CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Asher
Russell’s car sat in the driveway when I pulled in. I’d been avoiding him ever since he sent Kaia to boarding school, but I still lived here—hopefully not for much longer.
I left my helmet on the handlebar, took out my phone, and texted Kaia that I’d made it to Stetbourg in one piece, ending the message with “I love you.” My chances of sleeping tonight were nil.
I’d already replayed the weekend in my head: the way she felt in my arms, her moans, her kisses, our conversations.
It was dark downstairs, which was a relief, but as I climbed the stairs voices drifted from Russell’s office. He was up. So was my mother. Shit.
“Asher.” The door cracked open, and she peered into the hallway. “We need to talk.”
What now? I walked toward her, already thinking about whatever conversation she wanted after barely acknowledging me for months. If she tried to avoid me, she did a pretty good job—probably because I reminded her of Dad, or because dealing with me complicated her life.
“Hi,” I said.
She opened the door wider and stepped aside, revealing Russell behind his desk; then she scurried out. So much for talking.
The door shut. Despite the room’s decent size, I felt caged. The hatred in Russell’s eyes pinned me in place. He’d never liked me, but this was the first time he’d shown it outright.
“Care to explain where you took my daughter this weekend?”
My stomach dropped. Fuck. Had the school called him? She was eighteen—what business did they have telling him?
“She needed a break from that place,” I said.
He tapped the papers spread across his desk. “A break from the place I pay thousands for every month?”
Asshole. She’d been at Willowbrook only a month and he was already moaning about the cost.
“She hasn’t been home since you sent her,” I said. If I’d known he could find out, I’d have come up with a better story.
“But you didn’t bring her home. You took her to a hotel—to do what, exactly? I’d think twice before lying.”
Heat flushed my skin and my throat tightened, but I pushed the words out. “Why don’t you tell me, since you already seem to know?”
He shrugged. “Here it says she was looking forward to your first time together.” He thumbed a corner of the page, and my blood ran cold. I stepped closer, legs numb. White pages, Kaia’s neat handwriting—copies of . . . her diary?
“How could you?” I lunged for them, and he swatted my hand away.
“Sit,” he hissed. “I could—and can—because I’m her father. She’s my responsibility.”
“You violated her privacy.” My fists clenched. “Whatever she wrote wasn’t meant for you. What the hell is wrong with you? Do you think she’ll trust you after this?”
“She doesn’t need to know. And if she does, it won’t be the end of the world.”
I wanted to punch him. “Not the end of yours, maybe,” I said through clenched teeth. “But can you, for once in your life, think about your daughter?”
Russell let out a dry laugh and pushed himself up. “Can you? Please, sit. This might run long.”
“No, thanks.” I lifted my chin and met his eyes. He planted himself in front of me, arms crossed like he thought posture would intimidate me. “For me, this conversation already ran its course.”
He smirked. “Fine. Short version, since you’re pressed for time: whatever relationship you have with my daughter ends now. You disrespected your mother and me by sneaking around. You can’t seriously expect us to allow it, can you?”
Since when did I need anyone’s permission? Rage sizzled. “Kaia is eighteen. You can’t do shit. I won’t break up with her.” I wouldn’t break her heart so he could stage a perfect family for the world. Fuck him.
“If you don’t—” He rounded the desk, snatched a folder, and slammed it down. “—she can kiss her plans for her mother’s dream college goodbye. I won’t pay. I’ll pull her from Willowbrook, too. Like you said, she’s eighteen. She can pay for tuition herself.”
My insides went to stone. Kaia would be destroyed. Without Willowbrook or tutoring, the SATs would swallow her chances at a scholarship. Another school change would wreck the progress she’d made.
She could come live with me, but paying Ethan had gutted my savings. I needed a team that paid better.
Helplessness clogged my throat. “So you’d strip your daughter of a future because she’s with me?”
He sat, arms crossed, smug and cold. “You don’t care about her future. She stopped therapy because of you. Why go if Ash is the only one who understands me?” He mimicked Kaia’s voice and the words burned like acid. How dare he mock her feelings?
“Did you ever think she might need a different therapist? Someone she could actually trust?” I snapped.
Russell rubbed his chin. “Sure. You can pay for one, Asher. And you can pay for her boarding school and college. If you can’t, she’ll be with you—but without the future she deserves. That’s what matters, right?”
Kaia mattered. Her mental health mattered. Her dreams mattered. The man in front of me didn’t care.
What we did wasn’t wrong—she and I weren’t family, and our relationship wasn’t immoral. It simply didn’t fit his tidy version of the world.
“She matters to me more than anything,” I said. My voice shook with anger and something worse: fear. I knew he wasn’t bluffing. He would disown her without blinking.
