My Stepfather, My Ruin

18

Roxy

No matter what I said, Evander would never believe me. Even a fool could see what my mother and Dorian were doing to him.

And my mother. She had shocked me more than anyone ever had. Whatever trust I’d had left in her was gone now. I was done hoping for anything from her.

I needed to talk to Evander. Not just the shares. I just wanted to tell him I was sorry, that none of this had been my idea, that I didn’t want to be the reason his whole world had turned on him.

I wiped my face, opened my door, and went straight to his room. I took a breath before knocking.

The door was already open a c***k. I pushed it and went in.

“Evander, are you in here?”

No answer. I stepped further inside and stopped. He was on the bed, asleep, but something was wrong with how he looked. I went to him fast.

“Evander, can you hear me?”

I put my hand on his forehead. He was burning up.

“s**t!” I stood and ran out of his room.

“Mary!” I shouted as loud as I could. “Where are you?”

The house was dead quiet. I never thought about where the maids went when they weren’t needed, but right now, with no one around, it mattered a lot.

I ran back to my room, grabbed my phone, and called my mother. She picked up on the third ring.

“Mom,” I said fast. “Where are you?”

“Have you come to your senses, Roxy?”

“Stop it, Mom. Where are you?”

“You don’t get to demand anything from me. If you haven’t changed your mind about taking the shares, why are you even calling?”

“Evander is sick!”

“What does that have to do with me?” she replied coldly.

“Mom—”

“Let him die in peace,” she said. “Only then can we take what we deserve.”

I stared at the phone when she ended the call, not sure I’d heard her right. This was my mother. The same woman who’d raised me alone, who’d skipped meals so I could eat. I didn’t know her at all anymore.

I searched my phone for Dorian’s number and realized I didn’t have it. I pressed the service bell and paced the room, waiting.

“Young m—”

I grabbed Mary’s arms before she could finish. “The doctor. Call the family doctor, now.”

“What’s wrong, Young Miss?” She looked me over, worried. “Are you sick?”

“No, not me. Evander is sick!”

“The young master?”

She turned and ran. I followed. She checked on him, then ran out again for help, leaving me alone with him. A few minutes later she came back with the butler, Adams.

“Doctor Miles is on his way,” Adams stated. “He’s the family doctor.”

I nodded and stayed by the bed, wiping the cold sweat off Evander’s forehead with a cloth.

A short while later, a middle-aged man walked in with a medical bag.

“Doctor Miles, please check on the young master,” Adams said.

Mary, Adams, and I stood quietly while the doctor examined him. I kept thinking the same thing over and over. Don’t let him die. We’d just cleared up everything between us, and I hadn’t even told him I didn’t want his inheritance.

Doctor Miles set up an IV and turned to us.

“Is he poisoned?” I stepped forward. “Can he be saved?”

“Who is this?” He looked at me, surprised.

“The young miss,” Adams said.

“Young Miss.” He nodded. “I’m Miles.”

“Is he poisoned?” I asked again.

“What are you talking about, Young Miss?” Doctor Miles chuckled softly. “No, he isn’t poisoned.”

“Then why is he so sick?”

“He’s suffering from stress and exhaustion. Nothing dangerous. I’ve given him some medication. He’ll be fine with some rest.”

The relief hit me hard. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

I sat down beside Evander. “I’m here,” I said quietly.

Adams walked the doctor out, leaving just Mary and me in the room.

“Are you very close to the young master?” Mary asked, breaking the silence.

I turned to look at her. “I thought servants weren’t supposed to pry into their masters’ personal lives.”

She bowed her head fast. “I’m sorry, Young Miss. I was just glad to see someone care about him. He’s always been a lonely child.”

“Look at me.” When she did, I asked, “What do you mean?”

“I shouldn’t say this, but you clearly care about him, so I think you should know. Ever since his birth mother was forced out of this house, he’s had no one.”

“Lonely? He has his father.”

“Master Dorian has always been hard on him,” Mary said, quiet now. “He doesn’t actually like his son.”

I walked right up to her. “No father hates his own son.”

“I don’t think you know who Master Dorian really is. Don’t let the good manners fool you the way they fool everyone else. He’s a cold man. He only cares about himself.”

If Mary was lying, Evander wasn’t. He’d told me the same thing. I wondered if I should warn my mother about the man she’d married. I wondered if she’d even listen.

“I’m sorry if I said too much,” Mary said, bowing again. “I’m only telling you what I’ve seen. Master Dorian doesn’t care if Evander lives or dies.”

“I understand,” I said. “There are rules in this house. You broke one just to tell me this.”

“I spoke up because I saw how much you care. It’s the first time anyone’s shown him real kindness since his mother left.”

I looked back at Evander, asleep in the bed. “He’s had a hard life. I’m glad he has you watching out for him.”

I meant it. Whatever else was true about this house, about Dorian, about my own mother, Mary had stayed by his side today when no one else had. That counted for something, even if I couldn’t say exactly what.

Then I remembered something. “Earlier I ran downstairs shouting your name and no one answered. The whole house was empty.”

“The staff quarters are in a separate building,” Mary said. “We only come into the main house to do our work, then we go back.”

That explained why the house always felt so empty.

“Is that a rule too?”

“Yes. Master Dorian’s rule.”

Adams came back into the room before I could say anything else.

“Thank you for your quick thinking today, Young Miss,” he said. “If you hadn’t checked on him, the young master could have been in real trouble.”

“He’s my brother. It was my job to check.”

“You saved all of us today,” he added. “If something had happened to him, Master Dorian would have lost his temper.”

“Why?”

“He cares about his son deeply.” Adams nodded. “I already called him. He’s on his way back now.”

I glanced at Mary. Cares about his son. I almost laughed. Was he fooling Adams too, or just everyone who wanted to be fooled?

That was when Dorian walked in.

“Is Evander okay?” His voice was urgent.

I wondered who exactly this performance was for.

He went straight to the bed. “What happened to my son?”

“Doctor Miles said it’s severe stress,” I replied.

“Stress.” He said it under his breath.

“Yes. He just needs rest. He’ll be fine.”

“I see.” Dorian turned to the staff. “You can all go now.”

“Yes, Master.” Mary and Adams bowed and left.

I turned to go with them. Dorian stopped me.

“Not you, Roxy.”