"I'm sure that Austin's already enlightened you with his poisonous lies." He starts, staring off outside the window, his back to me.
My voice comes out cold, unfeeling. "Don't taint your brother's kindness just because you want to redeem yourself, Hemmington."
He's quiet for a while, and when he starts to speak again, it's as if he never hears me.
"The woman you saw in the picture," his words hang heavy opening my wounds fresh. Just when it's starting to heal he opens it again to salt it. He turns around to put more impact to the blow. "She's my fiancé." A bitter smile crosses his face, not reaching his eyes that swirls with grey at the memory.
"Or I'd like to think before because that same fiancé of mine married my best-friend and got a son along the way. They were happy for a while until he became deep in gambling, alcohol, and women."
I school my face to an emotionless expression, but I'm finding it hard every word he draws.
"Kelly falls into depression and commit suicide."
Finally, my will crumbles, making melt into a hopeless heap of a bawling mess.
But he's too lost in his memory to notice or else he will have come to me and hold me in his arms. That's just how it is even now.
"I'm a little too late just like I always was with my mom. Both of them a similar death. I don't know how broken can I be anymore but so suddenly, their son Isaac barely five years old saves me from my death myself. He stands there innocent, reminding me of myself. Ever since my mom died, I swore to myself not to put anyone in that situation. It's dark in that place and cold."
How am I supposed to hold my grudge to a man I become to hate? How can he change my mind so easily without effort? And what about me? My daughter, who he left, can I forgive him easily for that?
His eyes lose that distant look in them, looking at me now this time. "Time and time again I will play in mind whether I got your p
hone call that day. I was out of myself, drinking myself to death. After some time, I figure that you called. I debate with myself if I intrude in your life after all the misery I've caused you already. Most of all, I'm so afraid to befall the same fate on you and our daughter. I thought you both are better off without me. It's safer that way..." he hangs his head low, hands shaking.
"Then why did you come back?" is my croaky question, one that's been burning to ask.
He looks up, pain and misery playing in those eyes. "I've been looking everywhere for you both. I lift up rocks and around the world, but I can't track you down. It's until I have Austin followed that I finally found you both."
"How long have you known?"
"A month."
"What took you so long to approach?" I don't know why I'm asking this question trying to give him the chance to give me a good reason.
"Because of fuck it, Olivia. I will make you mine, whether I have to carry you over my shoulder to the altar I will do it."
My temper rise. "You don't have the right to leave and then make yourself welcome out of nowhere, Luke. You lost the chance!"
He doesn't miss a beat. "Once I have everything sort out I will move you and my daughter here, Olivia. I will marry you first and work hard for your forgiveness." He says each word in a slow deliberate manner as if I have a hard time understanding him if he speaks normally.
Fighting him when he's stubborn like this won't get me anywhere.
Chapter Thirteen
Olivia
With his money and influence, he can do whatever the heck he pleases, and that includes having my daughter stolen out of our house without effort.
Despite his flaws, I can't deny him his place in my daughter's life, set aside my personal feelings for him. He holds her with such tenderness as if he's afraid of breaking her. She's sleeping comfortably in his arms without a care in the world. I ache at the sight of them, of the year that they miss together.
We are on his penthouse where I'm mostly holes in in his room while he busies himself without daughter. But one day he has Ophelia under the care of Delhia which I don't mind. The woman is kind and sweet not the fact that Fee loves her.
It's hot, and I'm bored out of my brain when I decide to dip in the Olympic pool or so it seems when he walks in without a single sound.
He's leaning against the sliding door watching me like a hawk watches his next target. I quickly got out of the water and tried to maneuver around him when he catches me by the waist pulling my plush against his body. His warm against my shivering body and rock solid.
For months that we've been here, I can't help but be compliant to his hands even if just for a little while.