Chapter 48: True Colors

Abigail found the bedroom Lyall was staying in, since the wedding was going to be here, he had been given a room in the House. Though, he had stayed over quite often before.

Abigail was about to knock, when she heard two voice on the other side, clearly arguing.

“I have to do this!” Abigail could hear Lyall’s voice, and Abby could hear the pain in his voice. “I need you to understand, I can’t love you without this. I have to marry someone who can give me the funds to restart my company, anything less, and I have no worth.”

“I am happy with just you,” Olivia’s voice came through next, clear as a bell. “I know I don’t inherit the empire, I know you have no money without my father’s help. And I don’t care!”

“Livvy,” Lyall whispered, softly. “You will die starving for loving me like this. I could never allow that to happen to you.”

And all at once, Abby understood. Everything came together in her mind, all the pieces of information, all the snippets.

“And besides,” Lyall’s voice came again through. “Don’t you want this? Don’t you want to run the company? If I marry her, and she steps down, I could choose who to appoint in her place. Livvy, you could run the company, like you always dreamed.”

They loved each other. They well and truly loved each other entirely. And everything they had done, even the terrible things they had done to her, had just been out of their desperation to be together.

Even the mistresses and girlfriends. All lies to protect his love for Olivia. To protect her sister.

And the exclusion of her from the business side of everything. He wanted to give it to Olivia, a sister he felt was being robbed of her birthright, and everything she’d worked her entire life for.

Abby could never fault them for that love.

Lyall only wanted to be sure he could keep Olivia safe. Whatever he had to sacrifice to do it, then so be it.

And Abby knew exactly what she had to do.

Abigail opened the door without knocking and entered without either of them noticing that she had. They were well and truly engrossed in each other.

“Actually,” Abby cleared her throat, looking at the ground, trying not to notice her sister in a towel wrapped around her and her possible future brother-in-law in much less. “You can’t marry me.”

“What?” Lyall prompted, turning around to her in shock.

Olivia looked almost on the brink of ecstatic disbelief.

“I’ve just gotten off the call with the lawyers,” Abigail said airily, inspecting her nails the way she’d seen Olivia do a thousand times before. “And the paperwork is clear, Olivia doesn’t inherit the empire simply because she is legitimate.” Abigail paused a moment. “And neither do I, simply because I am firstborn.”

“Wait,” Olivia spoke, processing. “Then who inherits?”

“We both do,” Abigail told her sister. “Fifty percent each, we share the company exactly half and half. That’s what’s written in the company policy, despite what father wants either of us to believe.”

Adam was as controlling as Charlotte, he acted as though he had power to decide succession, but the truth was, he never did.

“Oh god,” Olivia sobbed, clutching on to the towel around her waist. “Oh god, oh god.”

“You mean,” Lyall spoke haltingly.

“It was never fair for you to lose your entire inheritance because a half-sister you’d never met just suddenly showed up again in your life,” Abby said softly. “I was never going to allow it to happen just on that. So, I think this is a great solution all around.”

“So,” Lyall began. “If we don’t marry tomorrow, and if I marry Olivia one day instead...”

“The outcome would be the same,” Abigail clarified. “And besides, I would more than vote for a merger with your company, or maybe something else, to help it start on its own. I’ll let you and little Livvy here work out the details.”

Olivia stared at her sister with disbelief almost bordering on joy.

“Also,” Abigail turned over her shoulder, waving between the two of them and the very apparent nakedness. “No hard feelings, little sister, about all of this. Afterall, I did steal your gardener first. And by the way, do make sure you’re both there tomorrow, I am still going to get married tomorrow, and I’d like you both there.”

Abigail winked at them, and Olivia smiled for the first time since Abigail had met her, with a genuine, wide, wrinkle inducing smile.


________________________________________


The part with Lyall had worked out easier than expected. Now was the hard part. She had to face off against her father.

Abigail went to his office. There was nowhere else in the world that Adam Woodtriche could be found more assuredly than his own office.

Abigail made to knock on the door, but just before her hand touched the wood, she stopped herself.

‘No,’ Abigail thought. ‘I’ve done this more than enough times. I’m done with this.’

She refused to ask her father’s permission for her life any longer. She refused to allow him to be the gatekeeper to all of her decisions. She wouldn’t beg him to allow her to inherit the company, she wouldn’t beg him at all.

She would make the decisions that she was happy with for her own life, and whatever the consequences to that were, then so be it.

So, Abigail didn’t knock on her father’s door for possibly the first time since she’d been there.

Instead, Abigail lowered her hand and turned around, and headed back to the dining room where Charlotte was still pouring over the documents that would seal both her and Olivia’s fate.

“Charlotte,” Abigail called to her.

The woman glanced up, “What now? I’m busy.”

“Actually,” Abigail told her, coming around her and gathering some of the papers up and stacking them in a neat pile. “The wedding is called off. I’m not marrying Lyall tomorrow.”

Charlotte stared at her like she couldn’t understand the words Abigail was saying to her.

“What?” Charlotte asked.

Abigail gathered the rest of the papers while Charlotte stood mute, staring at her.

“No wedding,” Abigail made the sentences simpler, “Called off. Lyall and Olivia, sleeping together.”

Charlotte’s eyes widened, and she was still for a full moment, before she raced out of the dining room.

Abigail went and sat down at the table, all the papers around her, and she waited.

And sure enough, within minutes, Adam was striding into the dining room.

Abigail looked up from the guest list briefly, scanning the numbers. People would need to be called.

“Abigail,” Adam said exasperatedly, when his daughter didn’t acknowledge his presence. “What are you doing?”

“Looking through the guest list,” Abigail answered absentmindedly. “These people have to be messaged or called or something. Thankfully, everyone on the list is so wealthy, money spent on a wedding gift gone to waste wouldn’t even bother them.”

Adam banged his fist down on the table, “Abigail, we have gone through a lot of trouble, how dare you just-”

“No,” Abigail cut her father off. “How dare you.”

Adam stood back in shock.

“You’re the one responsible for all of the pain we’ve all been through in this house,” Abigail continued. “I checked the company policy, I read all the laws and the bylaws, and you can’t just give the company to whoever you wish whenever you feel like it. And you can’t take it away from anyone, either.”

Abigail didn’t stand up from her seat at the head of the dining table, she didn’t move any more than simply folding her arms across her chest.

“And more than that,” Abigail continued. “Charlotte’s poisoning, Olivia’s attachment to her own abuser? That’s on you. Because you allowed it all to happen. You, more than Charlotte, is the reason for all of the pain here, because you allowed her to do it.”

Abigail softened her voice; she knew her father wasn’t malicious or purposeful, but she wouldn’t, couldn’t, excuse his terrible behavior any longer.

“I’m not marrying Lyall, dad,” Abigail said softly. “And I’m not inheriting the company, because that wasn’t your choice to make. It falls to Olivia and I, equally, after you die or resign. Simple as that. You can dictate your personal money however you’d like, but the company has a line of succession.”

Adam stared at his daughter, and after a while, a small smile fell across his face.

“Never once has anyone challenged me like this,” Adam told her. “Not one of the board of directors even knew that law existed. But you are right, it isn’t mine to give away. But, if you’d like it, I’d be happy to give you my blessing. And if you’ll accept it, my apologies.”

Abigail stood up then, and went towards her father.

“I’d like that, both of that, very much, dad,” Abigail answered him truthfully.