Secrets in the open.

Katie’s POV.

“Katie Malory!”

The bellowing of my name made me hiss as I sat up from the shock and got assaulted by the banging of my head - something I wasn’t expecting. I hissed once more as I tried to hold my head to stop the onset of headache I knew was brewing.

“Here.” A masculine voice said and quickly shoved something into the hand I was intending to hold my head with.

I opened my eyes and saw Evan towering over me. The moment I laid my eyes on him, the memory of what I did flooded me and I reluctantly took the glass of water and aspirin from his hand. Without a word to him, I dropped the drug in my mouth and downed the glass of water.

“Katie Malory!” The angry voice that woke me up earlier resounded again. Startled, I looked up and saw that it was the voice of none other than my father.

“Good to see you so soon, father,” I said with a chuckle. Then I turned to look at Evan and gave him the betrayal look. Instead of reacting to my silent accusation, he merely chuckled. I snorted and turned back to my dad.

Wait…

I paused midway to look at my father and rapidly turned my head back to Evan. I saw that the smile was still plastered on his face.

Evan Blackman could actually smile?

All the years that I knew the man, never for once had I ever seen him smile. He was always too serious with his life to let out a smile. If I didn’t know that he was a wealthy man, one who even partnered with my dad, I would have said that he was always so serious because he was a bouncer, with all his broad chest and biceps and arms and all.

“Do you have any idea what it is that you have done?” My father’s angry voice brought me back to the moment.

“I divorced that loser and fool,” I said simply and got up from where I was lying on the couch. The moment I was up, I realized that I was not at my dad’s house as I assumed, but was at a strange place. A strange place that screamed luxury.

“It’s my place,” Evan said, almost as if he could read my mind. “I didn’t want to take you back to your dad’s place but he asked to see you immediately, so I had to give him your location.” And then again, there was that smile on his face.

What the fuck was going on with the man?

“That fool is the one keeping our business together!” My father spoke up, almost as if my conversation with him was not interrupted by Evan’s words.

“That fool brought a woman to the house and shoved a divorce power to my face and asked me to sign it. What did you expect me to do? Go on my knees and beg for mercy?!” I raised my voice at the last part. Anger was beginning to get hold of me in a way. I took in deep breaths to try and curb it before it got full blown.

“Yes, Katie. You should have gone on your knees and begged him, knowing that the survival of our company rests on it.” My father let out without any form of remorse.

At that, I became lost in shock. I turned to look at the man who claimed to be my father, expecting him to be laughing at his own words, but he was rigid to the spot, every fiber of his being telling me he meant every word he spoke of.

“How could you even think of such a thing!” I hissed at him.

“If you hadn’t let your pride get in the way, Mark was so close to signing that paper that would free us forever. But no, you had to let your pride get in the way. You should have groveled at his feet. What the fucking he’ll do you think you need pride for when you will not have money to afford even your basic things from now on?!” The man stormed at me.

“And what is that supposed to mean? Me not having money to afford basic things?” I asked, trying to make sure that it was not what I was thinking about.

“From today, you cease to be a Malory.” My father said, not mincing words.

“You are kidding, right?” I asked. Nah, it had to be that the man was kidding. He wouldn’t dare to cut me off like that.

“I already got all the paperwork done. Your credit cards, your bank accounts, your access to certain places because you were a Malory, everything that makes you a Malory, I am revoking them from this moment.” The man said, showing me that he meant every word he was saying.

“You wouldn’t dare! I worked hard for every single penny in my accounts. You have no right to freeze them!” I stormed at him. If he wanted to take back his surname? He was more than free to do that. It was because of that name that I got into the mess with Mark in the first place.

Because I was trying to save the family name and reputation.

But to freeze my accounts? Freeze every penny I worked hard for? Freeze all the money I had been stashing away for years to build myself? That I would not take.

“Don't you dare!” I repeated.

“You and whose army would stop me?” The man said with an evil chuckle. It was almost as if he was no longer my father and he was doing things out of his will.

“That’s my goddamn money!” I yelled, inching closer to the man, and already losing the last of my restraints.

“Money you acquired by whoring about! Warming the bed of different men!” He spat at me.

I made to move from where I stood but Evan was faster.

“Now, now, let’s all calm down,” Evan said, getting between me and my father.

As he should rightly do. Otherwise, I wasn’t sure of what I would do to that man for uttering such a statement.

“That’s enough, Mr. Malory. I would like to warn you to stop using such deteriorating words on your daughter!” Evan cautioned my father after he was sure I would not be leaving my stand again.

“She is not my daughter. She is a whore, just like her mother!” He spat again.

What?!

“That’s your wife and your daughter that you are disrespecting, Malory!” Evan said with a low growl. I could tell that he was also very angry on my behalf but was trying to keep it together because my father was his friend and business partner.

“No, she is not my daughter. And my wife is not her mother. We are not in any way related to this rotten child over there. Her mother came to drop her at our doorstep when she was a baby, claiming that her life was at risk and she will come back to get her when it is safe. She never came back and my wife and I decided to adopt her because we couldn’t have a child of our own then.” The man I always knew as my father dropped the bombshell, shocking myself and Evan.

“And what changed?” Evan asked with a serious face. “Why are you disowning her now? Surely, it can’t be because of what happened with Mark and her.” As he finished his words, he gave my father - sorry, ex father - a death stare, daring him to lie.

“Oh… we are finally having a child of our own, so we don’t need this good for nothing anymore.” My father hissed.

Tears streamed down my face as my mind struggled to comprehend all that was going on.

“We stopped needing her about six months ago after we found a way to get our own child. We only continued to play along with her stupidity because we wanted her to stay with Mark long enough for him to sign the waiver of debt for us. Now that she ruined that, she can rot in hell for all I care about.” The man added.

“Malory!” That was Evan. If I thought he was angry before, it was nothing compared to what reflected in his voice.

I couldn’t say anything. I couldn’t move. All I knew was that my world was suddenly shattered around me and there was no way to stop the ruin.

“Please leave now, Malory. You’ve hurt Katie enough,” Evan added.

Without a word, my father turned and began to walk out the room.

“And Malory?” Evan called, making the other man pause. “You can forget you ever had a friend in me. I don’t want to be friends with a man who thought it was nothing to use someone.” He finished.

After that, I stopped listening to whatever was going on between them both. All my attention was on the fact that the people I thought were my mom and dad were in no way related to me. And my biological mother? She dropped me with them because her life was in danger and she wanted me safe. Since she never returned, could it be that she died? Did whatever she was running from caught up with her?

My head began to bang loudly, almost as if it wanted to explode. My eyes began to turn and everything tripled in appearance. I tried to stop what I knew was inevitable but couldn’t succeed.

“Katie!” That was the last thing I heard before my body crashed to the arms of someone.