~ Unknown
Amara
He’s lost his mind. There’s no possible way he just said he loved me. No. It can’t be. We like each other. There hasn’t been nearly enough time for love to grow between us. “We don’t need time, Amara. The moments we’ve had together have bonded us. Even you can’t deny it.”
I jump, startled from Dante sneaking out. Whipping around, I look at him and throw my hands up in the air. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack!?”
“You’re trying to change the subject. How adorable.”
“I am not.” I hiss through clenched teeth while I remember every moment he impacted my life. From the very first time he wrapped his arm around me while Eduardo was leading me to a safe haven, exiting that god forsaken shed. To when he delivered my daughter, consoling me in every way he knew how. He held me, until I awoke and he was no longer there. Even though I understand the reasoning why he left, I’m still upset.
“I won’t ever lie to you about my feelings. I will promise you that.”
“Your promises don’t mean much right now.” I immediately respond, proving a point but also further aggravating him.
He scoffs, “Touché.”
Footsteps come from our left and we both glance over. It’s one of the household staff. This man is newer, I believe is name is Mario. “Señor, there is a man at the gate. He states his name is Roman Raines.” My heart drops into my stomach, eyes widening in fear.
Dante glances over to me, “I thought you said your brother was coming. But your father?”
“I . . . I didn’t know. I’m so sorry. I had no idea he was coming.”
“Did you identify the man?” Dante questions Mario, who immediately nods.
“Yes, Señor. His passport says the same thing. He . . . he is very adamant on coming in.”
Shit. I suck in a deep breath and start to head back for the house. “What are you doing? Your father is here.”
I nod once, fighting back tears. “Yes, he is, and I will do what I always do and show him I am a woman of power. He will never see my weakness, do you understand me?” My voice chokes before I grow with anger. I leave him and Mario, go into the bedroom I’m now sharing with Dante, and scavenge through the closet looking for something blood red. It’s my power color. The color that makes me feel dangerous, confident, and so much more. My relationship with my father is complicated and I doubt a year has changed him.
I must be gone about fifteen minutes, rummaging through our room until I feel like I can tame the beast who raised me. The first man I ever loved, who’s also the first man who ever broke it.
I leave the bedroom and see they aren’t in the small living area on this side of the house. So, I walk through the doorway and pass through the kitchen until I’m in the foyer. I hear my father’s deep rumbling chortle and turn left into the formal sitting room of the Lopez estate.
God.
He looks . . . different.
His skin isn’t flushed with red like it typically is. His hair is trimmed back into a styled buzz cut and he’s wearing a suit. I’ve never seen my father wear anything like this. Though, what I’m most surprised about is my ex who sits beside him. The man I thought I had been in love with, and now, after . . . holy fuck. I blink a few times as the shock hits me.
I’m falling in love with Dante Lopez.
He’s the reason I know I wasn’t in love with Widow, but I did love him as a person. Tears well in the corner of my eyes at my sudden realization but I clear my throat and push forward.
“I didn’t know either of you would be here.” I state, clear as day.
Widow spots me first and his eyes widen, “Holy shit, you look good.”
I watch my father as his eyes shift away from my boyfriend and meet my own. He takes in a heavy breath and simply sits beside Widow. He stares and neither of us say a word.
“Está todo bien mi reyna?” Dante asks, not realizing my father is the one who taught me how to speak Spanish.
I can tell he’s picked up what Dante has asked me with the way his eyes tighten. “¿Tu reyna? Parece que tu hermano dejó algunas cosas afuera. En cuanto a ti, Quién crees que le enseñó a hablar español? Eh?” My father is shocked by the fact Dante is calling me his queen and points out Damon didn’t fill him in on a few things. However, I didn’t divulge my relationship with Dante to him because I knew the reaction would be horrible. My father also rubs it in to Dante how he was the one who taught me Spanish.
“Everything is fine.” I assure Dante, walking up to take a seat beside him on the alternate couch. I’m a mere six feet away from my father and yet he feels like a ghost. As I grew up he turned into a man I never knew, an alcoholic . . . though something is different about him and I can’t tell what it is.
I know this will be difficult, seeing him after all this time. It’s been at least three or four years, maybe longer. The last time he saw me was when he slapped me around.
I can only hope that time has changed him for the better.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Love doesn’t die a natural death. Love has to be killed, either by neglect or narcissism.”
~ LovesaGame.com
Amara
I sit here and I can’t believe these two men are sitting side by side. The last thing I knew Widow hated my father’s guts for what he did. Of course, he was plastered and he slapped me, leaving
