Page 32 of Hunted for Halloween

My heart skipped multiple beats, my eyes widening a little. My pumpkin loves me? She thinks I'm worthy of being loved. I can't contain how my heart thuds in my chest, swelling with pride, and it was hard to fight back the grin threatening to leave my lips.

But, I snap out my thoughts, looking towards him. “You think I brainwashed her?”

“I know you did.” He frowns.

“Fuck,” I murmur under my breath, palming my face. “For fucks sake, you idiot. I didn't. What happened between Aurora and I was purely consensual. But what I think the problem is, is you not wanting to admit that you are scared of her having genuine bonds with other people because she'll pull away from you!” I raise my voice at him.

Horror flickers in his blue eyes. “That's not true.”

“Really?” I arch a brow at him. “Your little girl finally loves someone and wants a future with them, but you are scared that she'll get carried away and forget about you. Aurora is a woman now, Jonathan. She's not going to be with you for the rest of her life. She'll get married. She'll have kids. She'll have her own family.”

My voice weirdly softens because somehow, I resonate with his fears and pains. “You have to come to terms with that. While she's going to have her own family someday, you are still her father, no matter what. She loves you so much. Nothing and no one can change that. Not even me.”

He pinches the bridge of his nose, looking away from me for a moment and sniffing. “How did my little girl grow up so fast?”

For the first time since he walked in here, my lips slowly curved in a smile. “She has been for a while now. You just didn't want to accept it.”

Silence envelops my office for a moment. I don't attempt to break it but Jonathan's words cut through it before mine.

“She was so mad at me last night. She told me that she's happy Meredith is not here to see what I have become. It hurt like hell because, what if she's right?” his eyes meet mine, shimmering with tears.

“You know she didn't mean that. She was just mad at you. We say things we don't mean when we are angry.” I sigh.

He snorts. “Look who's grown a heart.”

“It's all your daughter.” I grin weakly.

“Do you really want to be with her?” he whispers. “No lies. No games. I want the truth.”

“I love her, Jonathan. I might not have seen it at first, but this past week has been hell. It's all it took for me to realize how empty and lost I am without her. I have never needed anyone the way I need Aurora. She's…she's everything to me.” I confess, my voice raw with emotions.

Jonathan's gaze lingers on me, now void of the hate and malice that etched in it a few minutes ago. “In that case, there's just one thing left to do.”

Chapter Ten

AURORA

Imunch on my sandwich, tilting my head backwards to stare at the dress I'm sketching on my sketch board. I remove the darker charcoal pencil that's holding my hair together, using it to thicken the edges of the side slit.

I huff, frustrated. Looking over my shoulder, my eyes take in the ruffled sketch papers lying carelessly in my room. The space looks like it was run over by a truck carrying art supplies.

I couldn't find another way to vent. Once I figured out that I could pour out my distorted emotions on a sketchpad, I haven't stopped to catch my breath. I figured that it's useless trying to convince a man who's not ready to see things my way. I'd rather spend that time sketching dresses.

As I take a huge bite from my sandwich again, tears well up in my eyes, blurring the design in front of me. The knock at my door interrupts me, eliciting a deep frown from me because I clearly told Harriet that I didn't want to be disturbed.

“Not now, Harriet!” I yell with a croaky voice. Still, the knock persists, grating on my last nerves. “Are you deaf?!” I growl, whirling around.

The door opens at the same time, revealing the familiar muscular frame. The rest of my words die on the tip of mytongue, a gasp emitting from me. The tears I was trying to hold back trickle down my face furiously.

“Christian?”

My voice is barely above a whisper.

“Hey, Pumpkin.” The corners of his lips tilt in a smile, those whiskey eyes oozing with softness as they roam my face.

I jump off my stool, dashing towards him. He closed the distance between us before I can get to him, scooping me in his arms.

“Oh, my God, you are here.” I cup his face, choking out a sob as I press my forehead against his.

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