Page 74 of Trust In Me

Holy fuck, did he just say what I think he said?

Kellan charges up from the sofa, and the collective gasp of breath from all the people watching the exchange confirms to me that he did in fact say that. He does intend on still selling me to the highest bidder. Marrying me off like I’m a piece of his property. Kellan, visibly shaking with rage, begins to pace before turning to face my father with fire in his voice. “I don’t mean to sound disrespectful when I say this, but you can fuck right off. You will not be setting Mia up with anyone else ever again. You’ve already met the man she will marry. Me. This is not a proposal, because I can do so much better than this shitshow. But this is just me telling you that one day, I will marry your daughter. So you can stop looking for a suitor, because she has found one. We are happy together, and if your intention is to ruin that or cause trouble for us, then you can get the fuck out right now.”

A smile spreads across my face and my heart races. Kellan just told the world that one day he wants to marry me, and I couldn’t be happier. I know that Kellan and Hallie are my future, but hearing him confirm it is everything.

“You two?” my father asks, his gaze flitting between Kellan and me. His nose crinkled in that snobby look of disgust he’s famous for.

I stand and walk to Kellan’s side, before taking hold of his hand and clasping our fingers together. I give him the biggest smile I can manage before turning back to face my father.

“Yes. Kellan is the man I love, and who I’ll be spending my life with. He knows everything. All about the horrors I endured as a kid, and he still loves me. He has seen all the skeletons in my closet, and he still chooses me. I don’t want you in my life, and I won't have you in Hallie’s life. So, I think it would be a good idea now if you left.” My voice, for the first time in my entire life, stayed strong. It didn’t waver, and my father knows I am serious.

Standing from where he was perched on the edge of the seat, he looks at us with barely disguised contempt. “Obviously I will have to be part of your life since I work with Mrs. Doughty here. I will keep my distance, but all I ask is that you don’t go spreading lies brought on by that overactive imagination of yours, Mia.” His voice has never sounded so small or belittling, and Kellan begins to yell at him, but I cut him off. He can deny the allegations all he wants, everyone that matters knows the truth and believes me. As far as I’m concerned, he just gave me the one thing I have wanted from him since I was a kid.

“I will keep my mouth shut, if you agree you have no claim on me. I am not your daughter, and I’m not a Whitlock that can be used as a business asset. I want to get away from you.”

He laughs, no longer even trying to hide behind his professional businessman act. “You do realise if you do that you are cut off completely? No money, no trust fund, no nothing. You will lose it all.”

A smile crosses my face, and that only serves to confuse him even more. “In your eyes I will have lost everything, but in reality, I have everything I have ever wanted right here,” I say proudly, as I point to the family that has welcomed me in with open arms.

“Fine!” he snaps, but before he is able to continue and say anything further, Desmond, who up until a moment ago had been keeping quietly out of the way, steps forward.

“Come, Mortimer. I think it’s time I showed you out.” Desmond gently takes hold of Whitlock's arm and leads him to the door, Kian and Liam following closely behind to make sure nothing kicks off and that he actually leaves.

I don’t wait for him to leave, I throw my arms around Kellan and press my lips to his, which he instantly deepens. His hand threads into my hair, while the other travels down my back before gripping my ass. I can hear the catcalls of our family, but I don’t care. I just love the feel of being in Kellan’s arms, and the taste of him on my tongue.

He pulls away, and I can’t help but pout. “I’m so proud of you for standing up to him like that,” Kellan says, the pride more than evident on his face.

“Did you really mean it when you said one day you would marry me?” I ask, suddenly wishing we weren’t having this conversation with our whole family staring at us.

Kellan’s cocky grin spreads across his face and just as he is about to answer, Hallie lets out a shriek, and holds her arms out from where she is on Ryleigh’s knee and indicates she wants her dad to pick her up. Kellan leans down and as he picks her up, Hallie pulls on his hair, laughs, and says, “Dada.”

The room goes silent, and Kellan and I look at each other with wonder and confusion. Did Hallie just say her first word?

“Dada! Dada!” she squeals, very much confirming that she did just say her first word. The look of wonder and joy on Kellan’s face lights up the whole room, and I pull them both in for a hug.

After that the whole room erupts. People congratulate Hallie on her first word, others try to film her saying it again, while some—Kian—try to get her to say their name instead. The room is full of fun, laughter, and noise. Just the way it should be. I’ve never belonged to a family before, not a real one. But now I do, I can’t imagine what life would be like without them.

Kellan leans in and whispers in my ear so the rest of my family can’t hear. “There will come a time one day soon where we have to assassinate your dad, but first we need to find out how deep he is in all this bullshit. He has a reach much farther than we anticipated, and we need to know what he is capable of before we move against him. I just need to know that when the time is right, you will give us permission to end his life.”

I pull away from him, so he can see how incredibly fucking serious I am. “I would pull the trigger if I could.”

Kellan pulls me in, that cocky smile back on his face. “That right there is why I love you, Flower.”

From the day I brought Mia home, I never let her go. She practically moved into my bedroom, and it just felt so natural to have her in my space. Every night I fell asleep with her in my arms, and every morning I woke up looking at her beautiful face. But it wasn’t smooth sailing. Every night Mia would wake up covered in sweat, screaming erratically. That, in turn, would wake up Hallie. So my sleep deteriorated rapidly. But I didn’t care, I just wanted to help her. I hated seeing her in pain, and how fucking terrified she was.

At first I couldn’t get her to open up, all I could do was hold her and let her know that she was safe. But, eventually she started talking to me, opening up about her nightmares. If I thought hearing her screaming in pain was bad, hearing all the gory details of what Mia has gone through in her life, my heart breaks for my beautiful girl. I never realised how strong my girl was until I heard all about what she survived. Because that’s exactly what she did…she’s a survivor, and I’m so fucking proud of her.

The more we started to talk, the more our relationship grew. I told her all about my past, and we both decided we should lay it all out on the table. No dirty little secrets in the closet that could come out to bite us in the ass, and the more we trusted each other, the closer we grew. The more I learn about her, the more I love her.

It’s been around three months now since the horrific incident, and we’re closer than we’ve ever been. But, I can tell Mia’s getting frustrated with me. She thinks I’m deliberately withholding sex from her, and I am. I know by now she is pretty much healed, but whenever she takes her clothes off, all I can see is the fresh knife wound on her stomach, and flashes of that moment when she went into cardiac arrest floods my mind. Blood covers her whole body, and all I can think is, I don’t want to break her. I know it’s not logical, but that doesn’t stop me from being terrified.

Mia’s been getting more overt in her seduction, and fuck it kills me every time I deny her. Of course I want to fuck my very beautiful girlfriend. I’m hurting myself just as much as I am her. I don’t even want to think about how fucking big and blue my bollocks are. I need to have sex with her, but I’m terrified.

“You all ready, babe?” Mia shouts from inside the en suite. She sticks her head around the corner and I catch a glimpse of her naked body. Fuck! Keeping my distance from her is getting harder and harder. Even with the new imperfections that litters her skin, it doesn’t detract from her overwhelming beauty. In fact, when she smiles at me, shaking her hips, exposing her fucking glorious tits and ass, she looks perfect.

“Doesn’t she look cute?” I reply, holding up my daughter who has the biggest scowl on her face.

Hallie isn’t much of a morning person. She’s grumpy as hell before she gets her breakfast, and this morning is even worse because I’m getting her all dressed up ready for our visitors. I stand her up on the bed, holding her under her arms since she can only stand if she’s holding on to something or someone. She’s getting much closer to being able to walk, though.

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