Page 64 of King of Deception

“Well, I can’t say she’s entirely wrong.” He paused. “But then she’s not entirely right, either.”

“I’m not gonna go to the woman I’d been lying to for over a month and blame her for the position we’re in.”

“She should at least let you explain yourself.”

“What would I even say?” I threw my hands in the air, signaling defeat.

Standing up, I took a few steps away, heading nowhere. Running my hands through my wet hair, I spun over toward the bar, grabbing a beer before I returned to where my dad was sitting.

“How about an apology?” he suggested.

“What good are those when someone’s lost all trust in you?”

“Acknowledging that you made a mistake could be the first step toward rebuilding that trust… only if… you really want to.”

“I don’t know what I want.” I sat down, stretching my legs and leaning against the backrest.

“Funny how you can’t see something when it’s right under your nose. Because I don’t recall watching you drink your nights away over anything before.”

I bit my lower lip and said nothing, taking a sip of my beer.

“Do I need to spell it out for you?” he gestured with his right hand. “She may think she’s done with you, but you sure as hell aren’t done with her.”

“I’ve learned not to force anything, dad. Especially when it comes to things like—” I stopped mid-sentence, not certain of what to call it.

“Like… love?”

My eyebrows met in a wrinkle. “Or something like it.”

“Abel, I’m lost for words.”

I chuckled, turning to him as I mocked, “Yeah? I think you’re doing fine.”

“No, really,” his tone turned serious. “You were never that confused in your life.”

“I said I’m not confused—”

“Not about work. Not about investments. Not even when it came to women,” he continued. “You know what you want, and God help me, but I can’t understand what’s stopping you from going after it.”

Sitting up, I shifted to face him with determination in my eyes. “Ella is not like any woman I’ve ever known, Philip. She’s honest—brutally, sometimes it even hurts. She lets whatever’s on her mind just come out of her mouth. She’s fearless and ambitious.” I paused, drinking in his solemn expression. “She didn’t deserve the hell she went through with her ex, and after that, the last thing she deserved was being lied to… by me.”

“You feel guilty; I get it—”

“No, you don’t,” I hissed. “It’s worse than that. I fucked up really badly, dad. I knew what he’d done to her, and I promised not to have her hurt again, and here I am… admitting that I did it. How bad did it have to be for me to not even think that I deserve forgiveness? Think about that.”

“You’re being hard on yourself.”

“You think I’m exaggerating.”

“Hell, no. Your lie was too much; I’ll give you that. But you know what else is true? She’s back there in New York wondering why you’re not fighting for her.”

“But I did—”

“By what, beating up some asshole? Any man with warm blood would have done that,” he snorted. “But what did you do next? Let me guess. You tried to call her.”

“I did.”

“And she didn’t answer.”

---