There was a knock on the door just as we were about to open it, and we both froze. Mav had promised that he had Chelsea busy so it couldn't be them, could it? The doorknob jiggled, and we held our breath as someone tried to open it. Matt put his finger over his lips and pulled me to what I assume must have been Nate's room. He closed and locked Nate's door silently just as we heard the front door open.
"That ungrateful bastard had better be here." I heard an angry man's voice. "I put a lot of effort into this, and all he has shown is how ungrateful he can be." A frown appeared on Matt's face as we heard stomping and slamming of doors through the hotel. I looked at Matt, and he mouthed the words 'my dad.'
My thoughts immediately went to what would happen if his dad called him. I mimed the phone with my hands and zipped my lips to silence it. He got the picture and whipped out his phone, silencing it and not a minute too soon. His dad's name flashed on the phone, making me jump, and Matt almost dropped the phone. We heard his dad in the next room throwing things around. "These rooms have been cleared out. I'm assuming it must be Matt's. Explains why Chelsea is out with Maverick; it was a diversion to get her out of here. I specifically told her to wait here. Stupid girl thinks she knows him better than I do. " I would give his dad points for intelligence and logical deduction, but hearing how low he spoke of Matt earlier had my back up.
"The idiot is not answering, probably thinking with his dick," we heard him say as the phone screen went out.
“Matthew, this is your father. Call me back when you get this; it's urgent! Don't do anything stupid! You're marrying Chelsea, and that's final; try to go against that, and you will regret it!" My hackles raised as the knob on the door we were standing in front of jiggled. We retreated to the en suite bathroom quietly and kept the lights off. We left his bag next to the bed as if it belonged to Nate. Nate's bag was under the bed. I saw it when we walked in, but it was small enough not to attract attention.
We stood behind the door and held our breaths when we heard the door to the bedroom pop open. Light from the room shone through the door. If his dad turned the light on, there was a high chance he would see us, but for now the darkness hid us. I could hear stomping in the room, opening of cupboards, and slamming of doors. "These are Nate's clothes, too formal for Matthew, so it looks like my son definitely packed up." We exhaled slowly as his dad stalked out of the room to the living area.
I could hear a woman's voice now. "I told you to put pressure on him, to force his hand. You didn't listen. Now this merger is about to fall apart, and if that happens, it will cost us! It all rides on that brat and Chelsea marrying. You know we need to be able to use his aunt's and her husband's names to pull strings. Do I have to do everything myself?" She shouted back at him.
"It's not like that girl is any type of prize, Claire; maybe if she didn't act like a stuck-up bitch or open her legs every time she thought no one was looking, it would have been a done deal." He snapped back at her. “Whose bright idea was it anyway to spike his drink? I would be beyond pissed if someone tried that crap with me too; you know how that tactic backfired last time. " he bellowed.
"Sophia put Chelsea up to it, so don't look at me. I had nothing to do with that. You know she used that same tactic to get rid of Carol. It's a pity it blew up in her face then when Daniel ended up in bed with Carol. We all saw how Sophia clung to get Daniel to get into bed that night. I know Denise was livid with Sophia for trying to ruin her plans. I still can't believe she turned her back for a minute, and he ended up in Carol's room anyway, stupid prude; she wouldn't have known what to do with a man. Now it looks like Sophia's impatience has screwed everything up for the second time!"
I was fuming! How dare she! I clenched my fist so tight my knuckles turned white, hearing what they were saying. Claire spoke as if what happened was merely an inconvenience and not the life-changing occurrence that almost broke my mom.
"Sophia still landed a good husband, so it's not like she can complain; that night still worked in her favor. She got rid of Carol and became the center of Denise's attention," Matt's dad added.
"Well, there is no point waiting around for someone that's not going to show up. Let's find Chelsea; her parents should be landing in the next hour, and we can meet them at the airport. We need to strategize!" He added as we heard the main door lock "snick" shut.
Matt turned to me and was shocked to see the tears rolling down my cheeks; his attention had been on the main room, making sure his dad stayed away from us. What they had said hurt more than I could put into words, and I vibrated with anger. Matt held me close to him. "They are gone; it's okay," he tried to pacify me. "I won't let them hurt you." He couldn't understand what I was feeling unless I came clean; he thought I was scared of them when, in truth, for the first time in my life, I was happy I did not have a gun.
I knew then what I had to do. I looked him in the eye and said the words "Yes, I will marry you." He wanted to save me, but I knew I had to save him from all of them. Shocked was the easiest way to describe how he looked. A grin slowly spread across his face. "I have one condition," I told him solemnly, and he nodded without question. "If we do this, it's based on true trust. No secrets; there are things about me you should know, things you need to know before we walk down that aisle. " I was not about to start this journey with him based on half truths and secrets. I was nothing like his dad and stepmother, and I sure as heck was nothing like Denise and Sophia.
"I wouldn't have it another way, sweetheart." It was a defining moment for us.
"My mom was Carol Westman. " I blurted out quickly so that I wouldn't back out. His brows furrowed as he absorbed that, not quite understanding the severity of it under the circumstances. "She changed her name a few times before settling just before my birth, but Nate, Chelsea, Maverick, and Justin are related to me.
Daniel Elrich is my unwilling sperm donor. I have never met him, and from what I understand, he wouldn't want to meet me. Not after what they did to my mom. They took everything from her! "I shouted; rage poured through me. I wanted to scream at how unfair all of this was and had been for my mom, for me, for Matt, and for Nate.
"My mom ran away, leaving the only home she had ever known, the only family that she thought had loved her. She was violated and broken, and later she found out she was pregnant with me. She was an amazing mother; I couldn't have asked for someone better in my life to be my protector and best friend. I didn't know who Nate was until I saw the marriage license this morning and saw the last name on it. Nikki knows because she is practically family to me, or should I say, is now family to me? She also only found out that Nate was related to me this morning. Apart from my great-grandparents, no one knew about me.
Concern and stress were written across his face. "They can't find out about this Kenna. Not now; they will hurt you. Greed and hate are all they live on and will suck it all out of you. They can't get to you and they can't find out. I need to keep you safe." He looked at me, and all I saw was panic, blinding, irrational, fear-driven panic. I had a feeling there was something he was not telling me, and I could see the worry lay heavy on him. "Do you trust me?" he stared deep into my eyes as he asked this. “There are things you still need to know but not enough time to get through it all right now. I promise I will lay it all out, but you have to marry me first.”
It was a make-or-break moment; I could still run, and Nikki would keep quiet. She would buy me time to get away. I couldn't do that; Matt was mine, and I was his. The earth tilted a little more on its axis, and I felt it when I was with him. I had to do this; I had to fight it for my mom.
"I do. I don't know why, but I really do. It makes no sense considering I met you less than 24 hours ago. I don't believe in love at first sight, but I love you and I'm in love with you. It makes no sense at all. I don't want you to get hurt, and I don't want them to use you. I won't let them, and I will fight tooth and nail to make sure it doesn't happen." I was certain of everything I said, and I would do everything in my power to help him and to fight back. "Where do we go from here?" I asked in barely a whisper.
"We call our own cavalry in," he stated as if it were the most simple thing in the world. “And we have them celebrate a wedding reception with us. Your family just got a lot bigger in ways. We will have a sit-down after we have the certificate.”