Shattered Trust

LAUREN

She sat there, all grace and poise, a glass in her hand, ready to take a sip. Her lips curled into a smile, her eyes—so much like mine—looking up at me.

A shudder ran through me, like a punch to the gut. My breath hitched, my mind reeling in shock and disbelief.

This couldn’t be happening.

I spun around to face Mason, my eyes screaming the questions my lips couldn’t form.

His silence, his emotionless stare, felt like another punch. This one hurt more.

I glanced around the table, at the two strangers and the girl claiming to be my sister.

Dizziness washed over me. The room seemed to shrink, the air thinning out.

Silence hung heavy.

“Sit down, Lauren.” Mason’s voice was hard, cutting. But it wasn’t as painful as the sting of his betrayal.

I didn’t sit. I just stood there, frozen.

“Lauren.”

This time it was Ginny’s voice, familiar yet strange. “Sit down, will you?”

I shot her a look, a mix of anger and hatred.

“Don’t talk to me like you have the right to, Ginny,” I said, my voice icy. I turned to Mason, a surge of hot anger welling up inside me. “What is she doing here?”

“I told you I have a new—”

I shook my head, cutting him off, fighting back tears. He had let the woman who abandoned me into our home.

He had made the woman who had caused me so much pain his new partner, invited her to dine with us. Why? To hurt me?

I searched for a reason, a justification for Mason’s actions. But all I found were memories of feeling safe with him, of his tenderness, of the trust we had built.

All of that was gone now. And I had never felt more heartbroken.

“Please, can I talk to you alone?” I pleaded, my fingers clutching my dress, my eyes desperate.

If we were alone, he would tell me the truth. He would tell me he hadn’t made Ginny his partner, that he wouldn’t invite pain and distrust into our lives.

If we were alone, he would laugh and tell me it was all a joke, a way to get back at my mother. I wanted him to say all of that.

But the look in his eyes told me he wouldn’t.

“If you have anything to say to me, Lauren, we can discuss it later. Right now, I’m trying to get to know my new partner and her family—who, by the way, I completely failed to introduce you to.”

I fought the urge to scream, to claw at his eyes. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, my face was set in a determined expression.

“This is Garrett.” Mason ignored my pleas, my panic, and pointed to the man sitting across from him.

“And this is Maisie.” The young girl gave a small wave. “That’s Freya.”

I didn’t care about their names. I didn’t care about them. Why couldn’t he see that? Why couldn’t he hear my silent cries?

“Her stepkids,” he added.

Ginny had remarried? I didn’t care. Freya wasn’t her real daughter? I didn’t care.

“I don’t care,” I said. “These people mean nothing to me.”

Ginny gasped. “Lauren! I’m your mother.”

I glared at Ginny, my finger shaking as I pointed at her.

“If you ever call yourself my mother again, Ginny, you’ll see just how much I hate you. If you speak again, I won’t stop myself from strangling you.”

I knew I could do it. In my anger and hatred, I was capable of anything.

“Lauren,” Mason warned.

“Psycho alert,” Freya said, raising her eyebrows. “Is that what your father taught you? To speak like that about your mother?”

My eyes darkened at the mention of my dad, the man who had loved and cared for me, who had protected me.

Her questioning my upbringing filled me with rage.

“Don’t you dare talk about my dad with your filthy mouth.”

“Or you will what? Strangle me too?” Freya smirked.

“Enough,” Mason said, his voice cold. It was enough to silence Freya, and enough to earn a glare from me.

He met my glare with an icy stare of his own. “Sit down, Lauren. I don’t care about your past with these people, but you will not disrespect my partner and her family.

“In this house, we respect all guests. Do you understand?”

I stumbled back, shocked.

“What did you just say?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper, my heart breaking.

A flicker of something passed through his gray eyes, then disappeared.

When he didn’t respond, and I felt a sob rising in my throat, I turned and ran from the dining room, up the stairs, fighting back tears.

Why would Mason betray me? If he wanted to hurt me, why this way?

My mother…he knew what she had done to me, and yet, he had brought her here.

He had defended her against me.

Humiliated and belittled, that's how I felt.

I slapped a hand over my mouth, stifling a sob that threatened to escape. I sank to my knees, burying my face in my lap.

Alone in the spacious room, I felt sick to my stomach. As I huddled there, fighting back tears and waves of nausea, I blamed myself.

I should've seen it coming.

