AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It means that his marriage to the first Mrs. Rennault invalidates any marriage you ever had. The whole thing was a sham. You were never married to him.”
CHAPTER 15
ALICIA
“A sham?” She couldn’t understand. She understood the words, but the implications of them were too much to comprehend. “My marriage wasn’t legal?”
“No. Isn’t that great?” Brock was so enthusiastic.
“No. It’s not. How could I have been so stupid?”
That seemed to clue him in that all was not right with her.
“Baby girl, you may have been a lot of things in this life, but you were never stupid. That sonofabitch lied to you, abused you, and took advantage of you. What’s worse is that I have to wonder, how many others knew?”
“I should have known…”
“How?” asked Brock, patiently. “Think about it. It took two of us knowing where to search, as well as the best hacker the world has ever known and a guy who can make technology jump through hoops to find this out. There’s no way a woman, any woman, in love says to herself, ‘oh hey, I’d better go through all the records to find out if this guy is married.’ Baby girl, Miley is the most non-trusting, suspicious woman of all time. I’m pretty damn sure she never asked Seth or Sully to run a background check on Damon.”
He had a point.
“I guess you’re right, but honestly, shouldn’t there have been a red flag of some sort?”
“He wouldn’t be a very good con man if he sent up any red flags.”
“Do you think he ever loved me?”
“I doubt it, but then I doubt he loved the first Mrs. Rennault. If he loves anyone at all, it’s himself. Every other person in his life, including those kids if they’re his, serve only one purpose and that is to be used and exploited by him. If he fathered those kids, then he’s already figuring out, grooming, and training them to be used by him somewhere down the line.”
“That’s terrible.”
“He’s terrible. He values nothing except those individuals and things that can get him what he wants. The worst part…”
“There’s a worse part?” she asked.
Brock nodded. “My guess is the worst part is he beat you up for no reason. He just beat you to beat you. He wasn’t jealous or possessive, just mean. He had to have another goal.”
“What goal could he possibly have other than to intimidate and frighten me?”
“I hate to say this, but to learn better how to use his fists and not leave a mark, to see how far he could push his law buddies before they took action, to make you run…”
“I did run, several times. He always found me and then beat me bloody.”
“I’m not trying to condone what he did, I need you to understand that this—all of it—was never about you. He had his own motives for what he did. As sick and twisted as they might have been, he never cared enough about you to make any effort. You were a means to an end. I don’t know what that end is, but it was never to keep you close.”
“So, I’m stupid, gullible, and worthless?”
“To him, yes. To me, you are none of those things. You mean everything to me.”
“I must be the perfect woman for you. You want to look after me as if I was a child.”
“Not at all. My need to protect is an integral part of who I am. My instincts to rise above and be a warrior are triggered by needing to ensure those around me are safe. But it’s not because I think of you, or anyone else, as less than me. Hell, I have an instinct to protect Miley and King and even Fitzwallace. None of those people need my protection, but they have it anyway. I want you to be happy and to be the best version of you that you can be.”
“But you like to be called Daddy…”
“As opposed to Sir or Master. The honorarium you use isn’t as important to me as your understanding that I want to nurture you in ways I don’t think you have been. I want you to feel confident and live every single minute of the time we’re given because we never know how long that will be. I want to encourage you, but to do so safely. I don’t think you’re gullible or stupid. I do think you have a kind and loving heart. I’ll bet you used to trust people until they proved untrustworthy…”
“I did before I married—or thought I married—Rennault.”
