The Billionaire’s Hidden Heiress
[Book 2] Chapter 60

Lorelai

POV

I clench my hands into fists as I wait to hear the answer. My mother, looks poised, despite the thinness of her frame, the hollowness of her eyes, the paleness of her skin. Makeup can achieve wonderful things, especially when it comes to hiding the effects of drugs on a person who's been taking them long-term. She looked almost healthy.

"Lorelai was always a bit of a problem child," My mother says on television, looking tearfully at my father who nods in agreement "We did our best to raise her to be kind and to be gracious but she was always prone to temper tantrums if she didn't get her own way, she was selfish, she didn't like to share, she would bully those smaller than her. I can't count the amount of times I had to go to the school regarding her behavior" she exhales and the reporter smiles understandingly.

Knox places a comforting hand on my shoulder as I swallow hard, feeling a lump in my throat. "She would steal" my father cut in "food, drinks, whatever she could get her greedy little hands on. She took up smoking at a young age and would steal cigarettes from her mother's purse."

"Lies" I whisper, my nails digging into my skin "It's all lies."

The reporter clears her throat "I suppose, being a child, Lorelai might have been pushing her boundaries. As she grew into teenagehood did her behavior change? She worked, according to reports I have here. Various jobs in fact."

Yeah, I thought scornfully, because if I hadn't I would have starved to death. Try lying about that one mother. "She worked" my mother agreed while lan and Knox's Father flattened his lips and shook his head "but she used the money to purchase alcohol and drugs. No matter how hard we tried we could not get her off them. We tried everything," she said, widening her eyes for affect "it was distressing to see her, constantly shooting up, leaving needles all over the house. When she drank, she became violent and aggressive. There was no way of telling what her personality was going to be like on any given day. It frightened us."

The reporter looks astounded "As parents do you feel that some of the blame for that should be attributed to you?" "Absolutely," my father says gravely, stroking the stubble on his chin "We failed Lorelai and we're not ashamed to admit it. We were out of our depth, completely lost in what to do. We spoilt her when she was young and it had a snowball effect as she grew older. We made a mistake in how we raised her and we know that now. We accept full responsibility for the way she ended up."

Knox's hand tightens on my shoulder. I can hear his sharp inhale. "They're real pieces of s**t" he mutters under his breath while I silently agree with him.

After all this time all they can do is tear me down. A tear trickles down my cheek. I'm so humiliated that I can't even look at anyone in the room. Ian is gritting his teeth while their Father remains composed but his eyes are glinting. My father looks healthy, his figure is slightly plump and his nose isn't red like it used to be. Either he's no longer drinking alcohol or he's seriously reduced the amount. There used to be a time when he couldn't even go an hour without a damn drink in his hand. "Was Lorelai a sexually provocative teenager?"

I glare at the screen. The reporter's voice is hushed as she eagerly leans in close to my mother as though they are about to share a secret.

"Oh yes. Some nights she didn't come home and we didn't have to ask where she had been. I would wonder when I would replace a pregnancy test hidden in the trash or when I was going to get told that she was pregnant. I would not have been surprised by it or if she hadn't known who the father was, she was that sexually promiscuous. It was embarrassing to have a teenage daughter like that who had no self-respect for herself at all." "Were you surprised to see the video of your daughter then, working in a strip club?"

I stiffen. Knox narrows his eyes. So they were tying everything together, including the video of me working in the strip club.

I could feel another tear trailing down my cheek. I was struggling to hold it together. My parents were telling such blatant lies and yet the reporter was nodding, encouraging them to continue without hesitation. Nobody cared about the fact it was having an effect on me. That my reputation was going down the drain. Knox and his family cared, but were they going to look at me differently now? Were they going to wonder if part of the story was truthful? I gaze at the screen wondering if it's ever going to end.

"No," my father says heavily in relation to the reporter's question "we weren't surprised to see the video of her working at the strip club. Lorelai has never particularly been what we would call academically smart and she would have needed to use what she does have to her advantage in order to make money."

