You sleep with him in Colorado and marry him a month later once he’s the majority shareholder of Hennessy & Co, and we’re at his mercy.” Ariana was breathing hard as if she did a sprint. “If that wasn’t bad enough, we now know Dad was able to gather blackmail on him…” Ariana flourished her hands. “How many red flags do you need to prove this man isn’t right for you and never was?”

“That’s enough!”

Colette’s reprimand snapped Ariana out of her rant, but she wasn’t cowed.

“You agree with me, Colette. You’ve been worried sick, wondering what he’s been doing to her.”

Ariana cast a narrow-eyed look over Jasmine’s mostly covered body. The fading bruises on her throat throbbed.

“He planned to destroy us, and now we’re supposed to believe he’s our ally and has no ulterior motive? That he won’t turn on us? He’s helping at the moment, but we all know how quickly that could change. What happens if we go against his advice? Is he going to turn the board against us? Retaliate some other way?” Ariana dragged a hand down her face and suddenly looked bone weary. “I’m so tired of not knowing what’s genuine or how to prepare for the next blow.” Ariana gave herself a shake and set her shoulders back like a general before she fixed her unsettling blue gaze on Jasmine. “Answer me honestly. Do you trust him?”

“I do.”

It didn’t matter that her words were infused with confidence. Ariana slowly shook her head in obvious disappointment.

“You ruined your reputation and ours for this man once. You’re willing to do so again? I can’t take the chance. I spend most of my time looking for pitfalls in everything he suggests. As for the kids, he stares at them like they’re infectious animals or something. What kind of man—”

“He’s never around kids, so he doesn’t know how to act,” she interjected fiercely. “He’s more afraid of them than anything else!”

Ariana gave her a scornful look. “He’s not normal, Jasmine. Even you have to acknowledge that.”

It was her turn to talk with her hands as she unraveled. “Who’s to say what is or isn’t normal? Do you think Dad was normal? That Colette’s manipulative grandfather, your narcissistic mothers, or your arranged marriages are what anyone would consider normal?”

She hauled in a breath to calm herself when she saw Kye and Bailey were no longer watching the TV, but turned in their seats, listening. They’d never heard her raise her voice before.

“Roth has his faults, but he’s trying to change and make things right. He came here tonight, knowing he may not be welcome, but he did so anyway so you could get to know him outside of the office. And yes, he doesn’t share everything with me. Neither did Dad. If Dad wanted me to stay away from him, why didn’t he tell me what he blackmailed Roth about? Why keep it a secret?”

Colette and Ariana exchanged looks. Apparently, that had never occurred to them before, but she wasn’t finished making her point.

“Regardless of all that, I know him enough to tell you he would never harm a child.”

Ariana’s blatant skepticism made Jasmine step forward, intending to put an imprint of her hand on her sister’s cheek. Her violent fantasy was ruined by Colette, who stepped between them. The sight of a cooing Polara snapped her out of her red haze. She couldn’t attack her sister in front of her children, no matter how tempting. She sidestepped Colette to maintain eye contact with Ariana, who looked composed, but her baby doll eyes were wide and wary.

“You’re quick to point out that I don’t know what Dad blackmailed Roth about, but can you honestly say that you and Rami don’t keep secrets from each other?”

Ariana visibly tensed. “Don’t bring my husband into this.”

“You want to question mine, then we’ll bring yours into the equation as well. Answer the question. Do you think Rami is hiding anything from you?”

“No.”

The words, you’re wrong, hovered on the tip of her tongue. She wanted to fight fire with fire, but once the words were out, she couldn’t take them back. Rami’s allegations were explosive and nothing to toss around lightly. The last thing she should do was lay it all out in front of his kids. That was unforgivable. But, she couldn’t resist adding, “And I guess you don’t have any skeletons in your closet either?”

Ariana gave her a pitying look. “You’re trying to make this about us when it’s about Roth. Even you have to admit he’s violent and vindictive. How can you trust him?”

**This is a raw draft of Bitter Confessions. Please do not share or distribute.

Copyright © 2024 Mia Knight. All Rights Reserved.