Page 41 of Reluctantly Yours

“Let’s start with the money I gave her.The millions.”I sounded out the word slowly.“That money was supposed to keep her away from here, away from me, as far away as possible.So I would never have to see her face again.So she would never know my daughter.”

“You’re both her parents.”

“Nicola forfeited that, and she knows she did.”What brought her back?Why now?

Who was I kidding?I knew exactly why.The only surprise was that it took him this long.It had been three months since our disaster of a dinner.Maybe it took Dad time to stew for a little.Once the inevitable hangover cleared, he had time to replay every moment of that night to the point where his blood boiled and outrage started festering in his gut, burning a hole in him.

Incredible.The girl was still innocent enough that she could look stunned.“Are you telling me you paid her off to never come back?”

“What does it sound like I’m telling you?”My laughter was cold, short-lived.“Yes, that is exactly what I did.And she agreed to it, goddammit.She signed on the line and agreed to take that money and get as far away as she could go.”

“What did she do?”

Not this.Never this.That day, I told myself no one would ever know because it would mean admitting what a blind asshole I was.How they humiliated me.“I don’t want to get into it.”

“She knew about me.I mean, not that it matters,” she added, looking at the floor.“She accused me of trying to take her place.”

“Take her place?”My laughter filled the room, cold and disbelieving.“That would be difficult, seeing as how she was never a mother to Sofia.”Now, it all made sense.That was how he got her back here.Telling her about Penny.Telling her there was another woman moving in on which should’ve been hers.I had no doubt he played it up.Made the whole thing seem like a bigger deal than it was.I brought my slut to family dinner, something tawdry like that.

“But why?”She insisted on challenging me, getting up and following me as I paced the room’s perimeter.“What aren’t you telling me?”

“Why do you need to know?”I countered, almost shouting over the memories.Shock.Disbelief.The way he didn’t even bother to pretend to be sorry.

“Because I care,” Penny insisted behind me.“Don’t you get it?I care about you and Sofia.What is so wrong with that?”

“Some things… I won’t share.I can’t.”

She was too quick, darting in front of me, stepping up until her tits brushed my chest.“What do I need to do to show you I only want to help?”

“Some things can’t be helped unless you can go back more than three years and change things.Can you do that?Maybe you can take me all the way back to before I married that lying, cheating bitch.”

“All right.”She held up her hands, nodding.“She cheated on you.That’s despicable.And I am sorry.Why couldn’t you just say it?I’m sure it must be difficult, but it’s nothing for you to feel responsible for.”

This was too much.Listening to her fighting to understand, as if such a thing was possible.My chest ached, and I could hear the blood rush in my ears.“You don’t know what you’re talking about, and we need to drop this now,” I warned.What was wrong with me?Why did I think I could get away from the whole ugly thing?I told myself the money would be enough, and it had been until that bastard met Penny and made the mistake of thinking he could take advantage of her.That was what pulsed at the heart of the matter.Penny hadn’t fallen for his bullshit.She had called him on it.

“Stop pushing me away,” she pleaded.“Whatever it is, I’m here for you.It can’t be?—”

“She fucked my father.”As Penny’s mouth slowly dropped open, I threw my hands into the air.“Now you know.Happy?Or do you want the details?”

Sanity had decided to take a break.I was too far gone now.Pushed too far.With my hands on her shoulders, I guided Penny to one of the chairs and sat her down, then sat on the edge of the desk.Leaning down so we were at eye level, I began, “One day, I headed over there, thinking we had plans to meet up for lunch before I went back home, but Nicola’s car was parked in front of the house.I figured, good, she’s already here with Sofia.I walked into the house, went to Dad’s study.”My voice failed me for a second.“And there they were,” I continued.“She was laid out across his desk, and he was pounding her.My own father.My own wife.Thankfully, she had half a mind to leave Sofia with the nanny.”

I couldn’t stand the distraught look on her face for another second.The horror, despair, and pity.Standing and turning my back on her, I concluded, “Now you know why I swore I would never step foot in that house again.”

Once I fell silent, her short, ragged breaths filled the air.“Why didn’t you?—”

“Tell you?Why didn’t I share the most humiliating moment of my life?”Laughing, I turned to find her eyes welling and her face flushed, which did nothing to ease the storm raging in me.“Congratulations.Now, you are one of four people who know what happened that day.Do you understand now?I want her nowhere near my daughter.She forfeited the right to be a mother.And you might be interested to know this is the first time since she packed her bags and disappeared that she has dared show her face.”

My drink sat untouched on the desk.I grabbed the glass, throwing back the contents all at once.The liquor burned its way through my chest, but that was nothing compared to the burning, pulsing rage threatening to blow my chest open.

“I am so sorry that happened.”God, the pity dripped from her voice, and the sound left me grinding my teeth in something close to hatred.Not for her—not really.I resented her reaction a little, but my hatred was reserved for the man who set all of this in motion years ago.

Through my teeth, I gritted out, “I don’t need your apologies.”What did I need?That was the problem.I didn’t have the first idea.Once again, I thought I had everything in place.Nothing but good things on the horizon.Until he died, there would always come a time when that bastard insisted on fucking everything up.

“It doesn’t have to mean anything.”She stood, her head thrown back with that persistent positivity of hers.“It’s a blip on the radar.It doesn’t have to set you back.Now, I’m glad I didn’t let her in, and I never will.She doesn’t deserve a place here.”

What did she expect?To comfort me?For me to fall into her arms?I could hardly look at her, thanks to the way she looked at me.

Like some broken thing.

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