Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
The guy didn’t even blink.
“If you don’t feel any ounce of guilt, then you must really be a psychopath.”
“Or I just don’t like you.”
Asshole. “The only feelings that matter are your daughter’s. She’s making a decision without the facts, a decision that will affect the rest of her life. Tell her the truth so she can stop being miserable.”
“Miserable?” he asked. “She seemed fine to me.”
An explosion of pain hit my chest, the devastation passing in aftershocks.
“She said she was relieved it was over for good.” He said it with a straight face, like a weatherman reporting the weather during the nightly news.
For an instant, I succumbed to it, picturing her happy while I was miserable on the couch all day. So miserable that I’d barely eaten since the morning she’d walked out. “You can’t manipulate me the way you manipulate Scarlett. I know how much she’s hurting right now. And she knows how much I’m hurting.”
Dante didn’t deny the accusation, but he kept a straight face like a poker champion.
“I love your daughter, Dante. I would die for her. I would give her my lungs if she couldn’t breathe. I would give her my heart if hers stopped beating. You may not like me, but you know that I’m good for her.”
He continued his hostile stare.
“Despite our differences, I’m not interested in sabotaging your relationship the way you’re interested in sabotaging mine. I understand what you mean to her, and I would never undermine that. Let’s move forward and make this work.”
“I don’t understand your meaning, Axel.”
“I want your daughter—so name your price.”
His arms crossed over his chest, and he took several seconds to process my statement. “I can’t convince her to come back to you, Axel.”
“You can if you tell her the truth.”
The arrogance in his eyes suddenly faded, provoked by the scandalous suggestion.
“Name your price.”
“There is no price, Axel. I’ll take it to the grave.”
“I love your daughter, and she loves me—”
“I’ve never heard her say such a thing—”
“You don’t need to hear someone say it to know how they feel. It’s in her stare. It’s in the way she asks me to let her know that I’m okay. It’s in the way she grabs my hand under the table. It’s in everything she does. But she’s too afraid to say it because of the way I hurt her. The way you made me hurt her.”
Dante kept his arms across his chest.
“All I want is her. Please.”
After a pause, he shook his head slightly. “No.”
“Tell her the truth, and I promise I’ll get her to forgive you. I will mend the relationship, and we can move forward.”
“Even if that’s true, it’ll never be the same—”
“Our lives will never be the same if we aren’t together.” I spoke calmly, with a note of defeat, because I didn’t expect this to succeed. But I tried anyway. “I love her so damn much. She loves me. It’ll be a tragedy if we don’t end up together because you intervened. A fucking tragedy. How does that not bother you?”
“Because my daughter is smart and beautiful and can have any man she wants. She’ll be just fine without you.”
“But I’m the man she wants, Dante. And you aren’t letting her have what she wants.”
“I’m not doing anything. She’s the one who’s choosing to leave—”
“Because of you. Make this right. If you love your daughter, you’ll make this right.”
“And if I could do that without compromising our relationship, I would. But that’s not possible. She’s the single most important thing to me. I would never jeopardize that.”
“But you did jeopardize it with your lies.”
“I was trying to protect her—”
“From the best thing that ever happened to her?” I asked incredulously. “I treat her like a fucking goddess, Dante.”
“Did you treat your last wife like a goddess?” he asked coldly.
“I know you don’t believe that.”
“I believe in facts, Axel. And you went to prison for two years—”
“It’s not true. And your daughter knows it’s not.” I raised my hand. “I’m tired of having this same conversation—”
“As am I,” he snapped.
“I’m willing to leave the past behind us. I’m willing to give you a clean slate. I’m willing to try to accept you as my father-in-law. I will fight for your relationship with Scarlett. By telling her the truth, you’ll have redeemed yourself in my eyes as well as hers. I’ll give you back your business. I’ll do anything you want at this point. Just tell her the truth. You can tell whatever convoluted version of the story you want. I just want her to understand that I did not end things because I wanted to. I did not go out with Cassandra because I wanted to. Please, Dante.”
He listened to my speech with a blank stare, like he hadn’t heard a word I said. He rubbed his arm and released a breath from his nostrils. “I can’t help you, Axel. I suggest you move on and forget my daughter—just as she’ll forget about you.”