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I swallowed.
“Or you save her. I’ve worked out who you are.”
I expected an instant refusal, asking me what I thought but, he stared at me for a moment, then he sighed hard. “I was about to tell her when she went into labour,” he said.
“Good. Then do the right thing.”
I gazed from Lacey to our daughter and back to her again, and I knew I had to play hardball with Clay. “Fucking do it, save her, otherwise you won’t have an heir. I’ll take her away from all of this so she can have a long life.”
Shit, I shouldn’t have shouted at Clay Summer... bloody hell.
Yes, I should.
“Just do whatever you need to,” I said.
“Would you bring your daughter up in this life, rather than try in the next life for Lacey?” Clay asked.
I snorted. “You might let you daughter die, but I can’t and if you’re happy for your daughter to die, don’t expect my daughter to live the same life.”
Clay glared at me.
“You’re choice, two heirs or none.” I blinked hard. I wanted Lacey so badly. Never wanted her more than I did at this moment, but this was a battle of wills I needed to play. He was the best chance of having both of them in my life.
But Clay wasn’t answering, and as I glanced at Lacey, my frustration levels rose. Glaring back at Clay, I hissed, “I’ll do anything for my daughter, and she’s been in the world for less than an hour. What would you do for yours?” I looked at Lacey, his eyes followed mine. “Do it for her.”
“I’ll do anything for Lacey. I love her, but her parents are not dead and when she finds out what happened, she’ll hate me.”
His words didn’t shock me at all. I long suspected from Lacey’s description of the night and I should have listened to her the day they gave her memory back. Now I knew Clay had hidden more than just her collapsing.
“And that’s your fucking reason for not saving her?” I hissed. “You’re a coward because you don’t want her to know what you did. But she already knows, she just needs to know why and where they are,” I said and hesitated. “Let her decide that. Give her the chance to understand everything you did for her.”
I glared at the former leader of the magical kingdom and hissed, “just fucking do it and when she is well enough, tell her everything, including who I am, because I can't tell her.”
“You know, I thought you hadn’t worked it out,” Clay said and smiled. “You and Lacey are so alike.”
I smiled at that. He now knew I’d keep my word about my daughter, and she’d live away from everything to do with the magical kingdom. “And I am sure this one is going to keep us on our toes and annoy us as much as Lacey annoys you, but give her the chance.”
I kissed my daughter’s head, smiling, remembering the little girl Lacey, and I both saw the day after she lost her virginity. And this was her—I felt it.
“Do it,” I said as I twisted to Clay.
He finally nodded.
I watched as he stood behind Lacey. He rested his hands on her shoulders, and as much as I had an urge to pull him off. I had to trust him, although I had no reason to.
I embraced my daughter tight and closed my eyes.
“Come back to me Lacey,”I said.“Your daughter needs you. I need you.”
And I didn’t know if it was me or Clay, but Lacey’s vitals calmed down, and I didn’t know what the doctor had done. But he placed a vile-looking blob inside a plastic tub. Snapping off his blue rubber gloves, throwing them in a bin.
“She’ll be fine. Let her sleep for an hour. She’ll come around in her own time. Her vitals are back to normal,” the doctor said and Clay leaned to Lacey’s head and planted a kiss on her forehead.
He walked to me and glanced down at my daughter. “She looks exactly like Lacey did,” he said, smiling. “Be a good dad. I didn’t get the chance.”
“I think you’re wrong. Lacey remembers all the things she did when she was little andyou’re in all of her memories. Maybe you were more of a father than you realise. You just didn’t get the title,” I said and smiled. “Can I ask why? What I mean, if Lacey’s mum was bound to you and not Dan Summer, then why did she leave you? I thought the bind was lifelong.”
Clay scratched the back of his head. “Because of Lacey. The bind to her was stronger, probably because of who she is, but she did what you’ve just threatened to do. She took her away from me for her safety. Not that it worked, the dark king still knew who she was.”
