Page 251 of The Billionaire's Obsession: Florida

“You’re upset. Open the door now,” Travis demanded. “I’m not leaving until I see if you’re okay.”

Dammit. Why did Travis have to be so damned persistent? And stubborn! “Why can’t you just go away? I don’t want to see anyone right now.” Her desperation to get rid of him made her break her pretense of being ill.

“You’re not sick. You’re upset. Open the door or I’ll break a window,” Travis threatened ominously.

Problem was, Ally knew Travis never made empty threats, and the last thing she wanted was to replace a window. He’d do it without a thought. Part of her was angry because he was threatening her, but another part was touched because it appeared like he genuinely cared. None of this was Travis’s fault. The least she could do was face him, let him know she was okay.

After swiping a hand over her face one more time, she unbolted the door. If he was satisfied that she was fine, he’d go. She swung the door open and the worried expression on his face made her want to throw herself into his arms and cry until her emotions were spent. But instead, she turned her head and told him weakly, “I’m fine. I’ve had a bad day. I’m sorry you had to drive all the way over here.”

Travis easily muscled his way past her and closed the door. He tipped her chin up and assessed her for several seconds before he spoke. “You’ve been crying. What happened? There’s no problem big enough to make you cry. I can fix it.”

Ally looked at him then, her eyes sweeping over his immaculate suit and tie. When her gaze landed on his face, she was taken aback by the fierceness of his expression. But that was Travis. He was a fixer of problems, big and small. Unfortunately, he couldn’t fix her emotional turmoil or her dysfunctional mind. “Rick was here. He wants to get back together.” She pulled away from him and walked into the living room, needing to get away from the temptation of telling him everything. “We argued. It just left me a little shaken up. I’ll be fine.” She would be okay. As soon as she could manage to bury her feelings of worthlessness and guilt deep enough where no one could see them.

Travis caught her around the waist and turned her to face him. “Did he hurt you? Did he touch you? If he did, I swear I’ll kill him.”

“No. We just had a disagreement. It was nothing really,” she answered, trying to keep her voice calm.

Travis grasped her by the shoulders. “What happened? Tell me you didn’t consider for even a moment taking that bastard back again,” he said huskily, notes of both demand and desperation in his voice.

“I’m not. I wouldn’t. It’s just…” Her voice trailed off, Ally feeling at a loss as to how to explain. Tears started to form again, the droplets trickling down her cheeks in frustration and pain.

Travis swept her up in his arms and sat on the couch, keeping her on his lap. “Tell me.” His voice was low and persuasive, his arms comforting.

Ally snapped like a broken tree branch dangling in the wind that had finally given way to the pressure and had fallen to the ground. She told Travis everything between broken sobs, purging herself of the emotions that had been plaguing her for so long. After she told him about her unwanted encounter with Rick, she explained how her mother had been while she was growing up and how inadequate she’d always felt.

“Why can’t I stop hearing her voice in my head? She’s been dead for years,” Ally finished, frustrated with herself.

“Maybe because you chose the asshole as the next voice in your head. Did you think he was all you deserved, Ally? A man who would work you to death, treat you like shit, and manipulate the hell out of you?” Travis asked, every muscle in his body tense. “I know how fucking hard it is to not believe everything you’re told and taught growing up. But believe me when I say that you don’t deserve what you’ve gotten.”

Ally looked up at Travis, his jaw clenched and his eyes wild with anger. “How did you do it, Travis? How did you live through what you had handed to you in your life and not be affected by it?” He’d grown up with a madman, and some of the experiences he’d shared with her made her shudder.

He tucked a lock of hair gently behind her ear as he answered, “I didn’t. It affected me. But I had Mia and Kade. We all knew what was happening wasn’t normal. And I grew up while I was in college. I had to. My father wasn’t able to run the company anymore. The minute I finished school, I had him ousted for incompetency and took his place. Harrison was starting to flounder, and there were too many people counting on us to provide a living for them. The company wasn’t going to withstand his insane behavior and erratic decision-making much longer.”

“Did it make you feel vindicated? Were you free?” she asked quietly.

“It didn’t hurt,” Travis admitted. “I didn’t do it for revenge. I did it to save the company my grandfather busted his ass to build. But I won’t say part of me wasn’t satisfied that I was finally able to strip my father of the power he’d had over all of us for our entire life.”

“When did you stop being afraid of him?” Ally queried curiously.

“As soon as I got big enough to kick his ass,” Travis replied, his hand absently stroking her hair. “He was the monster who had terrified every one of us for years. I finally realized when I finished high school that I didn’t have to be afraid of him anymore. When Kade and I left for college, I warned him if he ever laid a hand on Mia or my mother again, I’d kill him.”

“Did you kick his ass?” she asked hesitantly.

Travis shrugged. “I didn’t have to. By then, he was nothing but a shell with an insane mind. But he never touched Mia after that. Or my mother…until he actually killed her.”

“Would you have done it if you’d needed to?”

“Yes,” Travis answered immediately. “I would have done anything to keep him from hurting the rest of my family.”

Ally reached out her hand and stroked his cheek, letting her fingers wander into his hair. “You were so incredibly brave. I know everything you went through had to be painful, yet you survived intact.”

Travis barked out an unamused laugh. “Maybe not intact, but yes, I survived.”

“I’m sorry I had another meltdown on you.” Ally felt a little silly now. After all that Travis had gone through in his lifetime, her history was mild in comparison.

“Don’t,” Travis said huskily, his arm tightening around her waist. “Don’t minimize your emotions or push them under your skin. Stop being so damn hard on yourself. It’s not your fault, Ally.”

Ally took a deep breath, her gaze clashing with Travis’s. “I need to get my shit together.”

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