Page 119 of His Wild Seduction

Franklin sneered, and Gretchen faltered beneath the punishing blows. Blood gushed from her head wound, making me feel nauseated.

“Stay right there, or she dies. Then you’ll be next, little Merry,” he hissed.

I couldn’t believe it.

He was supposed to be dead. But there he was. The man who haunted my nightmares. The one I once called Dad, who turned out to be not my dad. And he didn’t look so dead to me.

Shit.

This was bad. Very bad. I wanted to get away. I wished I was anywhere but there.

I wanted Josef.

I wanted my husband.

Why did I come here without him?

“What do you want from me?”

“What do I want? I want my fucking life back, you little bitch! You gave that lowlife animal you married my company? He is nothing! I am your father?—”

“You’re not my father, remember? You are the one who is nothing. I love Josef. I always have,” I said, lifting my face defiantly.

“Love him? You don’t love him. You were a fucking child! You barely put down your dolls. I had plans for you, and you fucked it all up.”

“You planned to give me to someone like I was just something you bought and could trade for favors!”

“I did own you! What was I supposed to do? Let this man come in and take you from me? I'm your father! You were supposed to do what I said!”

“The only thing you said that is even remotely true is you were my father. At least, I thought you were. You were supposed to take care of me. Not scare me. Not lie. Not slap me or call me names. I've spent my entire adult life in fucking misery because I thought Josef left me for money, but it was all you! You hurt me.”

“I never?—”

“Yes, you did,” I shouted back. “Josef is the only man who has taken care of me. Not you. Never you! I was just a possession to you.”

“You’re just like your mother. You have no sense of loyalty,” he raged, and while he did, I got a really good look at him.

How had I ever been afraid of this weak, selfish, greedy little man?

Franklin Gray was a caricature of what a real man was. An exaggerated failure of a man.

But he was holding a gun, and guns were dangerous even when handled by selfish weaklings.

As if he realized it too, he waved the gun in the air, then aimed it right at me.

My time was running out.

I’m so sorry, Josef.

“Look, I don’t know what you want me to do. You’re the one who faked your death, what did you think would happen?”

“You were supposed to come home and save the company. When I found out who owned the note on Gray Corps, you could imagine my surprise. I thought maybe you would throw a piece of ass to your old flame, and he would relent. I didn’t think you’d marry him! I was going to show up a few weeks later and we would have reconciled, Meredith. I’m not your father, but I raised you?—”

“Nannies raised me. What you did was fucking deplorable!”

“Oh please, don’t blow it up into something it wasn’t. I didn’t rape you, Meredith. I was drunk. I didn’t know what I was doing. I barely touched you,” he scoffed, shaking off the trauma his actions had caused, as if what he did was nothing.

“You don’t get to tell me how to feel about something you did, understand?” I snapped, feeling angry and reckless.

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