Page 52 of I Summoned A Demon For A Date?!
His gaze flickered to mine, fierce and protective, before returning to our adversaries.
I stepped out from behind him, not completely, but enough to face Stephany directly. "Why do you hate me so much?" I asked quietly. "What did I ever do to you that was so terrible it justifies years of cruelty?"
Stephany's perfectly made-up face twisted with disdain. "You existed. You were always there, a constant reminder thatDad had a life before Mom. A reminder that she wasn't his first choice. So you needed to pay for her suffering."
"I was a child," I reminded her, feeling a surge of anger override my fear. "I had no control over any of that."
"You were loved," she spat. "Dad adored you before you drove him away with your neediness after your mother died."
The accusation hit like a physical blow. "Is that what you think happened? That I drove him away?"
"Oh, I know you did. Mom told me all about it, how you clung to him, demanded all his attention, made him resent having to be your parent instead of just living his life."
I felt sick, hearing Jan's old lies spilling from Stephany's mouth. Lies that even Jan herself had apparently abandoned, given our earlier conversation in the library.
"And that wasn't enough for you," Stephany continued, building steam. "You had to come back here, insinuate yourself back into his life right when everything was perfect. When I'm finally getting everything I deserve."
"Everything you deserve," I repeated, the pieces falling into place. "That's what this is really about, isn't it? You're afraid I'll take something away from you, inheritance, attention, love. That there won't be enough for you if I'm in the picture."
I felt pity for Stephany. Sure, I was angry with her confession after years of torture for something so minuscule, but I also pitied her because it seemed underneath it all, she wanted my father's love and Jan's approval.
Blackwood's smile widened, his burning gaze flicking between us with obvious relish. "Delicious," he murmured. "The fear, the anger, the envy, simply exquisite."
Stephany shot him an annoyed glance before refocusing on me. "I want you gone from our lives," her voice was flat and devoid of emotion. "Back to whatever sad little existence you were living before you decided to crash my engagement and ruin everything."
"With a demon on your arm, no less," Blackwood added, almost conversationally. "Quite the desperation move, little human."
Aldaine remained tense beside me, his presence an anchor in the storm of emotions. "Rosie made a fair contract. Unlike what you've done with this family, Blackwood."
"Fair?" Blackwood laughed. "Since when do you care about fair? We're demons, Aldaine. We take what we want."
"Not anymore," Aldaine replied, cold and final.
I gathered my courage, bolstered by Aldaine's unwavering support. "Stephany, I never wanted to take anything from you. I just wanted to belong somewhere, to have family." I took a step toward her, ignoring Aldaine's subtle attempt to keep me behind him. "But I'm done apologizing for existing. I'm done being the family scapegoat. Whatever twisted deal your mother made with Blackwood, that's between them. It has nothing to do with me."
Stephany's eyes narrowed. "It has everything to do with you. You're the threat. You're the one who could ruin everything."
"How? By having a relationship with my father? By having him realize that he worked too much and pushed me away? By being treated with basic decency?" I shook my head, a strange calm settled over me. "That's what's bothering you, isn't it? That suddenly, I'm not being treated as less-than. That I might be accepted."
"You don't deserve it," she hissed. "You've done nothing to earn any of it."
"And what exactly have you done to earn it?" I countered. "Besides exist as Jan's biological daughter? Besides feeding Blackwood's appetite with your hatred and bitterness toward me?" I gestured toward the demon, who was watching our exchange with obvious enjoyment. "Look at him,Stephany. He's feeding on this right now. On your anger, your fear, your spite. This is what's been happening all these years, he's been nurturing your worst impulses, making you believe that hating me was justified."
The tension between us crackled like electricity, a standoff with no clear resolution in sight. Stephany's words hung in the air between us, sharp and poisonous. I held my ground, refusing to shrink or apologize for simply wanting to be part of my own family.
"Stephany! That's enough!"
Jan's voice cut through the heated atmosphere like a blade. I turned to see her striding toward us across the pool deck, my father at her side. Their expressions were identical masks of concern and determination.
"Mom?" Stephany's voice held a note of surprise and uncertainty.
But Jan wasn't looking at her daughter. Her gaze was fixed on Blackwood, recognition and old familiarity evident in her eyes. There was no shock at his demonic appearance, no horror at the supernatural creature towering over her daughter. Only a weary sort of resignation.
"I see you've decided to show your true self," Jan’s voice was steady. "After all these years in the shadows."
Blackwood inclined his massive horned head, a mockery of respect. "Circumstances demanded it. Your daughter has been entertaining herself by exposing secrets not hers to reveal."
Jan's gaze shifted to me, then to Aldaine who remained protectively at my side. "And you. You're like him."
