AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her eyebrows pinched together. “What?”
“An article forPeoplemagazine was released while you were sleeping.”
“Oh God… did Beau do an interview? What did he say?”
“It wasn’t Beau. It was your old man.”
She winced. “How bad is it? What did he say?”
Until now, all Mr. Collins had done was have his lawyer release a statement asking the media to respect their privacy. The Hunters’ lawyer did the same. The press were the ones creating the fake stories and gossip to sell their lies.
There were a few magazines I was able to pay off and even more reporters I was able to threaten, but I could only do so much. Publications still came out about the situation, and sadly, they pinned Livvy as the villain.
That was until this afternoon.
“What’s going on?” she questioned. “You’re freaking me out.”
“Here.” I handed her my iPad, open to her father’s interview. With a jittery grip, she grabbed it.
There, in front of her eyes, she read the article where Mr. Collins took full responsibility for what happened, telling the magazine that his daughter was marrying Beau because he pressured her to do it. He went on to say that he had planned out her whole life, and it came back to bite him in the ass, hurting Livvy in the process. He then proceeded to show evidence of Beau’s infidelity and how much he regretted letting this snake use his baby girl. Mr. Collins took full responsibility for what happened and the role he played, which only made the public love him more.
He was now viewed as the father protecting his little girl—like every father should. Beau was painted for the piece of shit he was, and I, for one, was enjoying every second of it.
By the time Livvy finished reading, tears streamed down her face.
“I can’t believe he did that for me.”
“I know.”
“I don’t even know what to say about it.”
I pulled her into a tight hug.
Livvy
I stayed in Ethan’s arms for I don’t know how long, desperately trying to find some answers in the comfort he always provided me until my cell phone rang.
“It’s my dad’s ringtone.” I grabbed it off the coffee table. “Hey, Dad.”
“Hello, honey. How are you holding up?”
He called at least once a day to check in on me, same with my mom.
“I’m better now. I read your article. Why didn’t you tell me about it?”
“I didn’t want you to talk me out of it. Your mother didn’t know either.”
“Daddy, I’m so sorry about everything. I really hope this won’t affect your candidacy next term.”
“If it does, so be it.”
After a long pause, he said, “I’m very proud of you, Elizabeth, and I need you to know that.”
“Thanks, Dad. It means a lot to me, but I also want to say what happened with Beau isn’t your fault. I need you to know that too. He had us all fooled.”
“That’s not what makes it my fault. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have thought you had to marry someone like him. A prestigious last name like Hunter was all I ever wanted for you. I thought that would make whoever you did marry a good man, and I forgot it doesn’t matter. A last name doesn’t make a good person, and I know that, but for some reason, it seemed like it was the best option for your future, and for that, I take full responsibility.”
I half smiled. “I love you, Dad.”
