Page 177 of Forever

He laughed. “Hmm. Maybe so. I need people to see me a certain way in this business. Well, not anymore I guess.”

“It really is done? You’re 100 percent out?”

“I am. I’m not letting the business ruin the rest of my life too. I don’t want to miss out on anything else.”

My father had done terrible things. Awful things. He was a murderer. I’d seen it with my own eyes. He’d done awful things to me, even if he was trying to protect me.

But I was done holding on to all that pain.

What mattered was that my father loved me. He was the only family I had left. And he’d given up his business, which was essentially his whole life, hoping that I’d let him be a part of mine.

I always thought at some point, my heart would be too broken to ever heal again. But it never happened. And my heart was big enough to forgive him. It was big enough to leave the past in the past. “No more lies. Or betrayals. Or secrets.”

He nodded. “I promise.”

“On that note. I do have some news.” I was pretty sure everyone outside already knew. And I didn’t want my father to find out from someone else. “I’m pregnant.”

His eyes grew round and they fell to my stomach.

I laughed. “I’m not really showing. Yet.” I placed my hand on my stomach. “I mean, maybe a little…”

“You look beautiful, angel.”

I smiled.

“Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?”

I shook my head. “No, not yet.” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. This baby was a surprise. And I kind of liked the idea of keeping the sex a surprise too. “But I’m excited for you to meet him or her.”

“So you’re saying no more paying someone to take photos of my grandkid from a distance?”

I shook my head. “Definitely not.” I wanted him to be a part of our lives. He was right, he’d already missed out on so much.

“Well good,” he said.

“Good,” I agreed and nodded. I had no idea how long we’d been standing here, holding everything up. I looked over at the closed door.

“We should probably get out there. I know there’s someone who’s been waiting a very long time to marry you.”

I nodded.

My father put his arm through mine and walked us over to the door.

But I put my hand on the door before he could open it. “Wait.”

“Second thoughts?” he asked.

“Definitely not. But there is one more thing I need to know. Those contracts I signed when I was a teenager. What else was in them?”

“Just the usual stuff.”

“There was nothing usual about them. Was there anything else I should know of?”

“They were designed to keep my family safe.Yousafe.”

“And the relationship agreement?”

“Extended the courtesy to your significant other. I never terminated the one you had with Matthew. And I fulfilled my end of the bargain. I kept Matthew safe.”

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