
Ch10 PiecesPt2
After Jordan left Connor cornered me.
“No more lectures Connor,” I told my brother as I stood beside the window staring into the street, taking in nothing but the hustling streets.
“I know you aren’t ready to figure things out but we need to talk.” His voice firm, it was the same voice he used when he lectured me. It was the parental firmness that put my back up.
I looked over my shoulder at him, to take in his determined stance and I knew there was no avoiding it.
“Would you have a seat?” He gestured to the sofa.
Reluctantly, I took a seat on the sofa and crossed my arms.
He took the chair across from me.
“I didn’t expect to have this conversation with you until you turned twenty five.”
I frowned. “What’s going on Connor?” My question was direct.
He sighed. “When our parents passed, they left you a sum of money.”
“What are you talking about?” I hated how just the mention of my parents brought back all that pain and anguish. It was a reminder of all that I had lost and would never get back.
“You were too young at the time of their deaths to receive the money so I put it into a trust. I also invested it over the years and it has grown substantially.”
I shook my head. “What are you talking about? You’re not making any sense Connor.”
“I should have told you earlier but there never seemed to be a good time. You were always too vulnerable to mention anything connected to our parents, or you were struggling to stand on your own. There never seemed to be a good time to broach the subject. Then you went to college and you started to live your life. It was the first time I truly saw you, and not the broken sister I never believed would be able to stand on her own.”
He had pulled me through a time I had struggled to cope. He was still my rock, even when I was determined to face my problems on my own. Maybe I had the strength because I knew he would be there if I didn’t succeed.
My heart filled with so much love for my brother.
“Until now I’ve tried to protect you but I’ve realized that while I’ll always be here to catch you if you fall, you’re an adult. In a few months you will become a mother. It’s time I start treating you like your own person. And that includes giving you access to your inheritance.”
“Inheritance?” I was still so confused.
He nodded.
I had never gone without, he had always made sure I got the best of the best of whatever I needed. And then when I met Sin, he had taken care of everything even when I tried to contribute.
There had never been a time for me to stand on my own. I spent too long in the shadows to show the people who loved me that I wasn’t weak, that I was strong enough to be my own person.
But I was feeling to vulnerable to feel strong, to feel like I could do this on my own. I was about to become a mother, if there was ever a time for me to show strength it was now. But my heart was broken and my confidence was in pieces.
“You are a wealthy young woman, Taylor. While the bulk of your inheritance will remain invested until you turn twenty five, you will receive the interest which will be more than you will ever need.”
I opened my mouth trying to understand what this meant.
“You will have enough money to buy whatever you need Taylor. It will give you the financial security to become a mother without having to worry about money. All you need to concentrate on is eating healthy and taking care of yourself.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I murmured. Then I frowned. “This isn’t your way of giving me money to help me disguising it as an inheritance.”
It was something I wouldn’t put it past him, if he believed it was to help me.
He frowned. “While I would never allow you to struggle, I’m not lying Taylor. The money is yours. It is from our parents. I have the paperwork to show you. My people can go over the will and all the accounts to show you where the money originated.”
I felt winded, it was the most unexpected thing.
He briefly told me how much I was looking to inherit when I turned of age and my mouth dropped open. It was an obscene amount of money.
“How?” Was all I could muster.
“I invested your money alongside mine.”
I was still struggling to comprehend. “Why did you never…say anything?”
“Right or wrong I was trying to protect you. You have enough to deal with without throwing you into a situation where you were vulnerable to people taking advantage of you.”
While I understood his reasoning, I wasn’t sure how I felt about him keeping it from me. But I had to remember if it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t have had the resources I did to get help me when I had struggled after losing our parents. And it couldn’t have been easy for him either. He had lost our parents and for a while after he had lost me too. I couldn’t imagine what it had been like for him to be responsible for his young sister when he had been so young himself. He had shouldered the responsibility without complaint. Not once had he ever complained about having to care for me. He had done his best, and because of him I had been able to pull myself out of the darkness and back into reality.
I shuddered to think where I would be right now if I hadn’t gotten better. It was something I didn’t want to consider.
My heart was broken, I was pregnant with a baby that was not planned and even though I was struggling I knew at some point I would pull myself out of it. Somehow, I would get through it. Even if it felt insurmountable.
I let out an emotional breath. My mind detangling the cobwebs of the past. I stood up and walked over to Connor who rose to stand as I got closer.
“Thank you,” I breathed. “I know there are times I have been ungrateful and annoyed by your protectiveness but I wouldn’t have made it through without you.”
Maybe I was growing up. The Taylor I had been before the kidnapping would have resented any interference, while right in that moment I was only appreciative that he was there to pick me up when I felt like I couldn’t do it on my own.
“You don’t need to thank me Taylor. I would move mountains for you.” His words made me tear up as he pulled me into a hug and pressed a kiss to the top of my head.
I held him close, allowing my tears to run free.
He was family. He would always be there. And right I needed that more than anything.
He would not leave me like Sin had. He would not betray me like Sin had.
No matter what I had to face as a single mother, I knew I would not face it alone. He would be there to help me any way he could.
Money couldn’t buy happiness but it relieve the strain of trying to raise a child on my own. Before I was dealing with a broken heart and trying to figure out how I was going to cope financially. Now I could just concentrate on taking care of myself so I could be the best mother to my unborn baby.
It was still mind blowing to think there was a life growing inside of me. A child that had been made in love, even though that love hadn’t been strong enough to keep Sin.
I couldn’t think about him without feeling anger and the hurt wash over me all over again, like I was experiencing it for the first time.
There were times I was angry, then there were times I would have given anything to be able to see him again convinced I could repair what had been broken. But then there were moments I knew I would never be able to go back to him.