My Spy 6: Private Eye

Dismissed

"Where's Sebastian?" My mother asks as she looks behind me, her dainty hands still holding onto my shoulders. I shake my head as I answer, "He's not here, he's in Singapore."

My mother finally drops her hands and frowns, "So soon? I thought you'd be coming with your groom!"

"Oh I did," I reply cautiously and she stares at me in confusion. "He's waiting in the car." I watch her freeze and her eyes scrutinize mine. She suddenly yanks my left hand up and stares at my wedding ring.

"That's hardly three carats and even though it looks antique it's not old. That ring did not come from Sebastian Crawford did it?" She asks in shock as she slowly moves her fury from my hand to my face. I swear she's snarling as the pieces are fitting together and she snaps, "Who the hell did you marry Sawyer Mae Sweeney?" I hear Celia sneak out of the kitchen and I'm not surprised she fled my mother's wrath. I stare at her as I quickly clarify, "It's actually Sawyer Mae Hart now." She drops my hand in horror. She takes a step away from me like I'm contagious with a deadly disease. Her hands are covering her open mouth as I add, "Ryan and I got married in New York."

She stumbles back and drops into the kitchen chair. I was afraid I was going to kill my mother but I may have just sent her into shock. I can't tell if tears or vicious words are about to escape her. I can't handle the silence so I continue, "Sebastian and I ended things the night before Ryan got shot. When Austin called I flew to New York and have been there since."

"Austin knew?" My mother gasps and I nod, "He came as our witness. He signed the marriage certificate." My mother's eyes widen and her hand flies to the cross necklace laying against her blue blouse. She squeezes it and then asks, "Why did you and Sebastian end things?" She's still not looking at me so I stay standing across from her. I wasn't expecting that question so I mutter out, "We just...he wanted to...I was still...there were many reasons." She finally looks to me and tartly asks, "Was Ryan Hart one of those reasons?"

"Yes." I answer firmly and a manic laugh escapes her. I don't want the blame to fall on Ryan as to why she didn't get her happily ever after so I add, "And so was the fact that he didn't kick his coke habit. And that his cousin was a cow and his mother a Scarlett Hemming on steroids. Oh and that he was setting up business plans with Rory Cunningham!"

"So you ended things?" She asks with her eyebrow raised, like she already knows the answer. I fold my arms across my chest and feel my heart pounding.

"It was mutual. We both had baggage we weren't willing to overlook." I snap.

"And your baggage included a rendezvous with an ex in Paris?" She asks again with a smirk and her tone is enraging me. Her bipolar attitude has me stunned and I can't believe she flipped her emotions around so quickly. She went from horrified to smug in seconds. She thinks I'm the reason Sebastian and I fell apart. She can't fathom that I wouldn't tolerate some of his choices.

"Sebastian knew about Ryan and I yes. But that was only one of many reasons that we couldn't move forward in our relationship," I explain. I feel like cocaine and Rory should be explanation enough but clearly that's not on the same level as Ryan Hart.

"So then at the first opportunity you run back to Ryan and after denying you for months he suddenly changes his mind? And marries you no less?" She asks with a shrug of her shoulders. I cannot tell her Ryan is no longer an agent. She'll immediately become suspicious of his proposal happening so soon after him filing for unemployment. I do not want to dive into the mess of my trust fund so I simply answer, "Yes."

"So when are you due?" She suddenly asks while flicking her eyes from my face to my abdomen.

Suddenly I'm the one horrified, "Why would you assume I'm pregnant?"

"Because Ryan fought you off for months, you two hook up in Paris, Sebastian suddenly casts you aside and a month later you're married. That to me makes the most sense," she states plainly.

"Well I'm not pregnant! Ryan just didn't want to fight off the inevitable any longer. We both knew we belonged together," I snap, on the verge of being shrill. She releases a long sigh, like she's suddenly exhausted.

"Well darlin, you got yourself a husband and some money. What do you need me for then? Why you here?" She asks plainly. She folds up her dainty hands and crosses her legs at the knee. She tilts her head and almost gives me a smile.

"I just wanted to clarify who I got married to. Austin thought you might be thinking it was Sebastian," I say slowly. Her calmness is freaking me out. This is it? That was the melt down?

"Well now you've done that. You should probably go check on your husband. Hopefully you left the windows cracked for him," she sneers and I'm taken back. This is how she wants to leave it?

"I told him to wait in the car so you'd give me a chance to explain. If he came in here holding my hand you wouldn't have given us a chance," I tell her but she remains still.

"We'll never know that now will we?" She states and then I watch her turn to her tea. She lifts the dainty porcelain to her pink lips and then turns her back to me.

I stand there staring at her French twist not knowing what else to say. She just dismissed me, conversation over. I slap my hands against my legs in frustration and then spin on my heel. I stride back down the hall and whip the front door open.

Ryan is on his phone when I climb back into the truck and he looks confused as he says, "Austin I'll call you back." He ends the call and then adds, "That either went too well or worse than you thought. You weren't in there more than ten minutes."

I shake my head slowly as I stare at his questioning eyes. I finally answer, "I don't know how that just went. Right when I thought she was going to go nuclear she just sat down and dismissed me." I quickly fill him in on the short discussion and then he says, "I think you've just been disowned baby girl."

"That or I don't have a clue as to who my mother really is. There's no way that was it, end of questioning." I tell him in awe. I really can't comprehend my mother's reaction.

"I think she's hurt and mad and confused and needs to process the reality of the situation," Ryan says as he reaches for my hand. He kisses the back of it and I'm glad there isn't any lingering tension between us.

"Thank god we weren't planning to stay there," I tell him and he nods, "Austin says our room is ready whenever we are. Are we done here and should head that way?"

I shake my head, "No, we got one more stop before making our way to Austin's side of town."

"Where to?"

"Gus's." I answer and without adding anything else, he starts up the truck and turns around.