by Kat T. Masen
Someone is pulling her away from everything she worked hard for.
And away from her family.
Then, she raises her voice back, disrespecting me with her angered words until she basically tells me to fuck right off. The second she disappears into the elevator, Zuckerman’s words replay, “Romano fucks your daughter.”
The voices are unable to shut off, scenario after scenario playing in my head—Will’s decline in his performance of late and his head elsewhere in meetings. Before Christmas, we attended the gala, where he claimed he had an emergency, almost costing him a client.
His quick acceptance to visit LA and stay in my home.
Then there’s Amelia’s unusual behavior. The constant visits to the city, schoolwork falling behind, and the break-up with Austin, to name another thing.
Zuckerman can’t be correct.
But then, I remember their argument as the elevator pinged open. This was more than a lost wallet at hand. And then she blamed me for controlling her life, her outburst completely disrespectful and uncalled for. This isn’t the daughter I raised. This is a woman who’s consumed by a man, a man who should be off-limits, who took advantage of our family ties, used me to get close to her, and then did what?
Don’t say it. Don’t repeat what Zuckerman said.
I turn back to enter the elevator, fury springing to life when the doors close, trapping me in my personal hell. My pulse begins to race, muscles quivering, the beat of my heart loud as a drum with an urge to smash my fist against the mirror inside the confined space.
Each passing second feels like an hour. Then the door opens up to the ground floor. With sweaty palms, I yank my phone out of my pocket to call Charlotte.
“Lex,” Charlotte huffs over the receiver. “I need to step into a meeting with a client. I’ll call you back in an hour?”
I can’t speak. My chest so tight then even words are trapped, unable to form a coherent sentence.
“Lex? Hello, are you still there?”
“I’m here,” I bellow.
“What’s wrong?”
“Did you know that Will and our daughter are an item?”
“Lex, what are you talking about? Listen, I don’t have time for your assumptions.”
My nostrils begin to flare like a wild animal staring at its prey.
“Did you know, Charlotte?”
Charlotte releases a breath. “Lex, Amelia is going through something, I’ll admit. But a relationship with Will? That’s ridiculous. He’s family.”
“Will you just listen to me, Charlotte!” I demand, anger pouring through me like molten hot lava. “They’ve both been lying to us. Amelia is falling behind in her schoolwork, spending all her time in the city, and Will is distracted at work. Every time they’ve been in a room together, there was this odd behavior, yet I passed it off as nothing.”
“So, what, Lex? That doesn’t mean anything is going on.”
“No, Charlotte,” I beg of her to listen. “You don’t understand. I just saw them.”
“Doing what?”
“They were…” I clear my throat, closing my eyes momentarily. “They were arguing. She was here, in this building. She lied to my face about why she was here, and I could see it in her eyes. Don’t you see? She’s been pushing you away because she knew we’d figure it out.”
“Lex,” her voice wavers, “She’s pushing me away because she no longer needs me. She’s an adult, now.”
“No, Charlotte. You’re wrong. She’s pushing you away because it’s easier to do that than lie to your face,” I tell her brutally.
The line goes quiet, and all but Charlotte’s heavy breathing can be heard.
“They want me inside. I don’t know what to say. I’ll call you the minute I’m out but promise me you won’t do anything stupid, please?”
“Charlotte…”
“Lex, please?” she pleads in desperation.
“I promise.”
The call ends, and I’m no closer to feeling any better after my talk with Charlotte. I need her, right now, to calm my flaring temper. As minutes pass while standing on the busy street, I head toward a bar a few blocks over, avoiding work, eager to numb the pain.
Inside the bar, I begin to drink myself into a stupor, time lost on me as I toy aimlessly with the peanuts in the bowl. There are a dozen messages on my phone and missed calls, but the only one that mattered is Charlotte’s.
Charlotte: Our daughter needs us. I’m on the next flight to JFK.
“Bartender, pour me another,” I call, then lower my head.
“Look, buddy, you’ve had a few.”
“What the fuck do you care? Do you know who I am?”
The young guy rolls his eyes, disrespecting my authority. My thoughts travel back to Will and all the times I demanded he sort Amelia out for her reckless behavior. Her underage clubbing and the countless conversations I’ve had privately with him over my concerns with her well-being. All of this was acted with trust, trust in which he broke without a single thought.
“This is the last drink.”
The final glass of scotch is served to me.
But I don’t care. I’ll find a way to continue numbing the pain because I have no choice.
My little girl is gone.
I know Amelia is staying in our penthouse, Charlotte warned me earlier. She doesn’t say another word, the two of them inseparable since the moment she arrived. I purposely keep my distance, drowning my sorrows inside my office with another bottle of scotch.
The liquor turns into a vicious seed, and when my temper flares beyond my imagination, I smash the bottle against the wall in a fit of rage. Everywhere I turn, all I hear are Zuckerman’s words torturing me with its truth.
In the darkness of the night, I crawl into bed, lying beside my wife. Her scent feels like home, my fingers itching to touch her, yet I restrain.
