Two Can Play (Celeste and Dominic) novel Chapter 208

Chapter 208

“Watch your mouth,” she missed. “I will not tolerate any disrespect from you.”

“Disrespect?” I laughed, turning my head back to meet her eyes. “Since when did telling the truth become disrespect?”

“Stop it, Celeste,” Riley said, taking a step forward.

“You stop it, Riley.” I fixed my gaze on her, holding it. “Oh, don’t tell me you’re not aware your mother is a whore.”

Riley’s face flushed crimson. Her hands curled into fists at her sides.

“You think I am joking?” I continued, the words pouring out of me now, hot and fast and unstoppable. “Go ahead, Riley. Ask your mother who the real father of Julian is. Go on. Ask her.”

Riley turned to stare at her mother. The silence stretched, thick and uncomfortable.

“You are talking rubbish,” Elizabeth raged, but her voice had lost its edge. “Rubbish!”

I smiled, slow and deliberate.

“I did my research on you, Elizabeth. I know your favorite bar. I know you used to be a prostitute. Everyone knows it. Everyone also knows you were obsessed with a man called Bull.

Your current husband walked into the bar one day and you figured out he was loaded, so you started throwing yourself at him. Not knowing any better, he thought you were a decent woman and started something with you. You got pregnant for Bull, but pinned it on him. The poor millionaire married you. You should have stopped there, Elizabeth, but no. Your shame was not enough. You even got pregnant with another man’s baby, not even Bull’s, and gave birth to Riley.”

Riley’s face had gone white. She shook her head slowly, backing away from her mother.

“No. No, this cannot be true.”

“But it is true, Riley.” I kept my voice steady, kept my eyes locked on hers. “When I first met Julian and your mother started making life difficult for me, I figured there had to be something about this woman. I mean, a normal, right-thinking person cannot be so vicious for no reason. So I decided to look into her background. Trust me, I was not expecting what I found out. Even after being married to your father all these years, your mother has still been fucking around. Keeping so many men by her side.”

“What do you know?” Elizabeth screamed, her composure finally cracking “If my husband was not so infertile, I would not have had to have children from other men.”

I chuckled. “Riley, you see. You and Julian share the same mother, but two different fathers. Elizabeth is nothing but a whore who cannot do without men. So if anyone needs those men she just spoke about, it is her.”

“Really, Riley?” I asked, and I could hear the exhaustion creeping into my voice. “You are a woman, just like me. You came to me earlier to talk to me, to play mediator, and now you are going to do this? You are going to allow your sick mother to turn you into this kind of person?”

“Shut up, Celeste.” Riley’s voice cracked. “I gave you a chance. I came to speak to you, but you insulted me. I tried to convince you because I wanted Julian to be happy. But since you do not care about my brother, I will not care about you. Mom, go on. Let us get this over with.”

Elizabeth began to walk toward me, the pills glinting in her hand.

I shook my head slowly, still sawing at the rope behind my back. The fibers were giving way. I could feel it. Just a few more seconds.

The last strand of rope finally stretched…

Elizabeth reached me just then and lifted the pills toward my mouth.

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