Stand By Me Darling
Chapter 203: Can’t Listen

Chapter 203: Can’t Listen

Talia was stunned hearing the shattering news Joe said. She now understood why he was hesitant to have her here. This is something extremely private.

Talia looked at Rebecca feeling the intense stare at her. "What is he saying Tallie?" Rebecca asked with her eyebrows furrowed. "How can his sister be Rachel’s sister? His sister grew up with him... Rachel’s sister? Their last names are different... How... Is that possible?"

Rebecca really didn’t understand what was going on. She had imagined a lot of scenarios, but what Joe is implying... He is implying there is cheating that involved his parents and Rachel’s parents. She could understand that much now. But... Surely such things didn’t cross her mind ever.

Joe’s parents weren’t as harmonious as they showed themselves in public, Rebecca knew. She had attended private dinners at their house. She didn’t think much about it. Those two are over sixty and are married for more than thirty years and they can’t be lovey dovey all the time. She understood that. But cheating...?

Talia could understand that Rebecca never suspected this possibility and was too shocked to process anything right now.

So... Joe’s mother cheated with Rachel’s father and his sister was actually a Crawley raised with the Feldstein name? How long did Joe’s father know about this? How could he accept his wife’s infidelity and raise someone else’s daughter as his’?

Well...he couldn’t have divorced his wife since it would have affected his political aspirations... But still...

Talia leaned towards Rebecca. "I’ll leave now, Rebecca. I think Joe will need to talk to you alone," she said and stood up.

This has gotten too personal and Talia didn’t want to stay there anymore. Also, Arthur might call her any time now.

Rebecca who still was in shock, nodded half-heartedly. She could see Joe was a little distressed and she knew Talia won’t be interested in these private details.

"I’ll text you later," Talia gave a hug and nodded at Joe before turning to leave. As she turned, her phone rang and Talia’s face brightened up seeing Arthur’s name blinking.

"You’ve reached?" Talia’s smile reached her eyes and her tone got a lot softer.

"Yep, I’m just getting down" his voice came along with the loud noise of the jet engine.

"How was the journey?"

"It was good. It would have been better if you were with me..."

"Mmm" Talia felt her face heating up. This guy really knows how to make her heart skip a beat.

"I miss you already..."

"Me too"

Both of them talked nothing for sometime as Arthur got in the car.

Joe watched Talia speaking and acting different. It seemed like she was in love by the way she spoke so softly and privately. It surprised him as this was the first time he had seen her like that. Even when she was dating David, she’d answer his calls right in the middle of everyone and answer with simple ’yes’ or ’no’ and would end the call within seconds. Who is she taking to now? He looked at Rebecca who was in deep thoughts and he was brought back to his own troubles.

Realising the silence at the other end Talia realised that he got in the car.

"Sit in the front!" Arthur said before Talia could hear the door lock and her hands about to open the door of the Café paused as she smiled.

Is he pushing Jordan to the front seat?

"What secret are you going to tell me?" Talia asked letting way to Mr. Ed who ran to her side to open the door for her. Amy stood behind her closer to her.

"No secrets... I might talk dirty," Arthur’s deep voice being so close to her ears made Talia feel weird.

"Mmm," Talia said as she walked behind Mr. Ed towards her car. Mr. Ed was talking in his earpiece to someone about bringing her car and Amy was close to her and Talia felt like she couldn’t reply properly.

"Where are you?" Arthur could sense she was holding back and knew she was not alone.

"Joe arranged a farewell party for me. I’m just leaving. Rebecca and Joe are having a talk. I just hope they solve their misunderstandings," Talia spoke from her heart.

"They will..." Arthur although wasn’t much interested in others said to comfort Talia.

"Yeah, " Talia nodded with a smile, at Mr. Ed who opens the car door for her and sat in.

"Not talking dirty?" she asked in a low tone as Amy was about to open the door from the other side.

"You want to? Aren’t we an intrepid Princess today?" Arthur chuckled from the other end making Talia go all red.

"Shut up," she whispered in her phone as Amy got inside the car.

