AllFreeNovel
Share Us
1
Giselle
“Isabella, why do you look so shocked? Did you think you could hide forever?” my father asked with a horrible sneer on his face.
I could hardly breathe.
The red silk in my hands dropped to the ground, billowing out as it landed. I watched the white lace follow suit and land on top.
“How,” I stammered, “where, how,” my poor brain suddenly scattered just like the material in my hands.
My father laughed to himself. He stepped closer, and I could smell the sickly sour scent of his breath. The familiar aroma of stale whiskey and unbrushed teeth nearly blew me over.
“Hiding out with the Sovrano brothers?” He grinned frighteningly at me. “Nice touch. Guess you learned a lot from Sergio.”
I sucked in a much-needed breath through my nose. “I can’t believe you would say that to me. After everything I did for you.”
He let out a loud, barking laugh. “For me? You mean for you. Living up there on that hill,” his eyes narrowed at me, “all high and mighty. Pretending like your shit don’t stink. You forgot all about your dear old dad, didn’t you?”
My jaw dropped open, and I felt my entire body shake with fear.
And disgust.
“You sold me,” I stated in no uncertain terms because it was the truth. “You sold your own daughter to pay off your gambling debts.”
He frowned at me and tilted his head. “Well, did you want them to kill me, Isabella? Hmm?” His voice was laced with vitriol. His eyes squinted tighter. “I bet that’s exactly what you wanted them to do. Right? So, you could marry rich, and never lift a finger again.”
Oh.
My.
Gosh.
He really was delusional. “I was barely old enough to vote when you sold me. How can you even say that? I worked my ass off to make sure all the bills were paid. While you were out gambling and partying and drinking.”
Dad slowly shook his head from side to side. “I made us money out there. Money for us to live on. Until I hit a rough patch. And you were so fucking ungrateful. Not wanting to help your father out. I looked after you for years and you were ready to feed me to the wolves.”
“Feed you to the wolves?” I asked in an exasperated voice. “You? Are you out of your freaking mind? You’re the one who fed me to the wolves.” Or one wolf in particular. I inhaled a short, stuttered breath. “And left me there.”
The expression on his face changed from anger to—recognition.
Yeah.
He remembered.
And he sure as heck couldn’t deny what he’d done.
Or rather—not done.
“You were fine.” He moved back a little, and I was glad for the space.
“You promised you’d come back for me,” I whispered to him. Again, his face changed, and he stepped further away. “You didn’t need my help in that huge mansion. You had everything you needed.”
His words sliced through me, but they didn’t have the self-righteous conviction from earlier.
“He forced himself on me every day. And there was nothing I could do about it.”
Dad looked over my head, and his eyes widened. I quickly spun my head around to see Stefan approaching.
