Page 116 of Beauty Beneath the Sorrow
He’s not going to believe that.
Brian’s eyes bounce from Lina in a towel to me in a towel, to the armrest of my leather couch and her goddamn pink panties. “Try again,” he threatens darkly.
This is ridiculous. I suck in a heavy breath and prepare to tell him that I’m sleeping with his daughter.
“Brian, Lina and I are sleeping together.” Holding nothing back, I tell the truth. We’ve known each other for years, after all. And it will feel good to stop hiding and lying to everyone.
His pupils dilate, and his lips form a thin line. “What the hell did you just say?”
“Dad—” Lina pleads from behind us.
“I’m sorry, Brian. I never meant for this to happen, but—” Istart to explain.
“What?” His palm comes up to brace himself against the wall. “You didn’t mean to stick your dick into my little girl?”
“Geezus, Dad,” Lina comments, still maintaining a distance behind us.
His words make me sick. She is not a child. Lina is a grown woman, capable of making her own decisions. Maybe it’s time he started treating her like one.
“She’s not a child, dude,” I firmly correct. “Lina is an adult. I’m sorry you had to find out this way, but none of this was done with a thought of you in mind.”
“Obviously!” he spits. “How the hell do you think this makes me feel?”
“I don’t know,” I admit.
Brian whips his neck back and forth, cracking it a few times. “Because you’re not a fucking parent. That’s why.”
I do not want to fight with him in the middle of my living room, wearing nothing but a thin white towel around my waist, but it looks like this will happen. “Like you were? You weren’t around for most of her life. I knew that and still tried to keep my feelings for Lina inside out of respect for you.”
“Your feelings?” He grimaces, wiping a hand down the front of his face. “There are feelings at play here?”
“Yes,” I say, gripping the side of the door.
From my peripheral, I see Lina subtly nod her head.
Brian moves his focus from me, gesturing to his daughter. “How long?”
“A couple of months,” Lina tells him, with confidence in her voice, making me proud. That is something Lina will never shyaway from, being her true, authentic self. I find it incredibly sexy.
Brian paces in place. “I can’t believe this. I don’t know how to act or what to think right now.”
“Look, Dad—”
Staring at the ground, he continues, “I’m furious, but then again, I feel like I can’t be. But I also feel betrayed—”
“Dad—”
“Leave me alone,” he says before walking out the door and slamming it shut behind him.
Silence.
“Well, that isn’t how I wanted this morning to go.” I turn to Lina. She looks sad. “It will be okay.”
“I didn’t want him to find out this way.” She walks into my room with her head hanging low.
“We have nothing to feel bad about.” I follow her, defending our actions. The last thing I want is for Lina to be scared away. I can’t lose her. I had no idea how or when we’d tell Brian about us, but I knew it would have to happen soon.
Lina gets dressed, slipping on a pair of joggers and a hoodie. “I know. We don’t. We’re just messing around, right?”
