Chapter 70 CHAPTER 072
"I need you to answer me when I ask you a question. That is the only way for this to work. Do you understand?" Tyler leans forward. His eyes have a crazed glint to them in the dark that scares me out of my senses, I will do anything he asks. Just to avoid his wrath. I nod frantically. He shakes his head at me disappointedly.
Somehow, I understand what he is asking of me, so I open my mouth and say, "Yes, I understand. I am sorry."
He raises an amused brow at me, and I add again, "No, I don't know what kind of person Linc was before my mother married him." I say.
He leans back in his chair, a twisted pleased look on his face. I feel nauseated.
"He was a piece of shit. An asshole. He belonged to this group of friends who got off on being wild reckless idiots. Rich spoilt kids who got away with anything and everything. Late night parties. Getting high. Alcohol. Hard drugs. Women. The whole thing." Tyler folds his hands over his chest. He looks normal for a second, and the lapse in his demeanor makes me feel sick.
But what he is saying strikes me as odd. I can't reconcile the Linc I know with who he is describing. Of course, I am sensible enough to understand that Linc has a past I know nothing about. But I never imagined it would be this wild. But then, I don't understand how Tyler would know this or even care. How does this tie into his story?
Isn't that the average college male experience anyway? I know Tyler attends wild parties, too. Heck, I believe he even belonged to one of the more popular fraternities on campus. What is he driving at?
"Okay." I say cautiously. The night is quiet and moonless. I can't even begin to guess where the hell we are. But I am certain it is at least very far away from the city.
"You didn't know, right? He has managed to clean up his act so well. Fancy billionaire and all that, right? Of course you didn't. Your mother was too busy getting wet off his money, and now you're doing the same thing." The disgusted sneer on his face is ugly, resentful, and heavy with self-righteous judgment. His words cut into me with their harshness. He might be right about Kathryn, but not me. And I definitely can't defend myself. I would be crazy to contradict whatever he says at this point.
"Yes. We didn't know. I am sorry." I say. I have decided that the best way to salvage this hopeless situation is to just agree with him. Play along. Listen and act agreeable. I can only hope he buys it.
"Good. So, my story starts with two lovebirds. Of course, that is how most of these stories start, isn't it?" It is obvious that he is enjoying every bit of this. And I nod along with him like I understand or even have an inkling about where he is taking this story to.
"Linc had a longtime girlfriend back then. High school sweethearts. They got into college at the same time, too. But when he mixed up with these friends of his, their relationship suffered. He started cheating on her. Made her feel worthless. Tossed her aside. They broke up. But..." Tyler takes a pause. He leans in a bit, enjoying my attention.
"She fell pregnant. When she went to him with the news, he threatened her and warned her to stay away from him. He was getting high all the time. He was violent. She had to drop out of college. She had to raise the kid herself. Sheryl's life took a turn for the worse at the beginning. She struggled. It was very hard. She was an orphan with shitty relatives who didn't give a fuck. Linc knew this of course, but he didn't care. But Sheryl managed to pull through. Just her and her son, alone. And Linc was busy climbing the financial ladder. Cleaning up his act. Becoming this new man who was highly respected. Sheryl tried to reach him multiple times over the years. He cut her off each time till she moved on. The child, was told his father died in a ghastly accident. He had to grow up with that trauma. Alone." Tyler leans back against his chair, he closes his eyes, his short blond hair stays in place atop his head.
I just stare at him blankly. I don't understand what he is trying to say or how all these has anything to do with me.
"Hmm." It is the barest sound I can make to encourage him to continue this bizarre story. He opens his eyes and I am taken aback by the wildness in them. I lean back, like I want to melt into the hard wooden chair. Away from this dangerous unstable man.
"Sheryl is my mother." He says sharply. Visibly irritated by my dumbness.
It takes me a moment to tie together everything he has said so far in my head. For it to make sense. I scramble. Then I arrive at the conclusion in horror. I look up at him, my face registering my shock, he just stares back at me like he is now bored.
"Are you saying...?" I trail off, my voice weak and unbelievable.
"I didn't always know, of course. I actually liked him when I came to intern here. I was inspired by him. I wanted to be like him. Can you imagine that?" He laughs bitterly.
"I wanted to impress him. My mother didn't know where I was interning. We don't speak much. We have sort of drifted apart over the years. But when we spoke a few weeks ago and I told her, she flew into a rage at the name. Imagine my shock when she told me that my dead father was actually alive and well and simply didn't want anything with me. Can you even begin imagine what that felt like?" Tyler holds my eyes for a few seconds, the cold emptiness I see in those dull depths scare me. I look away.