Page 113 of Pretend for Me

Dev and Rowan speak at once. “You paid him?!”

I take a trembling breath, looking back to see the disappointment on Dev’s face. “I–I thought I was doing the right thing. I wanted him gone and for none of us to have to deal with him.”

“Is he the guy who texted you? The one you wouldn’t tell me about?” Dev asks.

I nod, swallowing against the jagged stone lodged in my throat. “I’m sorry.”

Dev’s features soften as he reaches for my face, his hand cupping my jaw. “Sweetheart, you never ever have to deal withanythingon your own, especially not a cowardly asshole like this one.”

I breathe a sigh of relief but it only lasts a second when mydad sing-songs malignantly again, “Looks like you’re going to have to pay up again,sweetheart.”

Deepak’s voice cuts through the rising commotion, but my heart drops when he speaks. “I’d like to see the picture.”

This is it. That happy little bubble I was in not long ago has burst for good.

It’s no secret Deepak never approved of me. And now, in the face of a scandal like this, he’ll make his point clear. He might even threaten to take away the company from Dev if he moves forward with marrying me. Even the thought of Dev losing everything he’s worked so hard for is too much for me to bear.

A moment later the picture is handed to him, but to my utter shock, he doesn’t so much as glance at it. With his furious eyes pinned on my father, he rips the photograph to shreds, throwing it on the ground.

“Let’s make one thing clear, Mr. Parker.” Deepak’s voice is cold and venomous, similar to the voice I’ve heard my fiancé use when he sees someone so much as look at me the wrong way. “No one threatens my daughter-in-law or my son, no one threatens my family. You think you have dirt on us?” His brow rises indignantly. “I’ll have enough on you to bury you twice over, all before the cops even get here. Go ahead and go to the press, see what happens when you take on the daughter-in-law of the most influential family in the world?—”

“She’s no daughter-in-law. She was a useless box of rocks from the moment she was born. Hell, I don’t even know if she’s mine!”

“That’s enough!” Rowan roars, lunging at the backs of the security team to try to get to our father. “You fucking piece of garbage!”

“And she’s still nothing,” my dad continues, unperturbed, his hollow, red-rimmed eyes proof of how far gone he is.

God, he looks far worse than just being drunk. He looksunhinged, like a man lost to all the toxins he’s putting into his body.

As much as his words used to stone and mar my soul, I feel nothing for them now. Nothing for him. It’s not hate he’s spewing for me, it’s his own self-loathing that’s brought him to this.

He’s jealous of my successes and thinks I’m an easy target. Hasn’t he always treated women in that way—people to be used and tossed away? His calloused words are no longer strong enough to pierce my resilience and self-worth. I see him for exactly what he is, trash.

“The only thing your slutty so-called daughter-in-law has,” he snarls, “are the tits her mom gave?—”

But he doesn’t have a chance to finish.

Because before I even register he’s no longer by my side, my soon-to-be husband has parted the two enormous security staff and punched my father so hard, he goes tumbling to the ground.

A second later, Dev is straddling him, his nostrils flaring and his eyes lost to his rage. My father’s blood splatters over Dev’s white cuffs and shirt as he continues to unleash his fury on him.

And strangely, that’s not the scariest part about the situation. It’s the fact that he does it without a spoken word, not even a groan. As if this isn’t taking any effort on his part. As if he doesn’t want to deign the moment with words, just his fists.

My father is a heaping mess of blood, and likely a broken nose and jaw, as I fly toward Dev along with my brother and Hudson, trying to peel him off my dad before he kills him.

Thankfully, we don’t have to do much because Dev lifts off my dad willingly, having made his point clear.

His turbulent eyes settle at the sight of me, and I quickly gather his hands in mine.

My throat feels clogged when I see the ripped skin alonghis knuckles. “Oh my God, Dev! Look at your hands.” I look up into his eyes, my chin trembling. “I’m so sorry.”

Dev leans down to place a kiss on my lips. “No, baby, don’t be sorry.” He gathers me in his arms. “Just promise me you’ll never deal with something like this on your own.”

I nod against his chest. “I promise.”

My dad is still squirming on the ground when I walk over to him. He glowers at me, but I just stare back at him with both pity and disgust.

My jaw hardens, even as tears leak from my lids. “A father is supposed to be a protector, a champion, and an inspiration for his children. But you were none of those things for us,” I say, speaking for me and my brother.

---