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Like this is a moment of defeat and all the sparkle that I adore has been zapped right out of her.
Honestly, I have my doubts about Ballerini’s so-called health issues. It seems like he’s always ready with a convenient reason to reel his daughter back under his absolute control. Even if he does have problems, he sucks if he’s using them as a means of guilting Tess into being his permanent servant. He doesn’t give a damn if he crushes her dreams and steals her best years. As long as he wins in the end.
Ever since I can remember, I’ve watched that fucking manipulative prick treat Tess like she’s merely an accessory for his image. I’ve had enough.
Pushing her hair aside, I make an obnoxious show of examining her neck.
She’s startled and shakes me off. “What are you doing?”
“Thought I’d find a collar there. With a handy little tab so your father can attach the leash whenever he feels like it.”
“Micah, that is not fair.”
“Noted. Lots of shit isn’t fair.”
She softens. “I know you’re upset about your fight. You don’t have to lash out like this.”
“Not lashing out. I’m telling you the truth. Someone has to do it. Come on, let’s leave this shitshow behind. We can go right now.”
“No, I can’t just take off.”
“All right. We’ll hang out for an hour. Then we’ll go.”
She sniffs. “He needs me to be here.”
I close the distance between us and tip her chin up with one finger. “What about us?”
Her sweet brown eyes grow sad. “I know you need me too right now and-”
“Dammit, that’s not what I mean.”
Of courseI fucking need her.
I need her soft warmth and her smart mouth and her sexy body.
I need every part of her so much I can taste her but that’s not the argument in play.
“Tess, I’m not trying totakefrom you right now. I just want you to come clean about who you really are versus who you’re pretending to be.”
The set to her jaw says she’s not taking the accusation well. She jerks her face away from my grip. “I’m not pretending anything, Micah. I’m not required to fit into the box that someone else chooses for me, not even you.”
“Then don’t, for fuck’s sake. Do you know when you are at your best, Tessie? When you’re brazen enough to reach for what you want instead of just performing a role for someone else’s benefit. Don’t crush that fire until you get so bored and restless and lonely that it just vanishes for good.”
She pinches the space between her brows.
I recognize that look.
I’ve been on the receiving end plenty of times back in our warring adolescence. It’s a look that lives in the realm betweenHow fucking stupid are you?andYour face gives me a migraine.
She lowers her hand. “Why are you doing this right now?”
I shrug. “Now’s as good a time as any. Let’s finish this lesson. You don’t belong to your father, Tess. You are not required to give up everything and stand beside him because you are not his damn wife. He’s had a few of those already. Remember?”
She stiffens, eyes wide, ready to erupt. “You asshole.”
“Yeah, always have been.”
“Are you expecting a trophy for consistency?”
