Page 56 of Dear Glory

“Yeah, acquainted as a person of interest for murder in Ireland!” Linus stumbles over, wiping dirt from his uniform.What did he say?!

“Murder? What murder? He’s the best guy around! Dad, I know you don’t like him, but this too much!” I shout, peeved.

“It’s as my Dear Glory stated, what utter nonsense… murder? How absurd! I’m but a humble citizen of the United States ofAmerica on holiday. I don’t commit crimes. I even pay my taxes on time,” Sir shrugs. “That aside, you’re holding something that belongs to me, and I want it back.” The smile on Sir’s face fades and my dad sneers.

“Something that belongs to you… I hope you’re not referring to my daughter, Axil O’Hara, or that’ll be a major problem for you.” My dad sets me down and Linus grabs hold of me, making Sir’s eyes fill with rage.

“Glory, come here,” Sir crooks his finger to beckon me, speaking with a forceful tone that brooks not arguments. I wriggle out of Linus’ weak grasp and run over, evading my dad’s attempt to catch me, running directly into Sir’s arms, who kisses me blatantly on the lips before placing me behind him with Lawrence, Wolf, and Fabian flanking me.

“Well, this is unfortunate,” my dad grunts as he pulls out a desert eagle and points it at Sir. “You’ve crossed a line that you won’t live to come back from.”

“DAD! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! PUT THAT GUN AWAY! I LOVE HIM!”

“Glorinda, you have always been spoiled, and I make it my life’s mission to give you what you want, but this? No! You don’t know who it is you’re standing behind, and that’s okay. You don’t have to know… in fact, I don’t want you to know. I’ll kill this mother fucker and make it so he’s never able to so much as breathe the same air as you,” Dad grits out, and I look between them panicking, but Sir doesn’t so much as bat an eye.

“I’m telling you, General Cross, you’ve got the wr?—”

“Shut the fuck up and hand over my daughter!”

“I can’t do that General Cross…” Sir shakes his head, and my dad cocks his gun.

“Then you had better pray, boy…” Dad gives him a serious face that tells me he’s literally about to ki?—

Guns… so many guns come out… Wolf, Fabian, Lawrence, Bunny, and every single one of Bunny and Wolf’s staff, even the damn gardener pulls out a gun and points it at my dad as Linus just stand there trembling while my dad shrugs.

“Do you think I give a fuck about dying? I’ve served in the United States Military. I might die, but it’ll be peacefully knowing my daughter is away from a sick son of a bitch like you!”

“Tragic,” Sir sighs and pulls me to him, showing him the ring that Fabian had taken off when he bandaged my hand, and slides it onto my finger. “Since we’re in-laws now, are you truly willing to make your daughter a widow so soon?” Sir questions and pulls out a piece of paper.

“Do you think I’m stupid? You’re already married!”

“Not anymore. Idina… decided it was better for us to divorce amicably as I had been suggesting, just today,” he smiles, catching his refection and wiping something red off his chin before handing me a marriage license with his signature already on it along with a pen “Go on, Glorious,” Sir tells me and I take the pen without hesitation.

“Don’t you fucking dare, Glorinda!”But I do dare! In fact, I triple dog dare!I sign my name and hand it back. Sir nods, and Wolf takes it from me, staining it with red and signing in the officiant spot.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” Wolf speaks in her sweet voice and hands it to Sir. Sir pulls out a gold band and slides it on, pulling me into his arms, bending me at the knee. He kisses me deeply, knocking the air from my lungs before he lifts me and my dad seethes, still holding the gun up before dropping it, and everyone else follows suit.

“If you think this is over, then you’re sorely mistaken.” He clenches his jaw, stalking off to the car. “You’ll find out just howmuch I don’t fuck around about that one.” He yanks the door open, but I run over to him.

“Dad!” I catch his arm and thankfully he doesn’t reject me. “Can you let this go?! Si… I mean Axil isn’t what you think he is!” He looks down at me with clear heartbreak, sighing and closing his eyes.

“No, he’s worse… far, far worse. You’re blinded by love, but one day you’ll see why I did all of this,” he grits out. But he’s mistaken! Sir might be a lot of things, but he’s not the monster they are making him out to be. And even if he is… to me, he’s everything and there’s no turning back. He’s the power source that keeps me going and fuels me, and I cannot let him go.Even for my dad…

“Are you mad at me?” I glance up at him sadly. I’ve always wanted to get from his powerful shadow and live for myself, but to know that I’ve potentially ruined our father-daughter bond…

“I’m disappointed, but not mad. I could never be mad at you. It’s as you said, you’re grown. I can’t come in and try to disrupt your life like this but,” he pauses and pulls me into a big bear hug, arms trembling, “Daddy will always come if you need help. Always, because you’ll always be my little girl.” He kisses the top of my head and steps away.

“I know, Dad. Thank you for everything,” I smile through tears and watch as he gets into the car and Linus goes around to the driver side.

“There’s no need to thank me. He might be your husband, but I’ll arrest his ass and deport him back to Ireland at the first sign of a parking ticket.”

“You can’tdeportan American citizen,” Sir calls from behind me, but I ignore him since I don’t want to make a bad situation worse.

“I’ll make sure he behaves,” I tell my dad, but he curls his lip and raises a brow.

“Somehow I doubt that, but regardless,” he clears his throat. “Come visit. Your mother misses you,” he tells me and I chuckle at that even though I know he’s lying.

“Okay, I’ll stop by with her son-in-law, but not before I call her and tell her about what you did today,” I cross my arms and he grimaces. He slams the door, and he and Linus drive off, leaving me feeling liberated.

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