She slowly drew in a breath before answering. “He’s your half brother.”
Should she say more? This was one reason why she’d put off this moment—there were no guidelines telling her how much or how little information she should give to the man that she’d lied to for two months...no, five years.
“That doesn’t tell me what he wants with me.” Zach’s harsh expression didn’t give her any clues or guidance as to how to proceed.
Okay, here goes... “Your father recently passed away.” She paused to give him a moment to absorb that, but his expression only grew harder. “There is a rather, um, large inheritance.”
“Then this Beddingfield should take it and leave me alone. My father never wanted anything to do with me. Why would I want his money now?”
That wasn’t technically true, but Sadie wasn’t going to explain that his father had sent her before. At least, not now.
“It isn’t that easy,” she said instead. “Victor can’t inherit your father’s estate because it has been willed to you.”
Zach frowned, but didn’t say anything.
“On one condition.”
Then his gaze flipped to her phone on the bed before returning to her face. “The dirt?”
Reluctantly, she nodded. “You’ve been selected to receive the bulk of your father’s estate, provided you haven’t been immoral or corrupt in any way. There can be no arrests, convictions, scandals or incidents showing distinct lack of character in your—” she had to swallow “—history. Your father wanted to reward you for being a better man than he was.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
Sadie shrugged. “Mr. Beddingfield played by his own set of rules.”
“So you’re, what, here to spy on me?”
Leave it to Zach to get to the heart of the matter.
“Wait. Were you here to spy on me before, too?”
Straight to the heart. “Yes.” Why prevaricate? He was going to hate her anyway. She might as well cut the ties cleanly, even if the frost encasing her heart was starting to bite. “Your father sent me the first time.” She could go into details later, if necessary. “Victor sent me this time—”
“To find out the truth? Or to make up some plausible lies?”
“Victor doesn’t really care either way.”
“He made that clear.”
“But I can assure you, I’ll be telling your father’s lawyer the truth.”
She couldn’t stop herself from flinching as Zach stalked to her. He seemed to grow larger and more menacing as rage lit his features. “You know nothing about the truth. You’ve lied to me from the beginning, haven’t you?”
“Not about the things that matter.”
Rage mutated into disgust. “I doubt you have any idea what matters to me. None at all.”
Oh, but she did. He valued family, loyalty, honesty, compassion, helping hands and going the extra mile. He was everything Victor wasn’t. With each thing she’d learned about Zach, Sadie had known she fought a losing battle for his heart.
Because the core of her mission was the opposite of everything he held dear.
Only she couldn’t turn away from these few weeks of pure bliss. That had been selfish on her part—indecisive, too. But she couldn’t change it—not her choices, nor what had pushed her into those choices.
But she wasn’t making excuses or asking forgiveness. She didn’t deserve it.
“I’m sorry, Zach.” It was as far as she could let herself go. Anything more and she’d fall to her knees right here, begging for the one thing he would never give her now: his love.
She expected him to let loose that rage on her. To rant or throw things or scream. His father would have. His half brother certainly would have.
Zach did none of that.
Instead he turned and stalked to the door. He was probably done with her. But despite her resolutions, she found she couldn’t keep one thing inside. The one thing he deserved to know.
“But I do have one last thing to say, Zach. And I mean it with everything in me. That you are a good man.”
He paused before the door but didn’t turn around, didn’t grant her one last glimpse of a face carved in stone. Instead he said, “Pardon me if that offers very little consolation.”