Page 21 of The Lie That Stole Christmas
“Because you were obsessed with the family of bluebirds that made a nest in that old oak tree.”
He shook his head, reached into the box, and pulled out the bluebird ornament.He held it up, a slight smile tugging at his lips.His gaze met hers.“I picked it because it’s the same blue-gray as your eyes.”
“My eyes are more gray.”
“Not when you wear blue.”
Ashley inhaled as shock slammed through her, rattling her very core.“What?”
His lips parted, but before he could say anything, a door slammed somewhere down the hall, jolting them both.
Heavy footsteps echoed toward them.Carter placed the ornament on the table and turned toward the noise, probably ready to put out whatever fire that had been ignited.
Cole stormed into the room, his cheeks flushed red, jaw clenched tight.“Where is she?”he demanded.
Ashley straightened, placing the ornament on a branch before turning to her cousin.“Who?”
“My mother.”His voice cracked, loud, raw, and nothing like the levelheaded, golden boy she remembered.
“Uh…” Ashley glanced around.“I think she was in the solarium the last time I—”
“She commented on my newest video.Said I was a disappointment.A disgrace to the Wetherby name,” Cole barked.
“Why would she do that?”Ashley asked.Marilyn had touted Cole, bragged about him every chance she got.He could do something as simple as placing an ornament on the tree, and Aunt Marilyn would have applauded him.
Carter stepped forward, his posture calming.“Cole, maybe take a minute—”
“No!”Cole exploded.“I am sick of everyone in this family acting like they’re above it all.Like they’re better than me.”
Ashley’s brows knit.“Cole, no one said—”
“She called me a disappointment.”His voice was a low growl now.“You don’t get it.She named me Wetherby.Hername.Said I didn’t need my dad’s name to be worth something.Said I’d carry on the legacy.”His voice cracked again.“And now she says my career—mylife—is an embarrassment.”
Ashley’s heart sank at the undercurrent of sadness in his tone.“Cole…”
“Posting photos and little videos on the internet doesn’t build legacy,” a voice drawled from the doorway.
They all turned.Aunt Marilyn stood with a fresh drink in hand, one hip propped against the doorway, hair disheveled in that effortlessly glamorous way only Marilyn could pull off.Her eyes were glassy, but her voice was sharper than ever.
“Don’t be so dramatic, Cole.Everyone in this house has disappointed someone.You’re not special.”
“Are you drunk already?”Cole snapped.
“Definealready,” she said, popping the olive from her martini into her mouth.
Ashley blinked, trying to wrap her head around the three-ring circus she had somehow been thrust into.“What is happening right now?”
“Mom,” Cole said dangerously low.“Shut.Up.”
She sipped her drink.“Or what, darling?You’ll pout in your overpriced sneakers and make a sad-boy TikTok about it?”
Carter took a step forward, placing himself between Cole and Marilyn.
This was ridiculous.Carter was the estate manager, not a referee in a family brawl.“Enough,” Ashley said firmly, stepping in too.
“Stay out of this, Ash,” Cole snapped, his chest rising and falling.“You don’t know what she’s like when everyone’s gone.”
“Don’t start,” Marilyn warned, her voice slurring slightly.“You think you’ve got it so hard?Try being left with a mortgage, a baby, and a reputation shredded by gossip while your husband drinks rum in Aruba with some waitress half your age.”
