Page 43 of Crossed By the Stars
My heart sank even further, knowing the truth before he spoke it because one of my father’s many companies made bulletproof material. The product was calledShirudo, which simply meant “shield” in Japanese.
“He stole it,” I said quietly.
Dax nodded. “He did, and at the same time, he broke it off with Aunt Élodie because he’d gotten engaged to your mother.”
I couldn’t imagine the devastation Élodie must have felt. The one-two punch. Stealing her product?betraying her?and then throwing her aside as if there’d never been any love between them. I would have been wild with fury. I would have wanted revenge.
“She flew to Japan to confront him without tellingPapa. I’m sure he wouldn’t have let her go by herself. In fact, he may have talked her out of going at all because there was little they could do about any of it. They hadn’t finished testing or gotten a patent for the product. Your father changed it just enough that it was similar but not exact.”
It sounded like my father—take what wasn’t his and twist it so that it became what he wanted, what he needed, in order to wield it to his own purpose.
“What happened?”
“Only your father and the people there that day know the actual truth, but she showed up at the testing grounds in Japan to confront him. We know your father was there, that she was shot, and that it was ruled an accident. The official report said she’d stumbled into the field without the testers being aware. But by that time, your father already had people in the police and high up in the government who could make the reports say anything he wanted.”
My breath was uneven, sending more pain through my chest. No wonder Dax’s father hated us. I wanted to cry for Élodie and ÉtienneArmaud, for the friendship that had been abused. The love that was betrayed.Otosanprided himself on the fact that theKyodainawas about honor and loyalty, but it was only loyalty to him, not to anyone else. Stealing, murder, and treachery were all fine as long as it wasn’t within the ranks of theKyodainaitself.
“How long have you known?” I asked, thinking back to our very first kiss a decade ago. The kiss Dax had promised me more of. The kiss he’d promised was going to lead to dates and love and time together, and instead, it had led to him disappearing from my life for years and leaving a hole in my heart that I’d never been able to fill.
“My father told me about howÉclairhad been funded by your grandfather when I was seventeen. It was enough to prove his point without him having to tell me the whole painful truth aboutShirudoand Aunt Élodie's death. I think he felt like it was his fault. As if he could have stopped her,” Dax said softly.
I met his gaze, both of us understanding what he was saying about our teenaged kiss, the promises he’d made, and the way he’d walked away. I heard the pain and regret in his voice, but it did nothing to lessen the rip in my soul that I still felt to this day for the pledge he’d broken. Since being thrust back into each other’s worlds because of Dawson and the circle of trust-fund babies we hung out with, we’d both acted like those shared moments of our past had never existed. We’d closed the door on them, hiding them in a past that felt dreamlike.
When I could no longer take the sadness in his eyes, I closed mine, tears filling them, the truth settling over me. My father had taken Dax from me. He’d taken my first love and forced it beyond my reach.
“When did you find out about your aunt?” I asked the question even when I didn’t want to know the answer. Even when I had a vague idea I already knew.
“Two years ago,” he said quietly.
My heart felt as painful as my ribs. The tears in my eyes threatened to pour out, but I forced them back. I would not cry over this. Over promises hehadn’tmade. Dax had come to my hospital room in New London after I’d been shot with remorse and caring in his eyes. With a look that my tired, sick heart had wanted to call love. I’d been abandoned for good by my father, but I’d thought I was finally free. I’d thought I’d be able to move on. Dax had sat by my side with my hand in his, much like yesterday, and I’d let myself believe that there was a chance for us because I was no longer a Mori.
Dax hadn’t promised me anything that day, but I’d felt the flame that had been denied for years between us, flickering as always, but somehow stronger. I’d felt hope…
He’d left me to fly to France. He’d told me he had to go home for a few days, and I’d expected him to come back even though he hadn’t even implied it, hadn’t said any words about us.
He’ll never marry you, Musume,my father’s words repeated in my head from earlier.
I kept my eyes shut because the sight of Dax’s beautiful face would be too much for the new wounds to my heart. Forget marrying me. Even being in a relationship with me would mean tying himself to those responsible for Élodie’s death… for stealing a product worth millions. Being with me would risk exposing the truth about howÉclairhad been created with Mori money.
We cannot be expected to bear the sins of our fathers, Dax had said. But the truth was, there was only the sin of one parent. A father I hated. A father I’d wanted to love with all of my soul as a child. Who I’d idolized like many kids idolize a TV star or a rock star. A father who’d successfully just slashed a brand-new wound into my heart.
“How can you even look at me?” I didn’t think I’d said the words aloud, but Dax’s growl of disapproval forced my eyes open.
He removed the pillow and plate from my legs and pulled me into his lap. The pain to my body was nothing compared to the pain to my soul. He cradled me as if I was a precious object, as if I was something he could keep, and the tears could not be contained. They poured over my lashes and down my cheeks.
“This has nothing to do with you,mon petit bijou,” he said vehemently, as if he could force me to believe it. “You are brave and honest. You protect the people you care about fiercely. You do not stab them in the back.”
“My father would heartily disagree with you,” I said, voice clogging on emotions that I never let out unless I was alone. What I didn’t say was that his father would disagree as well. His father would wish me dead rather than see me with his son. While the soft gentle giant that was ÉtienneArmaud could never be the one sending me threats and bombing my apartment, he wouldn’t be sad if something happened to a Mori.
It would feel like retribution. Justice being served.
And I could only agree.
Dax
HUMAN
“If you could just believe in me the way I believe in you
