Page 31 of Hunted for Halloween

“You'll let your daughter abort your grandchild because you are not in support of her relationship with the man who knocked her up?” I rise to my feet sharply, my lips parting in shock as tears stream down my face. “What kind of a monster are you?”

“I'm just a man who was betrayed by the two most important people in his life. My best friend and my daughter fucking each other behind my back.” His voice is thick with malice, lacking remorse.

I shake my head, wiping away my tears. “It's useless trying to convince you. You have already believed what's in your head. And to be honest, I'm glad mom's not here to see what you have become. Selfish, inhumane and a total jerk!” I scream at him, not caring about the impact my words will have on him.

My Dad sits still, his eyes shining with tears and raw agony. He looks like I just drove a knife through his chest, clenching his jaw in pain. I stand there, breathing heavily, and slowly, the realization of what I just said dawns on me.

Oh, my God…

“Go to your room, Aurora.” His voice comes out dead.

“Dad—”

“Get out of my sight.” He dismisses me coldly. I stare at him, my eyes crushing into pieces, and then, I turn on my heels and run upstairs to my room

Christian

A grimace settles on my face as I stare at my empty whiskey tumbler.

I hiss through my teeth, grabbing the bottle off the desk and refilling the glass. I take a swig out of it, throwing myself back into the swivel chair. The movement makes me wince, because it hurts my bruises.

The pain is nothing compared to the ache that has been clawing at my chest since Jonathan took Aurora that evening. I haven't been able to reach her since then, and it infuriates me to bits and pieces that he must have confiscated her devices and grounded her. The part where his daughter is an adult must have flown past his head because I didn't understand why he'd go to such an extent to keep her away from me.

It's just been a week but I have been in hell since then. Every single thing around me reminds me of Aurora and our time together. It consumes me as much as it destroys me. I guess I never really knew what it meant to be empty until she was taken from me. I used to think I had gotten attuned to the emptiness and bleakness of my life but when I crossed paths with her, everything changed.

Now, the darkness that she managed to tame has engulfed me all over again. And this time, it was fucking worse.

“You look like shit.”

My head snaps up from the glass in my hands. The space between my forehead dips in confusion, surprise descending on my face when my eyes clash with his blank blue ones. He's leaning against the doorframe in his dark crisp shirt, his lean frame emitting a mix of tension and fury.

“Have you come to gloat, Jonathan?” I ask dryly, taking a sip from whiskey.

“Oh, I'd fucking love to.” He snarls, pushing his frame off the wall and striding into my office. The fucker slumps into the seatbefore me, snatching the whiskey bottle off my desk. He chugs the remaining contents. “But after I bash your fucking head against the wall for even daring to come close to my daughter.” He seethes.

I exhale, not saying a word because knowing my best friend, he hasn't gotten everything off his chest.

“She's my daughter, Christian. My little girl. I still remember her first day of preschool like it was yesterday. I taught her how to ride her bike without wheels. I…she's my little girl. How could you do that to me? How the heck did this even happen right under my nose?” he squints his eyes at me, his voice thick with disbelief.

“We met on Halloween night and before you say anything, I didn't even think she was your daughter?—”

“You slept with my daughter on Halloween night?!” he growls.

“Calm the fuck down, Jonathan!” I yell at him, glaring daggers at his frame that looks like it's about to lunge off the chair and attack me. “It's already weird as it is to go into details of things like this with you.” I grimace.

“But it wasn't weird when you were spreading her legs?” he fires at me sarcastically.

“One more word from you and I'll punch you in the face.” My molars grind against one another.

His eyes flare with annoyance and it’s clear he wants to say something, but he holds back when he sees the murderous look on my face.

“Other things happened, but I didn't have sex with Aurora that night. I didn't even know who she was because we both had masks on. It wasn't until that night at dinner that I put the pieces together. I know I should have stopped, but she took a piece of me with her that night, and…seeing her again, I just couldn'tstay away from her. Trust me, I tried.” I voice bitterly, raking my fingers through my hair.

“How long has this been going on?” he asks harshly.

“A few weeks now…” I trail off.

He stares at me, scoffing afterwards. “You know…she's convinced she's in love with you, but I know she's not. You must have brainwashed her.”

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