The bed shuffles, and almost as if she feels my pain, knowing exactly what I need at this moment, she strokes my cheek with a gentle touch.
“We’ll get through this,” she whispers beside me. “She needs us, Lex.”
“You didn’t see the way she looked at me,” I choke, closing my eyes to rid myself of the memory. “With so much contempt.”
“She’s young, and she’s in love,” Charlotte murmurs, moving her body close to me, blanketing me in warmth. “We were just as foolish as she is. If anything, we were worse. We had more at stake. You were married. I was a teen. Amelia is an adult now, and mistakes will be made. We just need to love her, guide her in the best way possible.”
Love? There was no mention of love. I thought they were supposedly fucking. None of it matters anyway, each thing just as bad as the other.
“Promise me, Lex, you’ll let her get through this in her own way.”
“You want me to sit back and do nothing?”
“I want you to step out of the equation for just a moment. She’s at a crossroad in her life, don’t push her to make a decision because you think it’s right.”
I don’t say another word, closing my eyes shut to allow sleep to numb me. What only feels like minutes later, a cough expels violently like I’ve swallowed a bunch of razor blades. Beside me, Charlotte is fast asleep, undisturbed by my noise.
My eyes are shut tight, and I’m unable to ignore the fire clawing up my throat. Water, I need water. Crawling out of bed, I stumble to the bathroom to drink a glass of water, attempting to clear the burn inside my throat.
It all comes back to me like a recurring nightmare.
I grab my phone on the bedside table and send Jeff, our lawyer, a text message. A few minutes later, the phone buzzes in my hand as I answer it quietly.
“Edwards, it’s four in the morning?”
“Make it happen, or your job is on the line.”
“But I thought we were waiting until Anton and his group confirmed the merger?”
“You listen to me, Jeff,” I lower my voice, careful not to wake Charlotte. “I want Romano in Lond
on effectively immediately. Either you make that happen this morning, or it’s over for you. Your wife wouldn’t be too pleased that your stepdaughter is sucking your dick every day when she drops off your lunch, now would she?”
Silence falls between us until he releases a sigh. “I’ll draw up the papers.”
I hang up the phone and turn to look at Charlotte, who’s still fast asleep. The street glow filters in the room, enough so that I can admire her silhouette. She’s just as beautiful as the day I fell in love with her, maybe even more so. Charlotte doesn’t deserve this either. I hate seeing my wife so troubled, and for the last few weeks with Amelia ignoring her, I know she was hurt, though she tried to hide it.
But all of this, every emotion we’ve experienced is only because of our love for our daughter.
I stumble out of bed again, wincing as my head spins. With small footsteps, I walk toward Amelia’s room. Slowly, I push the door open and see her asleep in bed.
She looks so innocent and pure like Daddy’s little girl. Memories of her as a child flood my thoughts—her first steps, her first word, and the time she got her driver’s license, just like we always talk about. I was so excited for her, but little did I know that my oldest daughter was growing up.
Then, she got a boyfriend, and Austin was a good kid. He had a steady head on his shoulders and respected my authority.
He’s not a man who fucks women for pleasure, nor uses them as a conquest.
How dare he touch her.
Betray my trust.
Will Romano has no clue who he’s messing with, and in just over a day, he’ll be away from my daughter, out of her life for at least five years.
I’m going to make damn sure it happens, even if it costs me every cent I own.
Thirty-One
Will
The board called an impromptu meeting, the request coming through to my phone at five in the morning.
I didn’t catch a moment of sleep. The last two days have been pure hell.
The moment I left Lex and Amelia in the lobby, I did so to distract Lex from thinking something is going on between Amelia and me. I went back to my office, only to have to deal with Luciana, who witnessed it all. I half expected her to lecture me on dating someone younger, but she simply expressed her sympathy, then left me alone.
Lex never showed up for our meeting, and Amelia disappeared. I tried calling Ava, but she had no clue what was going on. After attempting to call Amelia repeatedly, the calls end up going to voicemail. I sounded like a goddamn maniac.
Andy finally texts me, telling me she’s safe with Charlie but needs some time alone.
Fuck. Charlie came to the city.
Deep inside, I know we’re in troubled waters, that our relationship is about to be tested, and we aren’t the only ones involved. Amelia finally texted me and made it clear that she needed a break from us.
The anger and pain soared through me, even more so because she didn’t respond when I asked her if I was worth the fight.
With only my phone in hand, unshaven with no sleep, I slip into the boardroom to see my entire executive team at the table. I sit at my usual spot before everyone straightens their posture when the king himself walks in.
I lower my head, refusing to give him any respect, directing my attention to Jeff, who calls the meeting to begin.
“Let’s make this quick since this meeting wasn’t planned for today,” he begins, sliding a piece of paper in front of me. “We need you in London, now. All shareholders in our newly purchased European division have signed on the proviso that you’re stationed in London effective Monday of next week. You’ll need to leave tomorrow.”