"Haha... Is there someone beside you?"

"Yes, Amy..."

"In my car there is a partition... Totally soundproof," even through the phone, Talia could hear his pride.

"Your grandpa bought me this car. It has a lot of features with the best privacy settings. Maybe... when you come here we could, you know... try out how it is..."

His voice got a lot deeper making Talia shrank in the seat, pressing her phone close to her ear fearing Amy might hear it.

"You’re getting too bold," she whispered. Keeping her eye on Mr. Ed and Amy. They seemed to not care for what she says, but still she felt shy.

" Bold? Bold about what? Oh my! What are you thinking, you lecher! I was saying we could try out the features in this car! " he laughed making Talia grit her teeth.

"Idiot!" Talia hissed. She wanted to end the call, but she couldn’t do it since she wanted to hear his voice more.

"I’m going to meet the Clairemont family now for dinner. I’m going to speak about breaking off the engagement," Arthur said and his tone was serious.

"You have a plan?" Talia asked. She knew Sophia won’t back off without throwing a fit. Thinking about Sophia made her heart hurt.

"I do... Don’t worry. From tomorrow onwards, I will be known as a free man... Single and ready to mingle. We can date publicly if you want," his assurikg voice did make her feel special.

"Fred, make sure you visit a doctor soon. Take every test even if they don’t ask you to," Talia said. She felt like he looked a little unhealthy. He is not sleeping well and he works a lot. Its not wrong to be a little more careful about his health.

"... Sure" his voice came after a little delay and Talia didn’t mind it. He might have been doing something.

Both of them talked for some more time and as she reached the hotel she ended the call.

Arthur at the other end if the call, rubbed his forehead as he looked at his phone.

Visiting the doctor? Taking tests? Ugh! Sorry Iris, I can’t listen to you on this. I’m too busy for that.

At that time he received a message from Sophia and it was a picture and he opened it. Looking at this picture, his lips curved. He sent that image to one of the contacts in his phone and made a call.

"I needed a little more details on this story I was writing... Thank you for these extra details. Now I can publish the article."

An excited voice came from the other end. Arthur ended the call without saying anything and leaned back on the chair. Thinking about that nasty bunch he was about to meet, his head hurt and he massaged his forehead with his fingers. The little stars at the roof of the car, glittered brightly and slowly he closed his eyes to have a little shut eye.

---

"No one knew about it until that accident... I wasn’t hurt much and I watched everything change..."

Joe slowly reminisced the past after Talia left.

"Even my mom wasn’t sure... Gwen... She... had some complications, and they said it was genetic... No one in our family had it, but Rachel’s father had the same complication which he passed to Rachel, and that’s how it came out... At the hospital where the three of us were badly hurt..." Joe took a deep breath looking at his tightly clasped hands over the table. He didn’t have the guts to look at his wife. He was afraid to see her reaction.

" My mom said she wasn’t sure, my dad couldn’t accept it but secretly did a DNA test that gave the right answer... My sister... She was not my father’s. Rachel and my sister were in a serious state, but my sister... She couldn’t be saved and..."

Joe covered his face with his big hands and Rebecca could feel he was distressed and reflexively ran to him and hugged him. She doesn’t like to see him this way. She knew talking about his sister’s death always hurts him so deeply and now she could truly say she understand why.

Not only because he was the one who drove the car, but also because it revealed a secret that would have been left hidden and the secret that shook the foundation of his family.

"My dad.. He is not a good man, but he never cheated. He knew it would affect his prospects... for his political aspirations... Among us two children, he loved my sister more... And she died... I drove her to her death and it revealed the fact that the daughter he loved and raised was not even his, and that his wife cheated on him seventeen years ago.... He couldn’t divorce my mom since he was running a campaign... And in the end they decided to not bring it up ever again. He won using the sympathy votes and... Our Family became worse than it ever was... "

Rebecca could feel him shaking in her embrace. She didn’t know all that. He kept this all away from her. And yet, seeing his suffer, she felt an immense pain in her heart.

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