All Chapters of Rich Heir Life on Borrowed Love: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

Thanksgiving came around, and for once, the whole family was together.I was pouring beer for Dad. Just as I filled his glass, my brother, Eric Jones, suddenly held out his own glass and muttered, "Pour me some too."I froze, instinctively glancing at Mom.I remembered that she'd told me Eric was allergic to alcohol. He couldn't have so much as a drop, or he'd break out in a rash. "Eric, you can't drink. Have a soda instead."Unexpectedly, he snatched the bottle right out of my hand and drank straight from it. When he set it down, he seemed fine, so I finally relaxed.I'd barely sat back down when he fixed his eyes on me and smiled. "Peter Jones."He'd used my full name. "Do you know how much your life is worth?"Dad shot up from his chair and smacked Eric on the back of the head. "If you're drunk, go up to the attic and sleep it off! Why are you making a scene?"Shocked, I quickly got up to stop him. "Dad, why did you hit him?"The blow knocked Eric off balance, and he banged

Chapter 2

My name was Peter Jones, and I was 23. I'd graduated from college that year and was working in the city.My mom was Dolores Bender. My dad was Henry Jones. And my older brother was Eric Jones.Dad was Mom's second husband, and Eric was Mom's son from her first marriage. As for me, Mom adopted me from an orphanage.I'd known all of that for as long as I could remember. Whenever relatives came over, they would always tell me how lucky I was."I swear, Peter practically fell into the good life.""Dolores and Henry are such kind people for raising an orphan like he's their own flesh and blood. You'd be hard-pressed to find people like them.""And look how well they've raised him. He's clean-cut and soft-spoken. You can tell he's the studious type just by looking at him."Mom would always smile, glowing with satisfaction. "Peter's done us proud. He makes all our hard work worth it."I thought I was lucky, too. I had the nicest room in the house.It was south-facing, a good 160 squa

Chapter 3

Dad quickly defended himself. "I never said a word! It was Eric who started running his mouth after getting drunk. You heard him yourself, didn't you?"Mom refused to drop it. "Then how did he find out? Did you tell him?"Dad shot back, "Do I look crazy to you? You think I'd tell him about that?"The two of them argued back and forth. I stood outside the door, my heart pounding."Could he have figured it out himself? We've treated Eric and Peter so differently over the years. It's not like he's stupid." Mom's voice slipped through the crack in the door, thick with unmistakable irritation.Dad spoke again. "A quiet man can only swallow so much before something breaks.""Go feel him out tomorrow. Find out how much he knows. If he knows too much, we'll have to figure out a way to shut him up for good," Mom retorted."He's your own flesh and blood. Could you really bring yourself to do that?"Mom went silent for a long time, so long that I thought they'd fallen asleep. Then a voi

Chapter 4

"Mom and Dad said that you could never find out about the money and that they'd have to shut you up for good if you knew."Eric went pale at that. He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. For the longest time, nothing came out, but I just waited.When he finally spoke, his voice was so hoarse that it barely sounded like him. "You want the truth?""I do."He went quiet for a long while. Then he knocked back his drink in one gulp, poured himself another, and drained that one too. He abruptly asked, "Did you know your birth father is still alive?"My birth father? Those words were completely foreign to me.As far back as I could remember, I'd only ever had Mom and Dad. My birth parents were never in my life.Mom had always told me I was abandoned as a baby, left outside an orphanage because nobody wanted me."Your birth father is a rich man. He had an affair with your birth mother, and you were the result. She died giving birth to you. He didn't want to raise you, so

Chapter 5

It was 9:00 pm when I got home.When Mom saw me, she immediately plastered a smile on her face. "You haven't eaten yet, right? There's pot roast on the stove for you."I walked in and asked, "Where's Dad?""He has the night shift."I sat down on the couch and called her over. "Come sit with me. I need to ask you something."She turned around and brought me a glass of water, looking every bit like a doting mother. I pressed my lips together before saying, "I want to ask you about my birth father."Her expression changed in an instant. "Your birth father?"Her voice didn't waver. "That's sudden. Where is this coming from?""Eric told me."I kept my eyes on her, and I watched her face go dark the second Eric's name left my mouth."And what did he tell you, exactly?"I said nonchalantly, "He told me my birth father gave you a million dollars in child support."She went quiet for a few seconds. Then she laughed. "Eric was only spouting nonsense because he was drunk. Are you real

Chapter 6

Mary whipped her head around toward Mom. "Dolores, is this true?"Mom paled on the spot. "Don't listen to his nonsense! He simply heard some nonsense from other people and came back to pick a fight with me!"I pulled up a recording on my phone. It was of my conversation with Eric earlier."Mary, give this a listen. Then you can tell me whether I'm the one lying."As it played, Mom's face went from pale to red, then red to pale again.After listening to it, Mary looked at Mom, then at me. For a long moment, she couldn't say a word.Mom tried to explain herself. "Mary, don't listen to him—"Mary slammed her bowl down on the table. "Well, isn't this something, Dolores? When you borrowed that money, you told me it was for your son's tuition, so I handed over what I'd been saving for my own doctor's visits."You never paid it back even though it's been years, so I just chalked it up as a gift. And to think you never meant to pay it back at all!"The moment Mom realized Mary wanted

Chapter 7

I couldn't make out the full sentences. But the pieces I caught were enough to send a chill down my spine.When she ended the call and started heading upstairs, I hurried back to my room, got under the covers, and pretended to be asleep.My door cracked open a sliver. Mom stood there watching me for a while, then pulled the door shut as quietly as she'd opened it.Early the next morning, she said she'd take me to my birth father. We caught a bus into the city, then transferred to another line, and ended up in a small city I'd never set foot in before.Mom barely said a word the whole way, only glancing at me from time to time. There was something unsettling about her gaze, like she was assessing me and calculating her next move. Finally, we arrived at a hotel.I asked, "He's staying here?""Yes. He's waiting for us upstairs."The elevator moved upward, the numbers ticking higher with each floor. I looked in the mirror and saw my own pale face staring back at me.After the eleva

Chapter 8

My birth father was silent for a long time. Then he got up, walked over to the window, and stood there with his back to me. "I'll give you ten million dollars."Mom drew in a sharp breath, whereas I stayed silent."But I have one condition."He turned back around. "You have to come with me.""Come with you? Where to?""Overseas. I'm moving the business out of the country, and I need someone to help me. You've got a degree, and you've got a good head on you. Come with me, and I'll teach you the trade."I searched his face for some sign of the father he was supposed to be, but there was nothing. There was only a stranger's face, and he was simply negotiating a deal with me."What about my brother?""I'll pay for him to get his leg treated in the best hospital by the best doctors.""And my mom?"He looked over at Mom, his expression turning cold. "What happens to her is up to you."Mom went deathly pale. "What's that supposed to mean?""I'm not going to come after you for the

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