I flinch. His words stung. Knox wraps his arms around me, looking like he wants to tear my mother and father to shreds with his bare hands. I sob.

"Is it true that Lorelai was thrown out of your house when she was only sixteen years old?" the reporter asks.

My mother looks directly at the camera "Yes, I'm ashamed to admit that by the time Lorelai was sixteen, we were unable to tolerate her disrespect and her increasingly violent behavior. For our own safety and sanity, we decided to throw her out of the house in the hopes that she might mature and grow up. Instead, she decided it would be preferable to live on the streets, doing certain occupations" she pauses "in order to get enough money to survive. Had she simply apologized and changed her behavior we would have taken her back in, no questions asked. It's regrettable that she was never able to take responsibility for her own actions."

The reporter looks sympathetic. I'm shaking violently now. Knox rubs his hands up and down my arms. "Lorelai, it's okay" he murmurs but I can barely hear his voice now.

All I can focus on is the television screen and the two people betraying me, who are meant to be family and have never been. My heart is pounding loudly in my chest. I feel dizzy and lightheaded. I'm nauseous. lan glances over at me and his eyes are filled with grief. Grief for me? His eyes slide back to the television and I wonder what he's thinking, what Knox is thinking, what his father must be thinking of me right now. It's all I can do to stand upright when I want to sink to the ground and cry. "Do you believe that your daughter, currently engaged to Knox Grant, has changed her behavior today or is she simply manipulating an innocent man into marrying her while pretending to be somebody she is not?"

I'm offended by the question. My father and mother look thoughtful. Of course, my mother looks distraught by the question, and to my shock, a tear trickles down her cheek. "I know Lorelai and there is no chance she has changed her behavior. The thought that an innocent man, as wealthy as Mr Grant appears to be, is being manipulated into marrying a woman who is as conniving and deceptive as Lorelai is, sickens me to my stomach. He has no idea of what she is capable of or what she might do. My warning to Mr. Knox is to think seriously about this engagement of his and whether it's truly what he wants and whether he truly believes he knows the true Lorelai as we do. While I want the best for my daughter, my conscience would not let me rest until I spoke the truth today." She looks pious and self-righteous. My father is nodding and looking upset. The reporter looks grievous. "You heard it right here ladies and gentlemen. Lorelai Mathews is not the person she claims to be and is anything but innocent. Mr Knox Grant needs to take a good long hard look at the situation he is in and decide on a course of action before he replaces himself wed to what amounts to nothing more than a con artist. Mr and Mrs Mathews, we thank you for having the courage to come forward to share your story today and for those wondering, they accepted no money for doing so, such was their concern for Mr Grant and they people in contact with their daughter. I, and no doubt many viewers, encourage Lorelai Mathews to do the right thing and seek help for her problems. That's the story for today and thank you for listening."

Silence. The dam breaks. I lose it, turning into Knox and crying heavily into his shoulder as he wraps his arms around me and refuses to let go. My whole world felt like it was breaking apart.

"Knox, look into their financials. They might not have paid the Mathews but somebody had to have" Mr. Grant Snr spoke, as Knox nodded quietly "lan, get our lawyers back on the damn phone. I need a word with them" he growled "Lorelai, please excuse me while I take care of some business."

I nod still crying into Knox's shirt. I hear him and lan quietly leave. Knox strokes my hair while I glance up at him with tear-filled eyes. "It's all lies" I whisper, as he holds me upright "None of that is true. I swear..."

"Lorelai, I know that's not you" he interrupts as I stare up at him "Don't you think I should know my fiancee well enough by now? You would no sooner touch drugs than I would and I have never felt like you were manipulating me. I love you" he repeated, cupping my face "and we'll get through this together" he vowed, his voice filled with determination.

But as I stared up at Knox, it occurred to me that his life was also being ruined by this and that hurt more than anything. I could live with my own life being ruined, they had done that to me before, but not Knox's. Maybe it would be far better if I was to walk away, before they managed to destroy the man I loved, even if it meant breaking my own heart in the process.