17. Kim #2
He took a step closer. His eyes were soft, pleading—the same eyes that had made me believe he loved me once. The same eyes that had looked at me with disgust when I told him about Zoe.
"I just want to apologize," he said. "Properly. I know I handled things badly. I was young and scared and I made mistakes—"
"Mistakes." The word tasted like poison.
"I want to make it right." His gaze dropped to Zoe, who was half-hidden behind my legs, watching him with wide eyes. "I want to know her. I want to be in her life. In your life, if you'll let me."
He reached down, his hand extending toward Zoe's face.
I moved before I could think. My hand shot out, smacking his wrist away with enough force to make him stumble backward.
Nobody touched my daughter. Nobody.
"Don't you dare." My voice was ice. Fire. Everything I'd kept bottled up for six years. "You don't get to touch her. You don't get to know her. You lost that right when you told me to get rid of her."
"Kim—"
"Tell me what you want. The real reason you're here. Because it's not her. You never wanted her."
Cole's expression flickered. Just for a moment, something ugly passed behind his eyes before the mask slipped back into place.
"I want to make amends," he said smoothly. "Just tell me what you want from me. I'll do it. Money, support, whatever you need—"
“I don't need anything from you.” I kicked the nearest pile of gifts. Boxes tumbled. A vase shattered against the wall. I didn't care. “Get your crap and get out of my building. Now.”
I turned to my door, fumbling for my keys. Zoe pressed against my side, trembling.
"Kim, please—" Cole's hand landed on my shoulder.
I shrugged him off. "Don't touch me."
"Just let me explain—" He pushed forward as I opened the door, trying to follow me inside.
A hand grabbed his shoulder and yanked him backward.
Cole stumbled, spinning around just in time to catch Xavier's fist with his face.
The crack of knuckles against bone echoed through the hallway. Cole staggered, clutching his jaw, and Xavier hit him again—a solid punch to the mouth that split his lip open.
"That's for what you did, you slimy asshole." Xavier's voice was deadly calm. "And that's for what you did to Kim."
Cole wiped blood from his lip, and something shifted in his expression. The mask dropped entirely. What remained was cold. Calculating. The real man beneath the charm.
"You can have her," he said, smirking despite the blood running down his chin. "I never wanted her anyway. Couldn't care less about her freak of a daughter."
Zoe made a small, wounded sound. I pulled her against me, covering her ears, but it was too late.
"Thought I could use her to get to you," Cole continued, straightening his jacket. "But I guess there's no point now. See you at the board meeting next week, Dubois."
He walked toward the elevator, leaving a trail of blood drops on the carpet. The doors opened, and he stepped inside, that horrible smirk still fixed on his face.
Then he was gone.
Zoe was crying.
Not loud, hysterical sobs—worse. Quiet tears streaming down her face, her body shaking against mine. She'd heard everything. Freak of a daughter. Never wanted her.
My heart shattered into a thousand pieces.
"Baby." I dropped to my knees, gathering her in my arms. "Baby, look at me. That man is a liar. A bad man who says mean things because he's broken inside. Nothing he said is true. Do you hear me? None of it is true."
"Why doesn't he like me?" Zoe's voice was tiny. "What did I do wrong?"
"Nothing." I held her tighter, my own tears spilling over. "You didn't do anything wrong. You're perfect. You're the most wonderful girl in the whole world, and anyone who doesn't see that is an idiot."
Xavier crouched beside us, his knuckles red and already swelling.
“Hey, Zoe.” His voice was soft. Gentle. The cold stranger from the flight had vanished, and in his place was the man who'd carried her on his shoulders, who'd played tea party on my living room floor, who'd looked at her like she mattered.
Like we both did. "Your mom's right. That guy is a grade-A jerk. You know what I do with jerks?"
Zoe sniffled. "What?"
"I punch them in the face." He held up his bruised hand. "See?"
A watery giggle escaped her. "You punched him."
"Twice. He deserved at least four, but I was being nice."
I caught his eye over Zoe's head. Thank you, I mouthed.
He nodded once.
We went inside. I got Zoe into her pajamas, made her warm milk with honey, read her three stories instead of one. She fell asleep clutching her elephant, her face still blotchy from tears but finally peaceful.
I pressed a kiss to her forehead and closed her door softly behind me.
Xavier was sitting on my couch, head in his hands. He looked exhausted. Defeated. The weight of whatever he was carrying was visible in every line of his body.
I sat beside him.
"Tell me," I said. "Whatever it is. Tell me what's happening."
He was quiet for a long moment. Then he ran a hand through his hair and spoke.
"The contract I signed with Cole. The Titan Ventures deal." His voice was hollow. "I didn't read it carefully. I was distracted, and I just signed it. Gerald tried to stop me, but I didn't listen."
My stomach dropped. "What was in it?"
"A clause buried in the fine print. Section 12, subsection C.
" He laughed bitterly. "Cole's company didn't just invest twenty million dollars.
The contract includes a convertible debt provision with accelerated vesting.
If Dubois Industries fails to meet certain performance metrics within ninety days—metrics that are nearly impossible to hit—Titan Ventures can convert their debt into equity shares. "
"How many shares?"
"Fifty-one percent." Xavier looked at me, his eyes bleak.
"Cole didn't invest in our company, Kim.
He bought it. One failed quarter, one missed benchmark, and he takes majority control.
He'll have the power to remove Sebastian as CEO.
To dismantle everything my family built.
And it's my fault. I handed it to him on a silver platter because I was too distracted to read the damn contract. "
The pieces clicked into place. Cole's smirk. His confidence. The way he'd talked about the board meeting next week.
"He planned this," I whispered. "From the beginning. The deal, getting close to me, all of it—"
"He used you to get to me. He knew about our arrangement somehow—" Xavier's jaw tightened.
"I don't know how. Gerald, maybe. Someone at the office.
It doesn't matter now. He knew that if he showed up, you'd run, I'd chase you, and I'd be too distracted to notice what I was signing.
" Xavier's hands clenched into fists. "I should have seen it.
I should have known something was wrong when he kept asking about Zoe, about you. But I was so focused on—"
"On me."
"On protecting you." He met my eyes. "I'd do it again. Even knowing what I know now. I'd still choose you."
My throat tightened. "Xavier—"
"I don't know how to fix this. Sebastian's been on calls with lawyers all day. Grandmother is furious. The entire company could collapse, and it's because I was stupid enough to trust—" He broke off, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes.
I reached out and took his damaged hand in mine. His knuckles were swollen, already bruising. I traced my fingers over them gently.
"What can I do?" I asked. "How can I help?"
He lowered his hands, looking at me with something raw and vulnerable in his expression.
"Just be with me," he said. "That's enough."
I shifted closer, pulling his head down to rest against my shoulder. His arms came around me, holding on like I was the only solid thing in a world that had just tilted sideways.
We sat there in the quiet of my tiny apartment, surrounded by the chaos of Cole's rejected gifts still scattered in the hallway, and I held him.
It wasn't much.
But it was what I had to give.