Page 96 of Bed of Thorns

I couldn’t say the words. He was suffering enough. “I forgive you, Father.”

I’d never accept what he’d done to me, no matter the circumstances. At least the nightmare from the past was over.

However, the future was something else altogether.

“I loved your mother, Edmond. Whether you can believe it or not, I also loved you. I just… Don’t allow them to rule your life. Money means nothing without having your family by your side. I never got to tell your mother I was sorry for what I’d put her through.”

While his words were heartfelt, my heart remained hard. I’d gotten what I’d wanted.

Or had I?

“Someone special to me once told me that love meant never having to say you were sorry.” I was a hypocrite. That’s the one thing I needed to say to Mercedes. I made a promise that I would spend the rest of my life ensuring she knew that our love was something special.

And that I was a good man after all.

He choked, nodding his head several times.

“Goodbye, Father.” When I turned away, his agonizing sob grabbed a small portion of my heart.

“I’ve sent a new statement to the judge and everyone within the prosecutor’s office that isn’t under the Prism Group’s thumb. Your name should be cleared. Do me a favor and take care of Mercedes and her mother. I established a fund for Mercedes that no one can touch. She deserves a decent life away from a bastard like me. So you know, Mercedes was the single person in your life who refused to forsake you.”

I thought about his words, but the emptiness inside was too significant to acknowledge him in any way. He’d made his bed.

Now he could wallow in the ugly truth.

But soon, I would ask Mercedes to be my wife.

As I walked downstairs, I clamped my hand around the key. At least I could bring down an organization that had ruined lives, destroying families in their demands for power.

And I would enjoy every moment of watching them fall.

Pop!

The single sound reverberated in my ears, my entire body vibrating from the horrible sensations coursing through me. I froze, the horrible sound echoing in my mind.

Perhaps my father could finally be at peace.

I’d made far too many promises over the last few months, some of which there was no possibility of maintaining, but as I walked into the stormy night, I made one last pledge.

To end the nightmare and to become the man Mercedes deserved.

* * *

Choices.

The doctor had told me I had choices to make. They were decisions that I couldn’t do alone.

Not without Mercedes by my side.

I stared down at the various jump drives my father had made and sighed. His grief had pushed him into doing the unthinkable. What the hell had been my excuse? The moment I’d returned to the hospital, finding flowers hand delivered by Markus, my blood had turned to ice. History was about to repeat itself.

Over my dead body.

As I walked into the office building, taking long strides down the hallway, there was something entirely different about the employees within the firm. They all seemed to stand as I walked by, studying me as if fearful violence would erupt.

I hadn’t called ahead. I hadn’t planned on what I’d say. What I had spent time planning was exactly what information I’d provide, the rest remaining locked away, assurances that no one would ever fuck with us again. I opened the door, walking inside without hesitation.

And for once in my life, I felt justified.

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