Page 73 of Illusion of Loving

“I do.”

Greyson

I drove to the restaurant Tasmin sent the coordinates to. I see my father sitting at a table looking at his watch. His eyes fall on me, and he watches as I walk to the table and take a seat.

“Hey, dad…how’s our girlfriend?” I greet.

He closes his eyes and sighs, “My girl is sleeping soundly in my bed, yours is late.”

I scoff and watch as he looks at his phone and then looks up. “Sorry about the wait boys.” Tasmin unauthentically apologizes as she takes a seat at the table. “I’ll take a glass of the 97 Chateau. I have many things to celebrate today.” She snickers. “I knew Taurus wouldn’t be here.”

“And what exactly do you have to celebrate?” My father asks.

“My daughter is finally going to love me again. You see, when Taurus met Greyson, she stopped giving me a chance to be in her life again. She cut me off, completely, so I had to punish her for it, while simultaneously getting rid of Greyson. So, I decided to wag a bone at Greyson, and like the dog that he is, he gave in quite easily. For weeks I tried to get caught with Greyson, but my clueless daughter couldn’t put it together. I tried again at the engagement party and finally, she found out. I knew she would break up with you. My daughter is extremely emotional, she thinks with her heart first, but I was scared she would take you back. She did love you, so much that it almost killed her. I could see it on her face. So, I needed insurance…in a matter of speaking.”

“Insurance?” I snarl.

“Yes, but I can’t show you of course. That’s why it’s called insurance.” She laughs.

“Then what are we here for?” My father calmly asks. How can we be calm when she’s baiting us?

The waiter pours the vintage into her glass, she takes a sip, and then gently puts the glass down. “This is towards the both of you. Iwillhave my daughter back. This is my second warning. You would think you would have listened to my first warning, Greyson. I’m still surprised how you made it out alive from the fire.”

“What did you say?!” I shout angrily, but my father grabs my arm, which somehow calms me.

My father’s tone gave me goosebumps when he asks, “You tried to kill my son?”

“I thought he would have gotten the message. Greyson is so predictable. I knew it would only be a matter of time before he went to beg for her forgiveness in person.” She goes on.

“How did you know I was there? Have you been stalking me this whole time?” I scoff.

She scoffs at herself, “I tapped into your phone at the engagement party. I thought you would beg her in person sooner, but being the arrogant boy that you are, it took an entire year for you to go to her.”

“That doesn’t make sense, why would you risk killing Taurus?” I challenge.

Tasmin sighs as she rubs her head, “Think dummy. You think it was an accident that Taurus had an interview the same night you decide to see her. When I was tracking you, you went to Taurus’s favorite shops, and I knew you were getting ready to see her sometime that week. The last thing I had to do was check your schedule. You put her on a ‘to-do list.’ Spontaneity is not your strong suit, which is great because that’s exactly how I was able to make sure she wouldn’t be home.”

“Why confess now?” My father asks.

“To warn you of how serious I am about getting her back. Greyson is dead to her, which is great, but what I didn’t factor into my plan is that she would meet you.” She turns to my father. “She was supposed to lose everything and come running back to me. I knew that guy who interviewed her would be a letdown and then she would come back to see her house burned to the ground. The only icing on the cake would be if Greyson were found in the rubble. In the end, she didn’t call me. Somehow, she ended up with you.” She points to my father.

We both don’t say anything. We both must be shocked by the bullshit that has come out of her mouth. This fucking bitch tried to kill me. This whole time she was playing with me to get rid of me.

“You’re not like your son; I’m hoping you heed my advice. I’ll give you some time to think.” She takes the last sip of her wine. “Thank you for the wine.” She gets up from the chair and leaves.

Dad takes out cash and sets it on the table. He stands up and I grab his arm. “She tried to kill me over Taurus. Dad, I am still thoroughly upset with you, but I don’t want you to die. Is she worth all of this?”

“Yes.” There was no uncertainty in his answer.

In that instance, my heart truthfully breaks because I could hear in his voice, how committed he is to her. I was hoping that this was just some fucking fling that would die and I could swoop in and be the guy that she always wanted. My father has never said this about any woman he’s ever been with and I know now that he will never give her up to me, not even for the sake of my own happiness. I realized in this instance, that if my father had asked me the same in return, I would’ve hesitated to answer. There was no hesitation in his voice, maybe she was right all along. Her love for me was different from the love I had for her.

I could feel the tears fighting back in my eyes. I knew that I had no chance of getting her back. All the anger I’ve been feeling for the past couple of months has boiled down into a series of regrets. If only I could’ve been more mature and recognized what she needed instead of what I wanted, maybe I’d still be with her. But am I supposed to just put up with it all? I know I was a fucking asshole, but fuck I have feelings too, right?

“I know you don’t understand, but I hope that someday you will. I truly hope one day you feel so strongly for somebody that the pain would be too great to utterly lose them. It’s a rewarding, but brutal feeling.” He puts his hand on my own. “I apologize for the hurt I have caused you.”

“Dad?”

“You need to leave until I can deal with her. You’re not safe here.”

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