29. Chapter Twenty-Nine #3
He must have come directly from a campaign event.
His eyes move immediately to my cheek.
“What happened?”
“I’m fine.”
“Simone.”
“The pilot is in custody.”
His face becomes still.
“Mercer too.”
Dad closes his eyes.
For several seconds, he says nothing.
Then he reaches for me.
I slide into the limousine.
His arms close around me.
The embrace is fierce.
Terrified.
“I nearly lost you again.”
“But you didn’t.”
He holds me longer.
When he releases me, his eyes are wet.
“I came to apologize.”
“Before or after someone tried to shoot me?”
“Before.”
“That’s encouraging.”
A weak smile touches his mouth.
“I’ve been thinking about what you said.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“About Luca. About what you want.”
“You should know I meant every word.”
“I do.”
Dad leans forward.
“I understand that now.”
His hands clasp between his knees.
“I haven’t been the father you needed.”
The admission shocks me into silence.
“I made decisions for you because I believed protecting you gave me that right.”
He looks toward the darkened arena.
“I convinced myself control was another form of love.”
My throat tightens.
“It isn’t.”
“No.”
He nods.
“I see that.”
The word sorry has always seemed too small for Dad.
Too vulnerable.
He says it anyway.
“I’m sorry.”
My eyes begin to burn.
“For the engagement announcement?”
“For that.”
His mouth twists.
“And for everything that made you believe you had to lie or fight to have a life of your own.”
A tear threatens my mascara.
I refuse to let it fall.
“I don’t resent you.”
Relief eases the tension around his eyes.
“I love you, Dad.”
“I love you too.”
He reaches across the space and takes my hand.
“I’m proud of you.”
That tear escapes.
I wipe it away quickly.
“For attacking an armed man with a microphone stand?”
“I would prefer never to discuss that again.”
“Fair.”
“For knowing what you want.”
His fingers tighten around mine.
“And refusing to let anyone—not even me—take it from you.”
My chest aches.
“I trust Luca.”
I look at him.
“You do?”
“I trust that he loves you.”
Dad exhales.
“I trust him with your happiness, though I’m beginning to understand it isn’t his responsibility to create it for you.”
“Look at you growing.”
“Don’t ruin the moment.”
I laugh through the tears.
“You can tell him he has my blessing.”
“I will.”
I pause.
“But you need to tell him something too.”
“What?”
“Stop treating him like an obligation left behind by his father.”
Dad’s expression changes.
“He knows you helped his family partly because you felt guilty.”
“I did feel guilty.”
“What happened wasn’t your fault.”
“I know.”
“Knowing and believing aren’t always the same.”
He looks down at our joined hands.
“No.”
“They weren’t for Luca either.”
Dad’s jaw trembles slightly.
“You should tell him that you love him because he’s Luca. Not because he’s his father’s son.”
“I do love him.”
“Then tell him.”
Dad nods.
“I will.”
A frantic knock sounds against the limousine door.
Bran opens it.
“You’re late.”
“It would have been rude to interrupt a father-daughter reconciliation.”
“You interrupted anyway.”
“You’re seventy-eight minutes late for your own concert.”
I kiss Dad’s cheek.
“You’d better watch.”
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
I step out.
Bran follows me toward the stage entrance.
“You’re smiling.”
“Dad apologized.”
Bran stops walking.
“Should I call a doctor?”
“Don’t ruin this.”
We hurry through the corridor.
My heels strike the floor in quick, sharp beats.
The arena beyond the curtains shakes with anticipation.
My manager clutches his chest when he sees me.
“You have ten seconds.”
“I need five.”
I step onto the stage without another breath.
The audience erupts.
Sound crashes over me.
Thousands of lights rise like stars throughout the arena.
For years, I needed this noise to tell me I mattered.
Tonight, it feels different.
I don’t need the crowd to make me whole.
I can simply love them.
I take the microphone.
At the front of the stage, I see Bran with Cassie.
Adrien stands beside them in his ridiculous fan shirt.
Marley holds a glittering sign with my name.
Josh sits on Adrien’s shoulders, waving another that reads:
SIMONE, WAIT FOR ME. I’LL BE LEGAL EVENTUALLY.
Luca stands at the edge of the secured aisle.
Black suit.
Dark hair falling across his forehead.
Intense green eyes fixed entirely on me.
The crowd cheers louder when the cameras project his face onto the enormous screens.
He looks faintly horrified.
I smile.
“I want to dedicate this next song to someone very special.”
The arena quiets.
“Someone who showed me that love can be patient, quiet, and fierce all at once.”
Luca’s gaze burns into mine.
“He taught me the difference between being watched and being seen.”
The first notes begin behind me.
“This one is for my boyfriend.”
The crowd explodes.
Somewhere, a publicist probably faints.
Luca’s mouth curves.
Then he mouths three words.
I love you.
I place one hand over my heart.
The spotlight finds me.
The stage is mine.
My voice is mine.
My life is mine.
And as I begin to sing, every word belongs to the man who never tried to take any of those things away from me.