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I stared at the surface of the water because I knew it was coming. Could feel it in the air, the tension that was about to combust out of nothingness.
“Baby—”
“I’m not ready.” I swallowed, feeling the burn in the roof of my mouth.
He stared at me in silence, his eyes flicking back and forth between mine as the seconds ticked by. He inhaled a slow breath. “I’m sorry, but you need to face it. As much as I’ve enjoyed this honeymoon, we have to get back to reality.”
I locked my gaze on the water, fighting back the anguish that started to flood my veins. “I can’t.”
“You can,” he said gently. “I’m here with you.”
I closed my eyes for a moment before I lifted my stare.
His gaze was patient. Loving. Kind.
“I know how hard this is for you,” he whispered. “I wish…I wish it weren’t true.”
I inhaled a shaky breath, steeling my resolve so I wouldn’t raise the water level with a bucket of fresh tears.
“You have to act normal. Act like you didn’t overhear that conversation. Act like I didn’t tell you the truth.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I asked incredulously. “You expect me to pull that off?”
“Youhaveto pull it off.”
I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to look my father in the eye again. Not after I knew the depths of his corruption. The depths of his horrible actions. “I can’t believe this.” My fingers slid over my mouth and cupped my lips for a second, steadying them so they wouldn’t tremble. My hand returned to the warm water. “I told my father I wanted to be with you, and he still let it happen. And then I told him how miserable I was and I loved you, and he still didn’t tell me the truth. He let me believe you really betrayed me.”
“He said you would never speak to him again if you knew the truth, so he could never tell you.”
“And he’s damn right.” My eyes dropped to the water again, feeling the tears coming on. “He took you away from me. He forced you to break my heart. He shot your father in the arm. He… Who knows what else he’s done.”
“Tried to set you up with Theo because he preferred him to me.”
I hadn’t believed that at first, but now it seemed entirely plausible. “I—I don’t even know him. I’m not sure I ever did.” I thought back to our conversations. He said I deserved a man who gave me the world, who opened doors for me, who loved me with his full heart. Axel was that man, but that wasn’t the man my father wanted. The back of my head rested against the edge of the tub, and I looked toward the ceiling, feeling the tears singe the corners of my eyes. They started to drip and run down my cheeks, warm against my skin.
“Baby…”
“I can’t believe he would do that to me.”
“Baby.” He moved across the tub to me and hooked his arms around my body before he dragged me through the water to his chest. He pulled me close and locked his arms around me like steel bars of a cage. His chest was warm, like an underwater furnace.
It was the most comfortable I’d ever been, but it still wasn’t enough.
“You have me.” His face pressed into the crook of my neck. “You’ve always had me.”
Chapter 14
Scarlett
Axel walked through the building, his hand swiping across the counter at the bar. “This is it. With a little craftsmanship, we can make this place pop. A grand chandelier in the entryway, mood lighting at the bar. It’s perfect.”
“There have to be at least a hundred tables in here…” I looked at the behemoth of a space, empty tables sitting in an empty room.
“The kitchen supports it.”
“This place is up for lease for a reason, Axel. That means someone else went under?—”
“You can’t compare their situation to yours.”
