Page 82 of Dominate
Gareth moves his harsh eyes from Cal to me, and I crumple when I see a flicker of hurt on his face. “You certainly weren’t arguing with what he had to say.”
“I was just about to!” I retort, crossing my arms over my chest for some pathetic form of protection.
Gareth’s stare is unrelenting on me as his jaw muscle ticks angrily beneath the skin. “So you’re saying none of what he said is true for you?”
My mouth opens, but no words come out. Everything’s locked inside of me in some strange, confused place that I can’t fully access.
He nods knowingly. “This actually makes perfect sense, Sloan.”
“How?” I exclaim, my voice tight inside my throat.
“Well, you don’t need me anymore,” he replies flippantly. “You made that perfectly clear yesterday. And if Callum is offering to be a father to Sophia again, then that solves all of your problems. I know how much it kills you when he doesn’t show up for her. Getting back together with him means you can protect her.”
“Are you crazy?” I shriek, striding around the sofa to stand in front of Gareth. He’s tall and looming down over me. A scary mask on his face that I haven’t seen before.
“How could you think so little of me?” I retort, my eyes stinging from the way he’s looking at me.
“I don’t think little of you,” he replies through clenched teeth and takes a step closer to me. “I think everything of you. And I know you, Sloan. You will put Sophia first always, and I can’t stop you from doing that.”
“Sloan, just tell him to leave,” Callum interjects, moving over to us and trying to grab my arm. “We were in the middle of something.”
“Callum, you go!” I exclaim, turning on my heel and walking straight at him, forcing him backwards toward the wall. “There is nothing here for you. I’m with Gareth, and I want you to leave.”
Callum laughs a haughty, bark of a laugh and narrows his eyes at Gareth. “Before you kick me out, perhaps you should ask your footballer why his lawyer is sniffing around our personal affairs.”
My brow furrows. I look over at Gareth to see that his hard mask has slipped, revealing guilt. “What?” I manage to croak out.
Callum sneers and adds, “Harry Morrison called me today to tell me that a lawyer from London named Santino inquired about the paperwork you signed yesterday. Said he is the Harris family lawyer and he wants to make sure everything is above board.”
“Is that true, Gareth?” I ask, my chest aching from betrayal.
“I was going to tell you,” Gareth retorts, moving in closer to me.
I back up. “Tell me that you went behind my back and hired a lawyer to look into my personal business? We already talked about it. I told you I am fine on my own.”
“I was trying to do what’s best for you,” he argues, staring at me with pleading eyes.
Callum chuckles softly from beside us. “See, Sloan? You don’t need a man like him. He’ll just end up controlling you your whole life. Mentally break you down. He’ll probably do the same to Sophia.”
Gareth slides harsh eyes to Callum. “Don’t talk about my relationship with Sophia.”
Cal barks out a laugh and adjusts his cufflinks. “Well, hopefully you’re not as overbearing as your father. I heard he’s such a monster, your mother killed herself to get away from him.”
Gareth lunges at Callum, grabbing him by the lapel and slamming him up against the wall. “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about!”
Callum looks over at me with wide eyes. “You see what this man is like! He’s out of control. He better not touch my daughter like this, or so help me God…”
“Shut the fuck up!” Gareth roars, his face centimetres from Callum’s. “You are a spineless, worthless, desperate pig of a man. You don’t even deserve to be called a man. A man is there for his family, his wife, his daughter. A man shows up when he’s supposed to, not just when he needs money! You don’t even love Sophia, you fucking bastard.”
Suddenly, there’s a high-pitched whimper behind me. I turn around and my stomach drops when I see Sophia standing in the open doorway with Rex on a leash. Her wide, teary eyes are on Gareth and Callum. Her chin wobbling, her hands shaking.
She looks over at me, and I drop down on my knees in front of her. “Sophia,” I cry, reaching to pull her into my arms.
She pulls away and stares up at Gareth, who quickly releases Callum and lowers himself to one knee beside me. “Sophia, I didn’t mean—”
“You’re a liar, Gareth!” she cries, her words piercing through the the room like shattered glass. She drops Rex’s leash and lunges at Gareth, swinging her tiny fists back and landing them on his chest. “You’re not grown-up! You’re a liar!”
He turns his face to the side, his eyes wrecked with pain and anguish as he croaks out, “I’m so sorry, Little Minnow.”
