27. Domenic
Chapter 27
Domenic
“Where the fuck did you go?” my dad says when I return to his quarters. “I wasn’t done with you.”
I don’t know why, but this letter has changed something. I’m no longer afraid of him. My mom chose to leave him. She walked out on him. She’d planned on forging her own path, without him. And if she had the guts to do that, so can I.
I hold out the sheet of paper. “I found this letter.”
He pales and reaches for it. “That’s not yours. What the fuck? Were you going through my things?”
His face turns red—a sure sign of his building rage—but I ignore it and remain calm.
“Why didn’t you ever show this to me before?” I demand to know.
“It wasn’t for you. It was a letter she wrote for me.”
I wave the letter at him. “Mom talks about me in it. Don’t you think I deserved to know she wanted me to join her?”
“Why? What would be the point? She died. It wasn’t as though that would ever be possible.”
“How can you be so fucking cold? She was my mother !” My voice is raised, and it cracks slightly.
He drops his head, the fight suddenly gone out of him. “I loved her, too.” His voice is gruff, like mine.
I narrow my eyes. He’s putting this on. Pretending. He has to be. This bastard isn’t capable of love. He wants Lucia because she’s a pretty object to have on his arm, nothing more or less.
“Liar! It says she overheard you on the phone to another woman. I assume that woman was Lucia, and then surprise, surprise, Mom dies under mysterious circumstances, and then the other woman turns up at Verona Falls.”
His head snaps up, his eyes blazing. “I didn’t have anything to do with your mother’s death, if that’s what you’re implying.”
I bite my lower lip and force myself to speak. We’ve never spoken about mom’s death properly—not really. I’ve certainly never let him know what’s really been on my mind. “What else am I supposed to think?”
“It was a terrible, tragic accident, that’s all. Don’t you think I’ve beaten myself up over the way she died? I treated her appallingly, and she didn’t deserve that. I wish she’d never overheard me that night, or that I’d stopped her from leaving, but wishing something doesn’t change it. No matter what you think, I loved her!”
“How can you say you loved Mom when you were acting like that?”
“I loved them both.” He pauses and then adds, “I still do.”
For a split second, I’m about to throw all that back at him in rage. How dare he love a woman other than my mother? But then I hesitate.
I realize something profound. “What if they’d both agreed to be with you? What would you have done then?”
His eyes narrow. “I’d have been a very happy man, of course, but that was never going to happen. Your mother never wanted to share. She was extremely jealous.”
“But you’d have been happy if she’d said she would?”
“Of course. Any man would be happy with that situation.”
“Then why can’t you understand our situation with Mackenzie? We all love her. She loves each of us, equally. It’s the same situation, except ours is an amicable one, and it won’t end in someone dying.”
His mouth opens and closes. “She’s your stepsister.”
I hold my ground. “No, she isn’t. You and Lucia don’t need to marry. The police aren’t looking for Mackenzie. She doesn’t need a new identity, and neither does Lucia. This can work, Dad. Don’t let anyone else die because you’re being stubborn. It’s pretty fucking simple. Just let us be happy.”
“You expect me to stop my marriage for your little poly experiment?”
I sigh and pinch my nose. “Dad, we want to be together, and it’s either that or we’ll leave. You can’t control everything. This is one of those things.” I suck in air and say what I’ve been dreading. “If you want me to be a part of your life going forward, you have to do this. You lost my mother. Do you want to lose me too?”
He hesitates, and for the first time, I see a chink in his armor. He knows I have a point, and he’s considering my proposition.
I push the advantage. “You and Lucia can be very happy as you are. I think Lucia will agree to this because she knows it means we are all with her daughter and can keep her safe. There are still men out there after them both. One day we might find them, but we may not. If we don’t, what better way to ensure her safety than being with us?”
He shakes his head, and his mouth is set in a hard line, but eventually he gives a deep sigh. “I’m not going to say I’ll support what you’re doing, but you are all adults. The best I can do is turn a blind eye, but if I do, you have to give Lucia a chance, too.”
I press my lips together and stick my hand out to him. “Deal.”
He lets out another sigh but clamps his hand against mine. We shake once.
“Don’t make me regret that, Domenic.”
“I won’t.”