I say nothing.
He studies me for a moment longer before giving a small nod, as if he’s just confirmed something to himself.
“Is it a woman?”
I shake my head.
My father has been almost as persistent as my grandfather when it comes to seeing me settle down.
Whether that’s for the image it creates or because he genuinely wants grandchildren, I’ve never been sure.
Either way, he can abandon those hopes now.
That will never bloody happen.
“It is,” he says, answering his own question.
“It changes nothing.”
He falls quiet for a moment, a thoughtful look on his face.
“On the contrary,” he says. “If it’s delayed your taking over the company, then it’s already changed something.”
After a long moment, he speaks again.
“I’m happy for you. Truly. I want you to find your person. Just make sure,” he says, “that whatever this is... it doesn’t interfere with what truly matters.”
I hold his gaze.
“It won’t.”
But even as the words leave my mouth, I’m not entirely convinced they’re true.
Because somewhere along the way, my priorities shifted.
And Piper Ashthorne sits firmly at the top of the list.
Chapter 17
Hunter
I sit behind my desk, my fingers tap an impatient rhythm on the surface.
The noise echoes through the silent classroom.
Annoying, no doubt.
Every so often, a student glances up, their attention drawn to the noise before they quickly return to their books.
The knot of tension in my chest refuses to ease.
It’s the first day of classes after the short Halloween break.
And all I can think is, why the hell am I even here?
Why am I standing in front of a room full of entitled little pricks when the only reason I ever came to this damned island, isn’t even here?
I’ve already made peace with the fact that I’m fucked in the head.
