Darcy watched Regan and then turned back to Ed. “What’s going on?”
“You make me sick. I can’t believe I fell for your lies. You came here to find your birth mother. Did you ever think of what that would do to her or her family? There is a reason people don’t tell their children they’re adopted. Sometimes the truth is too terrible.”
Darcy’s eyes narrowed on him, and then they grew wide. She turned back to Regan, who sobbed next to her. “Oh. Oh! I didn’t…”
“How can I trust you?”
“How can you not?” she argued. “I love you.”
“You used me.”
“Ed…”
“Get out of here. You don’t really belong here at all.”
Darcy took the ring off her finger and pressed it into Ed’s hand and then ran as fast as she could out of the house.
The truck took its time turning over, but finally, it roared to life and she sped away from the house.
Her vision blurred, and she fought to keep breath in her lungs. She had no idea. None. How could she have known she was the daughter of Regan Keller? There was no way she could have known.
She wiped at her eyes as she screeched to a stop at a stoplight. She had to get out of Nashville. She had to go home. Home. Home—which wasn’t there anymore.
She wasn’t even sure how she’d made it back to her apartment. The entire trip, the entire night, was just a blur.
Darcy threw the truck into park in the driveway and ran around the side of the house. The steps were steeper than she’d remembered, and she stepped off one and nearly slid down the concrete stairs.
Once she caught her breath, she shoved her key into the lock and jiggled it. She tried to calm herself down, tried to keep from shaking, but it was no use. She couldn’t get the door open.
With tears streaking her face, she finally managed the lock and nearly fell inside when she twisted the door knob.
There was no time. She had to pack, and she had to do it quickly. If she never saw another Keller, it would be too soon. But that only made her cry more. She was a Keller. The forgotten Keller. The one the Kellers gave away.
There was a reason she felt so comfortable with those people. That was her family, and she’d been robbed of it.
She wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Ed was her damn cousin. Just as quickly, she realized they weren’t related at all. His father was adopted. Her birth mother was adopted. There was no blood that was shared there.
They had been lovers. They had been in love. All of that was gone now. He hated her. They all hated her.
Darcy went straight to her bedroom and pulled her suitcase out from under her bed. She began to fill it with clothes from her closet and from the drawers of her dresser. It didn’t matter how it landed. It just had to be done.
Then she moved to the bathroom, taking an empty box with her. She filled it with all the items in the drawers. Luckily she’d already repacked the boxes her mother had saved for her. After all, Ed had asked her to move in with him. God, how stupid could she have been?
It had been an hour since she’d hurried away from the Keller’s house, and in that short time, her life was packed up and ready to go—well, she didn’t know where. All she knew was that before anyone could get to her, she’d be gone.
Darcy picked up her suitcase and swung open the door. She nearly slammed the door again when she saw a woman standing in the now dark stairwell.
It was Regan.
Darcy’s hand tightened around the handle of the suitcase. She didn’t say a word. She didn’t know what to say.
“Can I come in?” Regan asked in the same soft voice Darcy had always known her to have.
Her heart ached as she looked at the woman in a different light. This woman gave her life. This woman gave her away.
This woman was here now.
Darcy stepped back and let Regan into the apartment.
She looked around at the now packed up space. “You know, in all the years I lived upstairs, I never came down here when they turned it into an apartment. It’s nice.”
Darcy shut the door and set her suitcase down. The air was thick in her lungs. She had so many questions, but the words were not coming.
Regan turned to look at her. She clasped her hands in front of her. “Did you know it was me you were looking for?”
Darcy shook her head.
“I believe you.”
“You believe me, but Ed doesn’t?” Her voice was shaky and soft.
“He will when I’m done with him.”
Regan stood there. She scanned a look at Darcy from head to toe, and then she smiled.
“I’ve always wondered what you looked like.”
Darcy pursed her lips as if it would keep the tears at bay. “You did?”
Regan nodded. “I’ve never seen you before. When you were born, I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to see you. I loved you too much. Only Curtis saw you.”
Her words squeezed at her heart, and it hurt. She’d never hurt this bad. “Why wouldn’t you want to see me? You gave me away.”
Regan’s shoulders rose and then dropped. “I did. I needed to.” She looked around. “Can we sit? I really need to tell you all of this. I won’t feel right if you leave and don’t have the answers you came for. Besides, there hasn’t been a day in twenty-five years I haven’t thought about you. I’d like to have a few moments.”
Darcy didn’t know what to do with that. If she’d thought about her, why didn’t she come for her?
Regan sat down on the couch, so Darcy took the chair.
Regan took a deep breath. “I don’t even know where to begin.” She looked down at her hands and then up at Darcy and smiled. “First of all, you’re beautiful. You’re more beautiful than I ever could have imagined.”
Darcy bit down on her lip. “Thank you.”
“I’m glad I got to spend some time with you before all this. I enjoyed your company immensely. Ed is lucky to have you.”
“I don’t think he feels that way.”
“We’ll see. Don’t give up on him yet.” Regan adjusted on the couch. “His name was Alexander Hamilton.”
Darcy just looked at her and then eased back in her chair when she realized that was the name of her birth father. At that moment, she felt dizzy. This was really happening. She hadn’t prepared herself for the moment when she would actually get the information she’d craved.