Page 30 of Reluctantly Yours

Why am I doing this?

If I had a dollar for every time I’d asked myself that question over the past few days as this dinner loomed ahead of me, I might be able to pay for Sofia’s future education.I should’ve stuck to my guns, refused to acquiesce.Some things transcended family ties and keeping the peace.

Like fucking a man’s wife, especially when the man in question happened to be one’s very own son.

“It’ll be fine,” Penny whispered, eyeing the way my leg bounced as we sat together in the back seat of my Mercedes.Sofia would normally sit between us but was too determined to see out the window to be caged in.

“Who says it won’t?”I asked.

“Sofia does that when she’s nervous or has to pee,” she pointed out, nodding at my leg.“Which is it?Did you forget to go before we left the house?Even Sofia knows to do that.”

“Remind me to laugh later,” I muttered with a scowl, though I had to fight the smirk threatening to tug at my mouth.

“You’re going to be fine.”Her hand closed over my knee, and her touch took off the edge of anxiety threatening to cripple me.“Remember what we talked about.Show him you don’t need him.”If only it were that simple.

“Wow!”No need to ask Sofia if she was excited.Her eyes shone as we approached the house once we made it through the front gates.“It’s like a castle!”

Her childish opinion left me grinding my teeth in frustration.“It’s not that much bigger than our house,” I pointed out.From the corner of my eye, I caught Penny giving me a look, but she didn’t offer an explanation.She probably thought I was being immature, unwilling to give my father even a crumb of credit.It shouldn’t have pissed me off the way it did, thinking she was forming opinions based on a small slice of the full story.It was none of her business.It was none of anybody’s business.

“Now, remember what we talked about.”Penny adjusted the headband Sofia wore.“This might not be a running around kind of house.Don’t forget to say please and thank you.”

“I know that stuff,” Sofia informed her in a withering voice that made me worry for the day she became a teenager.

“Still, it’s good to remember.”We exchanged an exasperated look, and for a second, I could forget what I was heading into.We were two people who both loved the same kid.It was simple.It was real.In other words, the opposite of my childhood and my relationship with the man I swore I would never stand in the same room with again.I should’ve known better.There’s no such thing as never.

Gravel crunched under the tires as we rolled to a stop in the front courtyard.So much was the same—the pristine gardens, the palm trees reaching for the sky.Lights glowed inside the sprawling mansion, giving the illusion of warmth and comfort.At first glance, no one would guess there was a monster living inside.

“It’s impressive,” Penny whispered, lifting a shoulder when I shot her a sharp look.“I mean.Ew.Gross.What a nightmare.”

Her playful smirk left me scowling again.“You have no idea how right you are.”

She rolled her eyes with a sigh.“You could’ve done a lot worse.I spent my youth sharing a bedroom with two sisters.I would’ve killed to grow up somewhere like this.”

“Yes, it was every kid’s dream.Practically living in a museum where I wasn’t allowed to touch much of anything.”But it was not where I grew up.It was where I grew older.Growing up was the day I found those memos back in China, and if I hadn’t grown up then, I certainly had the day I walked in on him and Nicola.

I could hear her protests ringing in my ears as I climbed out of the car, taking Sofia’s hand once she hopped out.“It’s not what it looks like.” Who the hell did she think she was kidding?“I can explain.” Like my eyes were playing tricks.Like I couldn’t see exactly what was happening.

My father, fucking my wife, the mother of my child.

A child who now skipped happily beside me, climbing the wide steps leading up to the ornate entrance.The wrought iron grates in front of the doors were painted gold that gleamed richly but was nothing but paint.It was for show, like so many other things in this house.In this family.My little girl would never know I had a paternity test done after that day, no matter how Nicola swore up and down that I was Sofia’s father.The funny thing about trust was how once it was broken, all bets were off.

But I could say with confidence that I stood beside my biological daughter, with Penny on my left, as we waited for one of the staff to open the door.“Peter.It’s good to see you,” I offered at the site of the elderly butler.I figured he would’ve retired by now, but there he was, still answering doors and directing guests to the drawing room.“No need to show me the way,” I assured him, chuckling as we set off.

I doubted Penny was breathing as she looked around us, awestruck.“This is incredible,” she whispered, shooting me a guilty look.“All the art,” she explained, shrugging, then returned her attention to the paintings in their gilt frames.

“It is an impressive collection.”That much, I could admit.I wasn’t a complete asshole.“A lot of that is Mom’s influence.She’s the art lover.”

“So pretty,” Sofia whispered, staring in awe at the grandeur I had taken for granted growing up.We were hardly poor.She wanted for nothing, but there was a difference between living well and living in a museum.My parents had built a museum around themselves.

Mom stood beside the dark, cold fireplace, turning when we entered the formal drawing room.She looked radiant in a cream-colored dress that flowed gently around her ankles as she crossed the room with her arms outstretched.“There you are!I have been looking forward to seeing you!”

I let go of Sofia’s hand so she could run to Mom, and for a few seconds, everything was all right.It was almost worth having my stomach in knots for days when I witnessed her joy as she gathered Sofia into her arms and hugged her tight, smiling from ear to ear.

“Happy birthday,” Penny offered, hanging back.

“Thank you so much.”Mom stood, extending a hand.“You look beautiful.I’m so glad you could make it tonight.”

“I’m so happy I was invited.”Penny’s giggle went straight to my heart, loosening my chest, warming what was hard and cold when we first pulled up.She had considered wearing her red dress again tonight, but I shut the idea down as gently as possible.No way would I let her look like that in front ofhim.She had finally relented and worn a classy, simple black dress after warning me of how I’d have to repay her afterward since she hated wearing the color.Some sacrifices I was happy to make.

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