Chapter 147 CHAPTER 147

Chapter 147 CHAPTER 147


ROBIN

I stopped tearing up, wiped my face and shuffled to the edge of the bed, padding gingerly across the room and lightly applying makeup to mask the puffiness, before sauntering towards Jack’s study.

I pulled open every damn drawer in view, working my hands through the space, rummaging for anything that could shed light on what was going on. But my attention was distracted when Cathy swung the door open, her form materialising suddenly in the doorway.

My face turned brick red.

“Um… I was just looking for—”

“You don’t need to explain yourself to me, Robin. This house is yours as much as it’s Jack’s.”

I nodded, swallowing down the tight lump forming in my throat.

“A Miss Rodriguez is outside the gates. She says she needs to see you. Do I tell security to clear her in?”

I rounded Jack’s padded chair, sinking slowly into it. Why would Amara want to see me? Wasn’t ignoring her calls evident enough that I didn’t want anything to do with her?

“Send her away,” I said after a long pause.

“Miss Robin, you might want to see her. She’s been coming here for days straight, and each time, Jack has sent her away. My advice, see her and be done with it. Whatever it is she has to say.”

I exhaled sharply, my shoulders dropping. I didn’t know if I was ready to face her. I had trusted her with my life and she had let me down.

“But that’s entirely your decision, Robin. If you want, I can have security remove her from the premises and ensure she never returns.” Her voice crept in to my jumbled mind, lingering for a time as I weighed it over in silence, contemplating on whether to meet her once and for all like Cathy had just suggested.

“I’ll see her. Send her in.”

Cathy smiled sweetly at me and nodded before stepping out.

A few minutes after, I was staring into the eyes of a woman I had once entrusted with life. There was nothing in her gaze that remotely suggested deception, and yet she had betrayed me so effortlessly.

“Robin, thank you so much for agreeing to see me.”

“Don’t thank me. Thank my thoughtful housekeeper, she advised me to hear whatever venom you came to spill.” I titled my head, eyes fixed on her face. “So go on. What do you want?”

“To offer my condolences. Mr Betton was a really good man.”

“Everyone knew him to be a good man, Amara. Is that all you came here for? To state the obvious?”

“No. I was also hoping to talk to you, Robin… to apologise.”

“For what? Saving me, but deciding to split Jack and me apart to achieve it?”

“I never wanted any of that to happen, Rob.” I snapped my eyes up, sharp enough to bore holes into her.

“Never call me Rob. You lost that right when you betrayed me.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I did. I didn’t feel great about lying or falsifying those DNA results but I don’t regret it, Robin. I did it to protect you. I was threatened—your life, your babies, even mine was at stake. I couldn’t take that risk, I would never have forgiven myself if something had happened to you.”

I let out a cold laugh. “You know what’s funny about all this? You could have told me what was going on, or Lana. Hell, even Jack. But you just didn’t, you didn’t care enough, even when you knew how much I loved him, even when you saw how devastating it was being apart from him, you still said nothing. Why?”

“To protect you. To protect your babies. To protect myself.” Her voice cracked. “They had me by the throat, that Millicent woman could have killed me—and she wouldn’t have blinked. I did what I did to keep you alive. I don’t regret that part.”

“Get the hell out of here!” I screamed. “Now!”

She flinched, eyes widening as she clutched her bag tightly against her chest.

“I’m leaving London. My license to practice has been revoked because of what I did.” She swallowed hard. “I’m truly sorry once again, Robin. I wish you the very best in everything.”

She turned sharply, scurrying out of the study.

I deflated, my mind bringing back all the memories of despair and hopelessness that had followed my separation from Jack because of the DNA circus.



“Hey, guys. What’s going on?” Margaret clambered, sloshing out of the pool, dripping with water.

“I’m teaching Mag how to swim.” Lana said, taking a swing of her Bloody Mary.

“Daytime drinking?” I scrunched up my face, eyeing the alcoholic drink. “And you’re using Mag? I thought we were sticking with my Maggie.”

“I actually love Jack’s pet name. I like Mag better,” Margaret blurted, dipping her head into the water.

I pouted, irritated. “Margaret you—you told me you liked Maggie, remember?”

“I did. I just… didn’t really. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”

“Oh, you sly little child!” I exclaimed. Lana and Margaret erupted into fists of giggles.

“Okay, Mag. Again. Let me see you scull through the water. Your hands should be fanning through it freely, propelling you forward… slowly.”

I sat gingerly beside Lana at the edge of the pool, dangling and swishing my legs in the water and letting the coolness soothe my skin. I exhaled, shoulders sagging.

“Are you okay?” Lana asked, guiding Margaret through a turn with her hand. “What’s wrong?”

“Amara came to see me. She left a while ago.”

“What did she want?”

“To apologise. To offer her condolences. She says she doesn’t regret what she did because it was to protect me and the babies.”

“Do you forgive her?”

“I don’t know, Lana.” I sighed. “I mean, I was so furious… so hurt about what she did. I thought Jack was a liar who didn’t really love me, you know. I saw him as the worst kind of man, his past didn’t help matters either.”

“But?” Lana pressed.

“But she did it for a reason. She cared, even if it was twisted, and bleak… she did care.”

“Then forgive her. If Daddy’s death has taught me anything, it’s that we don’t have all the time we think we do. If you want to forgive her, then forgive her.”

“I’m not ready yet.” I swallowed, resuming the slow movement of my legs in the water. “I’ll reach out to her when I am.”

Lana nodded, not pushing any further.

I pulled the beach dress over my head, preparing to take my chances in the pool. I hadn’t been swimming since our last family vacation. Maybe the water would settle my nerves—especially my anxiety with having no idea what Jack was up to.

“Oh, what are you doing?” Lana snickered, mumbling between concern and disbelief.

“I’m going in.”

“Are you sure? You’ve got a lot of protrusion going on in front of you,” she teased, I narrowed murderous eyes on her.

“I can swim, Lana.”

“I know, I’m just concerned.” I rolled my eyes and gently eased myself into the water.

“Robin, please don’t drown!” Margaret cried, her eyes oozing with fear.

“Oh, no, I won’t Maggie. I can swim.”

“Are you sure?” she insisted. I turned slowly, showcasing a few tricks, to show her there was nothing to fear.

“See?”

“I’m still afraid, Robin. It feels like the babies inside you are trying to pull you under.” Margaret teased, bursting into laughter. Lana followed, the sound saturating the space around us.

“This isn’t funny, guys!” I scolded, frowning as I pressed through the water with steady strokes.

“It is a little funny, right Mag?” Lana said, nudging Margaret into more rounds of laughter.

“I hate you both.” I drew a shaky breath, swimming farther away as their laughter followed me across the pool.