HIS DOE, HIS DAMNATION (An Erotic Billionaire Romance) novel Chapter 87

Alaric’s POV:

“You don’t want me bonding with your wife.” Those were the words my mother said to me the moment I slid into the driver’s seat of my car.

My jaw clenched as I turned on the ignition. “Because I know you want to do anything BUT bond, Mutti.” I paused. “Did you say anything to her in there?”

Something had seemed off earlier when I returned to the kitchen. And when I asked Meadow, it felt like she had lied to me. But I didn’t push.

“I did not,” my mother answered firmly. “I already told you, Alaric. I asked her to come have dinner with me and Clarissa some time.”

She fastened her seatbelt as I reversed out of the garage, clearing her throat, and then she turned to look at me. “You seem to only think the worst of me these days,” she murmured. “When did your plaything become more important to you than your own mother?”

Plaything.

There she went again with the fucking nicknames.

My grip tightened around the steering wheel, but I chose to let it go. Because there was something very important on ground.

“You’re important to me, Mutti,” I muttered. “You know that.”

Despite our differences, I loved my mother. I would do anything for her. Anything. It was one of the main reasons Clint Russell was in prison. Ever since my father died, my mother had been trying to piece our family together. And she did, for a little while.

Until a little over ten years ago, when everything changed.

Nolan and I fighting broke my mother in ways that broke even me. And it was all because of her. Clarissa. And it’s as if she couldn’t even see that. She couldn’t see that Clarissa was the fucking reason our family was broken.

And she brought her back again.

Eventually, this was all going to blow up in her face. And mine. But for now, I was going to let her believe whatever she wanted to believe.

“I know, son.” Mutti’s voice sounded light and as I turned to spare her a glance, she was looking out the window.

My gaze shifted to her tight, blonde bun. I couldn’t remember the last time my mother let her hair down and just let herself… live.

“He appealed again,” she finally said.

My jaw tightened. She turned to look at me and I could feel her eyes burning a hole into the side of my face as she continued. “That bastard is still claiming his innocence.”

“Well, he can’t get out,” I replied coolly. “He always tries this, and each time, we get the judge to shut him down. This time isn’t different.”

“It’s his audacity that pisses me off. Scheiße. I ought to go to him and teach him a lesson.” My mother scoffed, and I turned just in time to see her shaking her head. “He killed a man. He killed your father and he thinks he can just appeal for his release?”

My palm scraped over the scruff along my jaw. “What exactly are you upset about? The fact that he appealed? Or that he killed Father?”

My mother was difficult to read at times–especially times like this. And even though I knew the truth about how she felt, she was never going to admit it.

“I…” she whispered, and then shoved out a breath, shooting me a glare. “Don’t ask your mother such questions, Alaric. Just fix it.”

I nodded. “I’ll contact Judge Timothee.”

My mother loved my father too much. It was one of the reasons she remained with him even though he was an abusive piece of shit.

And I knew that somewhere in the bottom of her cold, black heart, she was glad that someone else did it for her.

Because at least she didn’t have to go to jail for killing my father when someone already beat her to it.

Meadow’s father. Clint Russell. The man who ruined everything for our family. And apparently, ruined his daughter’s life too.

Meadow was not in contact with her father. I was almost fully certain that she didn’t even know where the bastard was being held. I wasn’t sure what he did to her–what both parents did to her–but I had a feeling it all contributed into making her who she was today.

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