Her Suspected Billionaire

Chapter 28

​It was past midnight when Evan drove into his compound. With Alice walking out on him, he had to round up the work leftover by himself and he discovered it wasn’t a walk in the park. He had been tempted to call her, but his pride got the better of him. He got out of his car and slammed the door shut as he stepped out. He’d seen his mother’s car in the compound when he drove in, so he knew she was around. He slammed the front door shut behind him as well and walked into the house, heading to his room as quick as possible. He did not want to see Genevieve right now and he hoped she wouldn’t see him too.

“Evan,” a voice called from behind him softly. Evan cursed under his breath as he turned around. His mother was standing in front of him, dressed in a fluffy pajamas set.

“Hi, Mum,” he greeted her, walking over to her and engulfing her in a hug.

“Oh, Evan. How’ve you been? I heard about what happened to Liam,” Genevieve said, rubbing her small, delicate hands on Evan’s back.

“What happened to…Are you kidding me, Mum? Nothing happened to Liam. He has been funneling money out of the company and even signed a contract for…” Evan began.

“Hush, baby. Hush, hush. Let’s not get worked up about what Liam did and what he didn’t do. I’m sending him to Switzerland to be with Rebecca. She is going to do him a whole of good. He needs a firm hand to…”

“No, Mum. He needs to be cut off from the whole company. He’s spending money we don’t have. He’s spending money we need and…”

“I made some shortbread when I arrived. I’m sure it’s still warm. Let’s go to the kitchen,” Genevieve cut in, holding his hand up. She looked at his hand and exclaimed. “What happened to your hand, Evan?”

“I hit it on my table, it’s nothing serious. It’ll heal.”

“It’s going to leave a scar. Let’s get you something for it,” she suggested and headed off into her room. Evan rolled his eyes and walked off into his room. He hadn’t expected anything less from his mother concerning what Liam had done. She was always on his side and kept insisting he would do better. He just needed to be given a chance.

​Genevieve knocked once and opened the door without waiting for Evan to say anything. He had just taken off his shirt when she set the small box she came in with down on the table at the far end of the room.

​Opening it, she got out some cotton wool and soaked it in a bottle of methylated spirit and used it to clean the wound. Then she got some ointment and applied on it gently.

“I also heard what happened between you and Nathan, Evan. He came and got a change of clothes and his bathing items. Said he’d be crashing at a hotel tonight while you cooled down,” Genevieve said, still rubbing the ointment into his wounds.

“I know you think you need to be alone to get things done, son. Or that things always have to be done your own way or no one else’s. But we need people every once in a while. I need you. You need me. Rebecca needs us and we need her just as much. We need Liam too…”

“No, we don’t, Mum.”

“Yes, we do, honey. We need Liam just as much even though right now, he needs us more.”

“What he needs is a prison sentence for embezzling company funds. That’s theft.”

“He’s your older brother, Evan. Don’t say that,” Genevieve said letting go of his hand and returning the ointment.

“Well, he isn’t the one running your precious company, Mum. I am. Hello?? You want to be on Liam’s side now? As always? Let him take my seat for a few months then while I go do what I really want to do. Because I’ve damn near had it with you and Liam. Both of you make me sick,” Evan ranted, moving his hands descriptively while he talked. Genevieve looked on at me in shock. She hadn’t expected such an outburst. But Evan wasn’t done yet.

“All I wanted to do was make art. Create sculptures and paint my name in the sands of time with my amazing art. But Dad dies and I am whisked back to the States against my better judgement and begged to continue the legacy. I take up the job and what do I get in return? Liam siphons and embezzles money and travels round the world till his funds are depleted and then returns back to get some more. And you indulge him. I’m the family robot here. You think I like what I do? Let your precious Liam take over his father’s company then and see if you’ll still have anything in your account to fund your travels.”

“Evan…” Genevieve called. Her voice was choking and her eyes were wet, an indication that she was about to cry.

“I’m not done, Mum. I don’t have any friends, I don’t have time to make friends. I don’t have time to keep up with the friends I make because I’m too busy running Sterling Industries. I fall in love and get my heart broken beyond repair because I’m too busy to notice when the heart was chipping away bit by bit. Yet if I make a mistake, you and Rebecca hold meetings with and without me to discuss my mistake, and yes, scold me for not being wise enough to not make the mistake.”

“Your heart is not broken beyond repair, Evan. You just…”

“For God’s sake let me finish, Mum,” Evan exclaimed, rubbing his temples vigorously with both hands.

“Liam makes dozens of mistakes. His whole life is a mistake…”

“Stop it, Evan,” Genevieve said, cautioning him. Tears were streaming down her face now.

“But he’s welcomed back, pampered and sent back to wherever it is he decides he wants to be, with whoever it is he wants to be, while I’m left to clean his mess. Sometimes, I wish I were Liam. But he’s so f*****g dumb I’m glad I’m not him. Because someone that dumb might be killed by his own stupidity.”

​Genevieve sank to her knees and burst into tears. Evan sat on his bed with a loud thump that scared him that he thought he’d broken the bed frame. He looked away from his mother who knelt by his bedside weeping the way she wept when they had received news that his father had died. He had been meaning to say those words to her for so long and everything that happened around him today was the trigger he had needed.

​When Genevieve didn’t get up from the floor, Evan got up and walked over to her. He squatted beside her and rubbed her shoulders down to her arms while she sobbed.

“I’m sorry, Evan. I’m so sorry, I had no idea you were hurting so bad. I’m so sorry,” Genevieve said, over and over again, while she let her son hold her. She knew she was being soft on Liam a whole lot, but she kept doing it because she didn’t want any bad blood between Liam and his siblings. She didn’t realize the fact that she was being soft on him was what was even causing the bad blood. She wondered if Rebecca was feeling this way too.

“It’s okay, Momma. It’s going to be okay,” Evan replied, still holding her.