Russell shrugged. “Then prove it. And don’t make things worse for her by telling her about this talk. She’d act out and become more disrespectful. I won’t allow that while I continue to fund her life.”
“Fuck you.” I stormed out and slammed the door.
My mother waited in the hall. When our eyes met, she shook her head. “I can’t believe you did that. She’s almost family. You took advantage of Russell’s kindness.”
Kindness? He wouldn’t recognize it if it hit him.
I’d had enough. “I can’t believe you let him read Kaia’s diary. I can’t believe you don’t see how wrong that is. And I can’t believe you downgraded from my father to that piece of shit.”
She gasped.
Without sparing her another glance, I ran down the stairs, heart pounding up my throat, heat burning through me.
***
Ale opened the door shirtless, yawning into his fist. “It’s five a.m., mi nino. What happened?”
“Russell knows.”
All traces of sleep left Ale’s eyes. “Come in.”
We went to the kitchen, and he started the coffee maker. When the cups were ready, he handed me one and sat at the island beside me. “How did he find out?”
I twirled the cup on its saucer. “He went to Kaia’s school yesterday while she was with me. Found her diary. Read it.”
Ale groaned, dragging a hand through his hair. “What a fucking mess. What now?”
“He’ll disown her unless I break up with her.” The thought made me sick. I’d taken her virginity less than two days ago. I’d promised I’d never leave.
“And you think those aren’t empty threats?”
They might have been if he actually cared about her. He’d be mad, but we could reason with him, and he’d ultimately choose what was best for his child. But Russell Demeri only cared about himself.
“He doesn’t give a damn. He won’t pay for her boarding school and college if we’re together.”
Ale downed his coffee and pushed the cup aside. “Asshole. Does he know you’re leaving after this season?”
I shook my head. “Didn’t think telling him was smart. He could fuck up my prospects with other teams. Blacklist me completely. As it is, the only reason he’s not ruining my career is because I’m useful to him. I came to see you because I need to know if I have enough to pay for Kaia’s studies.”
“Wait here.”
Ale left the room. After a few minutes, he returned with his laptop.
While it booted, I drained my cup. I hadn’t slept and needed to be alert for whatever came next.
A spreadsheet with my finances filled the screen. Ale managed them; when I inherited at eighteen, I didn’t know shit about money. That changed, but I stayed calmer with him in charge.
One glance at the balance, and my stomach lurched. “I thought I had more.”
Ale pointed at the column of recent expenses. “Ethan. Good lawyers don’t come cheap, either. You’ve got savings, but if you don’t sign with another team when the season ends, you’ll be living off those.”
I pressed a fist to my mouth and stared until the numbers blurred. I blinked. The fucking moisture stayed. So did the ache in my chest.
“I can’t do this to her,” I whispered. “I love her, Ale. Really love her. If she had to choose between her future and me, she’d choose me.
But I’m not a fucking psychic. I don’t know if I’ll sign with another team soon.
I can’t let her give up her dreams for me.
Not just dreams—her education. If she doesn’t go, she’ll keep depending on Russell. ”
I wanted to tell her what he’d done, but how could I? She’d refuse his money. She’d sacrifice everything—her dream college, her plans—just to be with me. I couldn’t let that happen. She was only eighteen, with so much still ahead.
I had racing. A career. She didn’t. And if Russell followed through, she’d have to settle for far less than she deserved. Wasn’t that fucking sad for a girl starved of her father’s affection?
“I wish I could assure you I’ll have a new contract for you soon,” Ale said. “I’m trying, Ash, but unless you relocate, your options are limited.”
“I know.”
Ale squeezed my shoulder. “Take some time to think. Maybe try talking to Russell again. He might cool off and stop being a dick. It’s not like you and Kaia share the same blood. Who the fuck cares if two young people whose parents are dating want to be together?”
Nobody but Russell and my mother cared. It changed nothing.
“What would you do?” I doubted Ale had an answer. Nobody did. Not even me. I only wanted him to say I wasn’t an asshole for doing the right thing, because I already hated myself for the pain I hadn’t caused her yet.
Ale exhaled hard. “I don’t know. But if I loved someone, I’d do whatever was best for her.”
So would I. Always.
Her love was the best thing that had ever happened to me. With her, I finally knew what happiness felt like.
We could’ve had children—beautiful, loved in a way so few ever were. A hot tear slid down my cheek. Fuck. This hurt worse than losing Dad.
Ale shut his laptop. “Let it out, mi nino. I’ll be in the living room when you need me.”
The kitchen door closed with a soft click.
He left, giving me the space to grieve what might have been.