Page 37 of Burned

Chapter Thirteen

Rhys played the scene in his mind over and over again, yet he could still make no sense of it. That Sadie would slap his daughter angered and concerned him. Maybe he should have seen the signs. In the last few weeks together, it had almost seemed as if Sadie had resented Carys’s presence, when in the beginning she seemed to genuinely try to make friends with his daughter. Had it all been a carefully orchestrated façade?

If he was being honest, he knew that in the past Carys hadn’t gotten along with some of the other women he’d dated; some had gone as far as to say that they didn’t like her. That was usually the end of the relationship for him. It wasn’t like he would choose them over his child. He thought Sadie was different, however. She was so sweet and seemed so genuine like she actually gave a damn about other people.

And the passion. Even now, after what she’d done, his cock stirred as he remembered what it was like to have her in his arms. Again he thought back to that day nearly a week ago. Sure, in her panicked state she could have acted out of character, but there’d been more to that slap than that. For a second it seemed like Sadie actually hated Carys. Really hated her.

It twisted his stomach in knots over the way things ended. She’d been so cold to him in the hospital, giving no explanation. It was then he knew they had no future together. How could he be sure she wouldn’t do something to Carys when she was angered? His first priority as a parent was to protect his child. No matter how much he foolishly missed her or wished things were different, he had to put his daughter first.

Why did it have to fucking hurt so much? Why couldn’t he just stop loving her? He couldn’t eat or sleep. He couldn’t do his job properly, and most of all he couldn’t give Carys his one hundred percent like she deserved, although it didn’t seem like she minded as she’d stayed out of his way for the past few days. The times he’d attempted to talk to his daughter she’d barely look him in the eyes and he couldn’t understand why. It wasn’t like it was her fault that he and Sadie had broken up. Rhys had tried to explain that to her and he wasn’t sure if it had sunk in. It seemed the poor kid was taking the break up personally.

He stared at the term papers he should have had them graded days already, but every word ran together and he could barely make anything out. Hell, maybe he’d give them all B’s and be done with it. Most of the students probably didn’t deserve that, and for the ones who’d deserved more, they could come to his office later and plead their case. Tossing the documents aside, he placed his elbows on his desk and rested his face in his hands. It wasn’t getting any easier. Maybe if he could hear her voice one last time…

She did still owe him an explanation. Yes. He’d call her and demand one. Hell, he fucking deserved one. Picking the phone up, he punched in her number. When he heard it ring, he almost lost his nerve and hung up. On the verge of doing just this, the phone was answered by a woman whose voice he did not recognize. “Hello?”

“Is Sadie home?”

“She is, may I tell her who’s calling?”

“Rhys.”

“Sadie is resting. She’s not taking calls right now.” It seemed that the voice had gone chilly.

What the hell? Was Sadie screening her calls? It pissed him off, even more, considering he was the injured party here. “Could you please put her on, what I have to say won’t take long.”

“I don’t think so. Please don’t call again.”

Before he could utter another word, a loud click resonated in his ear. She’d hung up on him. How dare Sadie have the nerve not to take his calls! Not only had she assaulted his daughter, she was a coward to boot. He was of the mind to go over to her house right now, and if Carys weren’t home he would.

Full of nervous energy he paced the study floor plotting his next course of action when there was a knock at the door. “Come in.”

The door slowly opened and Carys poked her head inside the study. “Daddy? Do you have a minute?”

“Sure, princess. What can I do for you?”

There were dark circles under her eyes as if she hadn’t been sleeping and she was pale as a sheet. His heart hurt to see her suffering and it hurt even worse knowing she blamed herself. “Are you okay, sweetheart? Are you coming down with something?” Rhys walked over and placed his hand on her forehead to see if she was okay.

She trembled. Her eyes were downcast. “I need to tell you something”

“Sure, sweetheart. What did you want to tell me?”

“Maybe you should sit down.”

Rhys laughed uneasily. “What are you going to tell me? You’re not going to tell me you’re failing some of your classes are you?” he teased.

She shook her head. “Please have a seat Daddy.”

This sounded serious. Taking a seat on the sofa, he patted the empty space next time to him, indicating that she do the same. Carys sat down and folded her hands on her lap, her head still down. Something was definitely wrong. His daughter was never afraid of speaking her mind. So why did she seem so hesitant now? “Princess, what’s the matter?”

“Dad,” she paused to moisten her lips, “I…remember when you came to me and asked what I thought when I overheard you and my mother arguing about me? About me not really being your daughter?”

He took a deep breath. Rhys knew they’d eventually have this talk. It was a long time coming. “I should have told you a long time ago, but I guess I kept putting it off. I just never wanted you to feel that I could love you anymore if we were related by blood. As far as I’m concerned I am your father and nothing will change that. I love you, sweetie. Forgive me?”

“I knew.”

“Excuse me?”

“I knew you weren’t my birth father. I’ve known since I was ten.”

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