My jaw begins to ache, my teeth pressing down hard, causing a shooting pain up the side of my face. The conditions on the contract jumble my mind, not able to comprehend. All I can compute is the five-year lease on the building and penthouse in which I’m expected to reside.
The silver tip of the pen hovers above the piece of paper in front of me.
My lips press together in a slight grimace as all eyes inside the boardroom fall upon my every move.
All I have to do is sign my name—a simple task I’ve done many times.
Yet, the repercussion of such an easy action will onset tremendous suffering. I felt it the moment I stepped into the room only ten minutes ago, to last night when I lay wide awake unable to shut down my thoughts. Everywhere I turn, and every breath I take isn’t without a constant ache that has long buried itself inside me.
This pain, unbearable and consuming, is what we have become.
“Is there a problem, Mr. Romano?”
My gaze lifts, the head of our legal team, Jeff, quizzing me with a frustrated stare. His team worked non-stop to make this deal happen. Our company was against all odds, yet we persisted and won the final bid. Purchasing this other company will expand our name in the tech industry and officially make us a billion-dollar empire.
This is everything I’ve worked hard for in my career—the long hours, non-existent social life, constant travel, and stress associated with starting up a new company. All of it has come to fruition.
Then she walks back into my life.
Amelia Edwards.
She’s no longer the annoying kid who would torment me with her childish games, and I’m no longer the teenage boy who would entertain her to avoid the wrath of my mother and aunt.
Our families have ties, strong ties, something neither of our mothers let us forget over the years. Unlike many other families, we’re bonded by the timing of the past and not connected through sharing the same blood or gene pool.
Perhaps, in the chaos of what we have become, it’s our way of justifying our actions.
The biggest surprise I never expected to take my breath away that afternoon several months ago is how Amelia turned into this beautiful woman. The very reason why my emotions fucked with my head, causing me to hesitate in front of our executive team.
Her body isn’t supposed to be so irresistible to the point that I crave her every goddamn moment. I’ve been with many women, but no one has ever owned me like she does when we’re alone. And maybe I shouldn’t have succumbed to my desires and taken her selfishly to satisfy my craving her innocence.
But in return, she did something which rendered me speechless. Something a man, older and more experienced, should’ve known better.
She made me fall in love with her.
“I repeat Jeff’s question since perhaps you didn’t hear it,” Lex voices coldly, unforgiving with his tone. “Is there a problem?”
Across the room, the most powerful man I know watches me with an uninviting stare. His fingertips drum against the woodgrain table. The shade of his usually vibrant green eyes has turned almost black.
Anyone else caught in his unrelenting stare would’ve recoiled and signed the contract. But as the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach begins to alleviate, it’s instantly replaced with resentment.
He left me no choice.
My company’s future is in his hands. We need him to invest to complete this purchase, and all I have to do is sign this contract and move to London.
Away from Manhattan and away from his oldest daughter.
Beside me, my phone vibrates with a text appearing on the screen. Slowly, my eyes shift across to the notification. I keep my expression flat as the words tear through me like bullets ricocheting from a loaded gun.
Amelia: I will always choose him.
With these five words end everything between us. I’m left with no choice. Even if I give this all up for her, she’ll never be happy unless her father approves.
And I know for a fact he doesn’t want a man like me to be in a relationship with his daughter. We’ve been friends well before this, and for many years, he’s been a mentor and a father figure and treated me like his own son.
He knows I never cared for women unless it was for my own selfish physical needs. We often joked about my inability to settle down with anyone since all I
care about is work. We’ve spent many nights just sitting at bars, drinking while talking about life. He knows me better than my own father, better than any man I’ve called a friend over the years.
But then it all shifted.
A complete turn of events in which, if he knew the extent of our relationship, he’d never approve.
I’m not stupid. He taught me everything I know, and when the master himself has taught you all his tricks, you know well enough that his proposal for me to move is because he knows the secret we’ve been keeping.
The forbidden affair between his nineteen-year-old daughter and me.
My throat begins to tighten, the same time my knuckles turn white around the pen still resting in my hand. Pressing hard against the paper, the pen glides across as the blank spot above the line is filled with my signature.
Without a thought, the pen falls against the table as my head slowly lifts to the ruthless stare of the man who pulls all the strings.
The same man who Amelia chooses over me.
Her father.
Lex Edwards.
The new stakeholder in my soon-to-be billion-dollar company.
I rise from my chair without a single word and exit the boardroom. Instead of going to my office, I walk the streets aimlessly, desperate for this pain to subside. Trying to gain some sort of control over this, I head back to my apartment to pack.
Inside my living room, all I see is her. Laying on my bed, all I see is her. Everywhere I look, the memories become as painful as the next. I stomp toward the liquor cabinet, not bothering to pull out a glass and drinking straight from the tequila bottle. Desperate to numb the pain, I busy myself by packing my suitcases, standing them near the door.
Lost in my misery, there’s a knock on the door.
Still dressed in the suit I wore today, I open the door to see Amelia on the other side.
Just like me, she appears worn out, even more so than the last time I saw her. I ache to touch her face but restrain myself, willing to shield myself from further pain.