Page 55 of Knot a Bad Idea

“April?”

My mom enters the room, and I wipe at my eyes.

“Sorry,” I sniffle. “Did I wake you up?”

My mom, clad in a long sleep shirt and cotton pants, joins me. “No. I’ve been upstairs reading. What’s going on?”

Oh, nothing, just realized everything I want in life I can’t have.

I feel the phone Hunter gave me buzz in my pocket, but I ignore it.

I wipe at my tears, wondering how much I can share with my mother.

“Um,” I sniff, desperately trying to figure out what to tell her while still sounding truthful. “Vincent told me that he’s dead.”

That’s partly why I’m crying, at least.

“Who’s dead?” My mother’s voice is deathly serious.

“Him, Mom.” I wipe another tear away. “Vincent told me tonight. He was jumped in prison, and it’s a lot to take in.”

“Do they know who?—”

“No, they don’t,” I interrupt her. “But he had a lot of enemies, so they’re not surprised.”

She nods slowly. “That’s…heavy,” she says eventually, sighing. “That’s a lot to process, honey.”

My mind swirls around what Vincent said. The guys that jumped my captor were bribed.

I wonder who bribed them.

“I heard you shouting outside,” she adds. “Hunter was just here.”

I freeze.

“That’s not the only reason you were crying, was it?” she asks gently.

I swallow. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

How much did she hear?

“You don’t have to say anything,” she continues. “But I’m going to say something, and you can listen.”

I turn to her, dreading her next words. But her eyes are soft and knowing, and she reaches out to wipe a tear from my cheek.

“That anonymous donation we received weeks ago was from Donovan.”

I blink, careful to keep my face neutral. “What makes you say that?”

She raises an eyebrow, as if challenging me to deny it. “Context clues. You’ve been photographed at their charity events, by the way. It’s clear they’re showing the world you’re their girlfriend.”

I swallow.

“I think,” my mom continues, “that they were so busy with their lives that they didn’t have time for a partner, but their social circle expected it. And they found you, a brilliant woman that could be their Omega, at least for show.”

I shake my head. “That’s not?—”

“I said you don’t have to say anything,” she says harshly. “And that includes lying to me.”