I should've confronted him when I first spotted my mother at his charity event. I shouldn't have dismissed Beth's warning when she voiced her worries.

The door swung open, and in walked the villain of my story.

I was on my feet in an instant, spinning around to face him with my tear-streaked face and a glare full of loathing. I despised him in that moment.

Unless he could give me a good reason for his actions, I'd still despise him tomorrow.

He watched me, his gaze stern and devoid of any warmth.

“You purposely invited Ginny to your charity event. You forced me to confront her.” My words were sharp and filled with anger.

“You didn’t stop there. You made her your partner and invited her to your house. Why would you do that, knowing she destroyed my dad’s and my life?”

His face was as hard as stone.

“I told you, not just once but many times, that I despised her because she hurt me and my dad. I told you I never wanted to see her again, Mason.”

Despite my trembling lips, I didn’t try to hide the bitterness in my voice.

“How could you do this to me? Why would you? When did you decide it was okay to hurt me like this?”

His gaze, cool and distant, rested on my face. “You just don’t understand,” he murmured, making no move to come closer.

“Then help me understand. Explain why you would defend her against me? Why would you say all those things like I’m nobody?”

“I wish I could tell you what you want to hear, but I can’t. Ginny is my new partner and there’s nothing that can change that.”

Just hearing her name made my skin crawl.

But in that moment, I despised Mason even more, for his disregard for my feelings and for his actions.

Most of all, I despised him for still having a hold on my heart.

I didn’t want to cry again.

“If you need a partner, choose someone else. It doesn’t have to be her, Mason, please…anyone but her.” My voice was choked with desperation.

“Her husband died and left all his assets and company to her. I need her, Lauren.”

“So, this is all about money? When will you stop caring about money and start realizing that you hurt people in the process of making yourself richer?”

For a moment, I thought he wouldn’t respond. Then he said slowly, “It’s already done. I made her my partner, with a contract and all.”

“If you walk out now, just know that I’m going to leave.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It means I can’t stay with someone who doesn’t care about my feelings or state of mind.”

A hint of a smile touched his lips, but his eyes were cold.

“You can’t walk away from me,” he stated, sounding both amused and annoyed.

“Why? Because no one has been able to? Because you will stop me?”

“You’re bound by a contract.”

“The contract doesn’t say that we have to live in the same house. I would know because I read every word and every page.”

His anger was palpable.

“You can’t just leave, Lauren. You’re my wife—”

For a moment, I could only stare at him in disbelief. But then, anger surged within me.

“It doesn’t mean anything! It’s just a word that has no meaning to us. Yes, we are married, but it’s a meaningless marriage that has an expiration date,” I retorted.

“You’re not just married to anyone. People would notice that—”

“I don’t care! If you don’t care about what I’m saying to you, why should I care about what you say? If you’re selfish, why can’t I be selfish?”

My rhetorical question was met with a glare, and I found myself laughing without humor.

“That’s your problem, Mason. You think everyone is just a puppet that you can control whenever you want. Well, I’m not going to listen to you.”

He strode confidently across the room toward me, and suddenly, the air was charged with tension.

He wrapped my hair around his fist, forcing me to tilt my head back.

And when I did, I was trapped in his intense gaze.

“You’re not leaving.” His eyes were no longer icy but burning with intensity.

I stared back, fighting back tears because even though I despised him right now, I still loved him.

The love I had for him still raged within me, like a dragon he’d chained inside my heart.

“Let go of me.”

His hands landed on my shoulders, warm and firm.

“Stop being so damn stubborn, Lauren!” he snapped. “You just don’t…you don’t know anything.” He cut himself off, gritting his teeth. “Don’t make a decision without knowing the facts.”

I pushed him away and he released me.

“I don’t care. I don’t want to stay,” I replied tersely. I wouldn’t be manipulated. “I want to leave.” As quickly as I could, away from him. As much as it would hurt, I had to.

I couldn’t stay here any longer, knowing what I knew, knowing that he was hurting me on purpose.

Unless he cut ties with Ginny, there was no way I was going to stay.

I couldn’t wake up in his home. The man I had trusted turned out to be just like my mother. He hadn’t abandoned me, but he had betrayed me.

My trust in him was shattered.

I could never look at him the same way again.

~Why can’t you let go of my mother and hold on to me instead?~

“I’m almost at six months,” I whispered to him. “I can’t talk to you anymore, and I hope you’ll respect that.”

With that, I walked away.

And he didn’t stop me.