Page 60 of The Billionaire and His Forever

“I’m your daughter!”

“You’re a liability,” he spits back. “No daughter of mine would betray me like you have.”

“I didn’t betray you!” My voice cracks. There’s a maintenance worker in the lobby who’s paying way too much attention to watering the plants nearby, and I try to lower my volume. “You told me I was absolved of my guilt. You told me I didn’t have to worry about it anymore!”

“And then you tried to cut us out. Got yourself a man in the bag, so fuck your family, eh? Well, now we both don’t get what we want.”

My chest rises and falls rapidly with my shallow breathing. I’m a mouse caught in a cat’s paws. “Get out of here, or I’ll call security. I have to go fix whatever it is you just did.”

He smiles. “Good luck with that, princess.”

And then he saunters away casually, like we’d just talked about the weather.

I pound the elevator button frantically, dizzy with panic. When the doors slide open with a ding, I rush into the elevator car, even though I’m terrified to find out what’s waiting for me upstairs. All I can think now is that I have to get to Graham. I have to tell him the truth—the whole truth. I have to fix this.

But it might already be too late.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Abbie

By the timeI step off on the 25th floor, I can’t stop shaking. I’m convinced that Graham is going to be gone already, unwilling to talk to me ever again after the poison my father spewed.

How do I recover from this?

I’d like to believe that Graham would have taken my father’s words as bullshit. He has to know I love him. He was going to marry me. Officially make me part of his family. We were going to build a life together, hand in hand. Surely he would give me the benefit of the doubt.

But that’s not how my luck has gone lately. So I’m bracing for the worst.

I’m not expecting him to be waiting in the apartment, arms wide open, ready to comfort me as I try to explain the lies my father just told him—because in all fairness, they aren’t lies. Not really. I know exactly why I was sent to the Ratliff estate, exactly what my role was. And I know exactly how my father operates. The ugly truth has been unveiled, and now Graham is going to spurn me. This is the end of us. The end of everything. I can feel it in my gut.

My legs tremble as I walk down the hallway, eyes focused on the apartment door. Taking a deep breath, I remind myself that I’ve been in worse situations this summer. I’ve been accused of far worse. And I’ve come back, every time. I have always come back.

I can come back from this, too. Graham loves me. For better and for worse. He said so.

But as I stand outside the door, keys in my hand, I know in my heart that I’m lying to myself.

When I walk into the living room, I see Graham standing next to the floor-to-ceiling windows, staring out at Central Park with his back to me.

Just seeing him relieves the angst in my heart. But then it sends me into another frenzy, because what if I’m about to lose him? What if he’s about to walk out of my life forever?

I know he must have heard me come in, but he hasn’t said anything yet.

“Hi,” I say. I stand there awkwardly, ten feet away, unsure what else to do or say. I don’t know what my next move is until I see his face.

He doesn’t respond, just continues to stare out the window. I take a step closer.

“I had a good meeting with Bow,” I go on, desperately hoping for normalcy. “She says we have a strong case. They can’t prove anything, all they have is Natasha’s word against mine. She says those kinds of allegations are easy enough to get thrown out.”

Still, nothing.

“I, um…saw my dad downstairs.” My voice wavers, but I keep pushing. There’s no point trying to play innocent. “I didn’t know he was back in town. He said you two talked.”

Graham slowly turns around. On his face is the cold, cruel expression he used to wear so often—a look I never wanted to see directed at me again. His eyes, though…they’re even worse. They’re full of anger. I freeze in place. We are trapped in a silence that feels as heavy and loaded as a gun. I’m too terrified to move, much less speak. So I stand there, waiting.

“Do you take me for a fool?” Graham finally breaks the silence, his voice just as cold as the rest of him.

“Of course not.” I swallow hard.

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