Our Wicked Lies by Gledé Kabongo (books for new readers TXT) 📕

Alicia had focused on her job with York Capital Investments. She’d worked during the day and had attended classes at night and online until she’d earned her bachelor’s. After that, she’d quit her job and enrolled as a full-time graduate student at Northeastern University. She’d earned that master’s degree in public administration like she always talked about. Pursuing her dreams and making sure her daughters were happy had kept her busy.

“Have you seen Maxim?” Lily asked. “Marston invited him. He said he’d be here.”

“No, I haven’t seen him. Is everything all right?”

“Yes, why wouldn’t it be?”

“You’re fidgeting, all nervous like it’s important to you that he’s here.”

Her daughter looked her square in the eyes and said, “It is important. To Marston and me.”

Alicia blinked rapidly. “Oh. I didn’t know you guys were still close.”

“We kept in touch. He’s doing great. He’ll be a senior at UCLA this fall.”

“Glad to hear he’s doing well.” She meant it. That boy had been through a lot in his young life.

Lily inched in closer. “Mom, it’s okay. I won’t date him or anything.”

“Oh, don’t be silly.” She dismissed her daughter with a wave and a smile. Hopefully she’d convinced her. “I wasn’t thinking about that.”

“Yes, you were,” Lily whispered.

Alicia tried to put on her bravest face. But if the girls were ever to find out…

“Marston and I know Maxim is our brother, Mom.”

She let out a quick, high-pitched laugh. The ballroom was air-conditioned, yet the air failed to cool her warm, tingling skin. She lowered her head and whispered back to Lily, “Where did you get that idea from?”

“The fire didn’t burn all the pages of Kat’s diary. Marston found a few scraps in the fireplace. There wasn’t much, but enough for us to take a guess. Then Maxim called me three years ago.”

“What did he say?”

“He was going through the last of his mother’s documents for some reason. I guess it took him that long to gather the courage to do it. You know he still has guilt about Kat. When she died, they weren’t on the best of terms.” Lily cast a glance at the ballroom entrance, as if scanning for Maxim. “Anyway, he came across the results of a DNA test. He said he asked Richard if he’d known all along. Richard said he suspected Maxim wasn’t his biological son, but he didn’t have any proof.”

They both fell silent as Marston and Peter took to the dance floor for a romantic spin to Etta James’ “At Last”.

Guests mingled, laughed, drank champagne. Eliot’s sister Summer, who was instrumental in Marston landing Peter as her agent, wiped wedding cake from her son’s mouth and hands. Eliot’s parents, now in their seventies, joined Marston and Peter on the dance floor. Rina and David Stark waved from their table. Alicia’s friendship with Rina had grown to a tight bond since the tragedy.

“Hi, Lily. Mrs. Gray. I mean, Alicia.”

They both whipped their heads around to see Maxim standing before them, rubbing his palms together with a lopsided, nervous grin tugging at his mouth.

“You made it.” Lily stood up and hugged him.

“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it.”

“It’s good to see you, Maxim.” Alicia stood and looked at the boy—now very much a man—up and down. “Look at you, all grown up. And as handsome as ever. Women must fall at your feet.”

He smiled, big and wide.

Her heart stopped for a moment. His smile was Eliot’s, who would have been only a few years older than Maxim, who was dressed in a tailored suit, when she and Eliot first met. She saw Kat in him, too.

“Mom, are you okay?” Lily asked.

She sniffled. “Sure. I’m good. This is the best day. Why wouldn’t I be fine? Maxim, please sit with us.”

Marston glided over, the epitome of the stunning bride in a Monique Lhuillier Duchess Satin Ball gown and a tiara-adorned floor-length wedding veil. She hugged Maxim and expressed how happy she was to see him. She sat next to him, with Lily on the opposite side.

The Gray siblings. It was a lot to take in.

Now that Maxim, Richard, and her daughters knew the truth, it was only a matter of time before Eliot found out. But was it her place to tell him?

Alicia was a different woman from the one who’d vowed to take the secret of Maxim’s paternity to her grave. Back then, she’d wanted to hurt Eliot, a parting shot for cheating on her for fifteen years and for destroying their family. And yet, what purpose would hiding the truth serve now?

“When’s your next book coming out?” Maxim asked Marston.

“Next year. My publisher has me on a tight deadline. They want to capitalize on the marketing when the movie for Accidental Liars comes out.”

“You are one busy lady. I told my friends that I know you. That we grew up on the same street. They don’t believe me.”

“We can remedy that,” Marston said. “Let’s take a selfie with me, you, and Lily.”

And so they did.

The three siblings chatted with familiarity and warmth. They talked about Lily’s progress at NYU School of Law and her plans for after she passed the bar exam, Maxim’s hopes for a career in architecture, and a variety of other topics. All conversation ceased, however, when Eliot appeared.

Nervous tension replaced the easy, free-flowing banter of a few moments ago.

“Hello, Maxim,” he said.

They exchanged an awkward handshake, before Maxim averted his gaze, staring at the tall centerpiece bouquet flanked by candlelight.

Marston said, “Um, there are some people I’d like Maxim to meet. Come with me, Maxim. Catch you guys later.”

She pulled her brother by the arm, and they disappeared into the crowd.

Lily said, “Yeah, well, there are a lot of hot guys at this reception. One of them was checking me out earlier, so I need to investigate. Haven’t had time to date with all this studying.” She followed her siblings in the hurried march away from the table.

“Way to clear a room, Eliot,” Alicia joked, after