“The eyes,” I said right away. They all have green, but Anthony’s are ice blue.
“He’s our half-brother. My mother had an affair when my father was dying of cancer.” She smiled sadly. “It was a big scandal.”
I couldn’t think of anything to say. The idea of Charleigh Servant having an affair was earth-shaking, and to do it while her husband was dying seemed impossible. And yet that wasn’t the sort of thing Penny would lie about.
And the proof was in Anthony’s eyes.
“How? Who? What does that have to do with Roman?”
Penny looked at me like I was slow. “You’ve met him, right?”
“Roman?” I blinked and nodded. “I don’t know him well, but we’ve met.”
“Think about what he looks like.”
I frowned at her and pictured Cassie’s man in my mind. Tall, muscular, handsome.
Ice blue eyes.
I leapt to my feet. “Holy crap.”
Penny laughed. It seemed like a reasonable reaction. My heart raced as I paced around the room. I felt jittery and on edge as the implications swirled around my brain in undulating patterns. I couldn’t get a grip on myself, and Penny only watched indulgently, like she’d gone through this before.
“You see why we don’t talk about it,” she said finally, gesturing weakly.
“You’re kidding me, right? Roman’s dad and your mom had an affair? While your dad was dying of cancer?”
“Anthony was a surprise to everyone, but he’s a part of our family. I don’t think of him as a half-brother, honestly.”
“This is insane. It’s completely insane.” I stopped walking and gaped at her. “How are you sitting there so calmly?”
“I’ve known for years. You get used to the idea after a while.”
“And this is why Roman and Darren hate each other?”
“Part of it, anyway.” She hesitated, but her lip. “I shouldn’t say more. I mean, you have a right to know what’s happening, but I don’t want to speak for Darren. He can tell you the rest.”
“I’m not sure that’s going to happen.” I deflated and sat down heavily on a chair. I turned it around to face Penny and wiped my face with both hands, trying to get my brain back on track, but all I could think about was Charleigh Servant sleeping with someone while her husband lay dying.
Charleigh, who seemed so perfect, the image of a proper lady, was human after all.
“Life’s complicated in an Oligarch family. Sometimes I feel like a stranger in this place.”
“I know what you mean.”
She tilted her head. “You and your dad?”
She didn’t have to say more. I knew what she meant. I looked at my hands. “We got along mostly. I was angry with him for what he did to my mom, but I still loved him. He was my dad, you know?”
“Something changed though.”
“Yeah, something changed.” I whispered the words like I couldn’t get them out. “When he made my mom leave, I sort of understood it. She was on a bad downward spiral, started stealing from his office and taking pills all day long. She was a zombie, and the only time she got up from the couch was to call her dealer. Hundreds, thousands, probably tens of thousands of dollars went down the drain of her addiction.”
“That sounds awful.”
“My dad tried at first. They screamed at each other. I still remember it, him standing in the kitchen trying to get through to her, and mom zonked out at the table, barely listening, too high to care. They went at each other like that for weeks until he had enough and sent her away.”
“Sent her where?” Penny sat up straight, watching me carefully. I didn’t know if telling her all this was a good idea, but getting it off my chest felt right, at least, and she was the friendliest of everyone.
It didn’t quite fix things though. Even as I said the words, I knew this was wrong—because I really wanted to tell Darren. I wanted to see his face and to gauge his reaction to my family shame. He needed to know that I wasn’t perfect and that my family was as fucked as everyone else.
“Rehab place. She went through a few of those. They divorced while she was there. That was pretty ugly. He kept it all quiet though, kept it out of the gossip rags and away from his fancy country club friends. I believed him what he said he was doing it for her, that it was all for her own good.”
“What was it for then?”
“His reputation. I realize that now. He didn’t care about hurting her. He only cared about himself.”
Penny nodded to herself and closed her eyes. When she opened them, they glittered with moisture. I sat up straight, eyebrows shooting up, and I waved my hands like I was trying to dry her tears away.
She laughed though. “Oh, god, sorry, I’m sorry, this is embarrassing. I can get a little emotional sometimes, and your story—” She stopped talking and looked at her lap.