William was right, he thought dully.
If he truly cared for Sara, then there was only one thing to do, and so he heard himself say, "Your father is here to take you back."
Sara could only look at Raaf blankly. "Why?"
"Because I'm done with you."
Sara didn't even flinch. It was impossible for Raaf to mean those words. Just impossible, which meant he was merely being forced to say them, and she just had to figure out why.
"You heard him, Sara," William asserted quickly. "We should go now." But when he reached for his daughter's hand, she shook her head and stepped away from him.
"I know you think he's not a good person, but he is. Just give us a chance to explain—-"
"There is nothing," Raaf gritted out, "for you to explain. I've already said what I have to say. I am done with this, and you can go."
Sara struggled to convince herself that all these words she was hearing from Raaf were nothing but lies. It had to be. But when he suddenly crossed the room to push her towards her father—-
"Didn't you hear what I said? I'm done with you, so just fucking go—-"
William's temper snapped at seeing his daughter manhandled and shoved Raaf back at the same time. "Get your fucking hands off my daughter!"
"Then get her off my fucking boat—-"
Sara finally managed to free herself from William and ran straight into Raaf. "Why are you being like this?" she asked tremulously. "Please." Her head was spinning, her heart breaking. She didn't even know how or where to start processing this sudden change in him. Everything was just happening so, so fast. So hurtfully fast that she was close to crumbling under the crushing weight of his words. Couldn't he see that he was tearing her world apart?
"Raaf, p-please."
He heard her voice break, but he forced himself to ignore this.
"You t-told me I was m-magnificent," Sara choked out. "Was that all a lie?"
Instead of answering, she felt his hands grip her shoulders, and hope burned bright inside of her. Sara waited for him to pull her close, but instead she felt him set her away—-
It was almost like he could no longer bear the feel of her body against his.
Almost like...
Almost like he found her...dirty.
And just like that, she understood everything perfectly.
Raaf would have said more if that was what it took - would have said everything that would force her to leave and forget him, but the rest of his words were completely forgotten the moment her stricken gaze collided with his.
There was something in her eyes—-
Something, goddammit—-
But then she turned away, and he could only clench his fists against the urge to pull her back.
William told himself that the glassy look in his daughter's eyes was not his fault. This had to happen, and he was only doing what any father would do in such a situation. Raaf Karvelas had kidnapped his daughter. How could he simply stand aside and let his daughter stay with such a man?
He slowly reached for her hand again, and this time she no longer resisted.
RAAF REMAINED WHERE he stood even though the sailboat that took Sara and her father away was no longer in sight. He heard footsteps behind him, but he didn't bother to turn around. "In the mood I am," he warned Gerard, "I might just end up punching you in the face if you say the wrong thing."
"All I'm here is to speak the truth," Gerard said lightly, "and it shouldn't count as the wrong thing even if it hurts."
"Fuck off."
But the words were spoken with such weariness that Gerard decided to press his luck just a bit more by staying. "I'm serious, boss. I just want to make sure you know the truth—-"
"Fine," Raaf bit out. "Go on then. What's this fucking truth—-"
"You hurt her real bad, boss."
Raaf squeezed his eyes shut. Fuck, fuck, fuck. That was the truth, and he wanted to kill himself just thinking about it.
"You—-"
"Enough, Gerard. I know what I did, and it was...for the best."
Gerard could see that Raaf meant this, but it didn't really matter if he did. The road to hell was paved with good intentions, and that was where his boss would inevitably end up if he didn't do something now.
"Can I ask you a question, boss?"
Raaf stared at him. "Are you fucking serious?"
"I just want to know what you think of us."
Raaf was beginning to feel like he was missing something. "Why the fuck are you going existentialistic—-"
"Do you think" Gerard cut him off determinedly, "there's still hope for us? Me, Cain, all of us. Unlike you, we were born in the cult. We weren't kidnapped. And you know what they say about apples never falling far—-"
Raaf's gaze blazed with anger. "Bullshit. Anyone who tells you that doesn't know a fucking thing. You are your own person, just like your parents are their own persons. Just because they don't have any fucking soul doesn't mean that you don't either—-"