4. Greedy

Chapter 4

Greedy

now

I'm numb, stuck in paralysis, my ass cemented to the third stair, with no desire to go up, down, or side to side.

Hunter was pregnant.

With my baby.

A myriad of emotions swirl inside me. There's no outlet for their intensity. One second, I'm angry. In the next, I'm heartbroken. When I inhale, my blood pressure spikes. Then on the exhale, tears form in my eyes.

She went through— fuck , I have no idea what she even went through, because she cut me out so quickly and cleanly. I never even stood a chance of being there for her when she needed me most.

And yet I still feel responsible, ashamed even, for letting her endure that alone.

I thought she needed space. Time. A minute to adjust when our parents dropped a bomb on us at the Lake Chapel Country Club three years ago .

Memories of the night play back in my mind.

Hunter, despondent and looking absolutely wrecked when she arrived.

I thought she was flustered because she was late, or still dealing with the side effects that came along with hitting her head that morning.

Another memory materializes in my mind. Hunter, arms wrapped around her waist, wincing and moving in slow, deliberate motions.

She wasn't well. She was the furthest thing from okay.

I should have known. I should have pushed.

That day, I was so worried about her head and her heart. I never fathomed there was more to the story. I had no idea the extent of her physical pain and mental anguish. How could I? She shut me out that night, then pushed me away time after time until she was gone for good.

And then there's Levi.

Rational or not, I'm more upset with him than Hunter.

He kept this from me.

He knew. He fucking knew, and I fucking didn't.

Even if she made him promise—made him swear to not tell me the true depth and reason for her pain—he made the wrong call. He should have at least given me something to fucking go on.

He let her go.

He let me let her go.

Then he left me, too. Left me in the dark. Slow-faded from my life when he moved to California and never once thought about the fucking repercussions.

I'm still glued to the stairs. I don't want to be around her, around any of them. But I need answers.

"There you are."

The voice startles me, and I grasp the banister to steady myself.

My dad slows on approach, assessing me. "Everything all right?"

The question pierces through my gut and inspires a burning sensation behind my nose.

Nothing's all right. Everything's so wrong .

Yet, as angry as I am, I won't share details of what's playing out right now—Hunter's pregnancy and miscarriage, along with Levi's betrayal, their budding relationship, and fuck, the appearance of Sir What's-His-Ass—with my dad.

When I meet his gaze, he's beaming. Grinning from ear to ear, the skin around his eyes wrinkling from the intensity of his joy.

The Magnolia effect.

I haven't seen him this happy in years.

He looks younger. Carefree. More like the version of my dad I remember from childhood: vivacious and lively, humming off-key to my mom's music as they danced around the kitchen.

I want him to have this—to feel this way. I hate the very thought of tarnishing his spirit when he's like this.

Why does his personal bliss have to be delivered in the form of a viper?

"I'm fine," I assure him half-heartedly, rising to my feet and cracking my neck from side to side.

He takes a step closer, practically gliding across the floor. "Magnolia and I would like to invite you and Hunter to dinner tonight at the club."

Heart lurching, I bite back every cutting remark I want to throw.

I hate her. Hunter hates her.

His infatuation, though—the love he genuinely harbors—is real. Magnolia is responsible for putting that goofy grin on his face now.

"Yeah," I reluctantly agree, roughing a hand down my face. "Okay."

"Hunter introduced me to her friend from London. Seems like a nice guy."

There's no stopping the snicker that escapes me.

"But Magnolia asked him and Levi to hang back. She wants this to be a family dinner tonight. Just us four."

I heard her say as much as I was eavesdropping when they arrived.

The request is just as daunting now as it was a few minutes ago.

"Okay," I repeat, despite how badly I want to refuse.

My dad's too caught up in his own glee to notice.

I let him stay there. I give him that .

He passes me with a quick squeeze of my arm, then bounds up the stairs, taking the last few two at a time, with a literal spring to his step. "Be ready by five," he calls over his shoulder. "We can all ride together."

I don't know how the fuck I'm going to get through this day, this dinner, however long I have to co-exist with Magnolia and Hunter, Levi and Sir What's-His-Ass.

Even so, I'll do it. I'll see it through for my dad.