Page 90 of Claiming What's Mine

“He said it's fine.” Flaring her lids wider, she moved her eyes from me to Jayden. “Come on in, Jayden.” Holding the door open with one arm, she guided him inside with a smile.

Jayden didn't hesitate, taking long strides from the driveway, up the ramp, and into the house. My heart began to race, my palms were sweaty and my chest was tight. Jayden and my father hadn't seen each other in such a long time, the idea of them being in the same room together terrified me.

“Thank you, Mrs. Fable, I really appreciate this.”

“Oh, it's not up to me, Sweetie, it's Greg's choice. If he told me to kick you off our property and call the cops, I'd be doing that instead.” My mother let out a gentle laugh, giving him a lopsided grin. “Luckily, that wasn't what he said.”

“I won't take up too much of his time. I just need to talk to him for a minute.”

Thinning her lips, she looked down the hall. “Last door on the right, and take your time. I think you both have things to say.”

Jay looked back at me over his shoulder, his eyes telling me everything would be alright, but his body was tense, as if he was about to go fight in a bare knuckle boxing match.

Cupping my hands under my chin, my mother walked up beside me and wrapped her hands around my shoulders. Giving me a squeeze, she kissed my cheek.

“It's alright, Blue, they both need this.”

I watched him as he walked down the hall, taking the handle in his hand and knocking before walking inside. He didn't look back at me before he disappeared into the room, and that made my heart slam inside my chest and my stomach jump into my throat.

“I hope you're right,” I said to my mother, giving her an unsure smile.

All I could do was hope that he'd get what he was looking for out of this.

Bliss deserved her father, and I deserved to be with the man I had loved for a lifetime.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Jayden

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The handle was coldin my palm, my muscles pulsing and relaxing at the same time as my adrenaline started to flow.

I never had the chance to confront him before, and now all I wanted to do was grab him by the shirt, tug him into my face, and let him have it. He was supposed to be someone to look up to, someone you could talk to, someone who wouldn't judge you if you were sorry for your sins.

But I hadn't sinned, I had only loved his daughter with all my heart, and that hadn't changed.

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