Page 37 of Stuffing His Stocking

I shift in my seat, not comfortable with my father knowing certain details about my life. A life I’ve chosen not to share with him.

“Seems likeMikeis a pretty good man.”

Alarm bells are going off in my head as I try to make sense of what he’s telling me. “Who told you about him? About my job?”

He shoots me a dubious look and I roll my eyes.

“Really, Dad? You sent someone to spy on me?” The anger that was at a low simmer is about to boil into a full rage.

“What did you expect me to do? My son tells me he’s willing to give up a billion dollars and I’m supposed to just let it go? Who in their right mind would do that?”

“Abilliondollars?” Liv’s mouth hangs open as she gapes at me.

She knew about the trust, but I never told her how much was in there. Just that I’d already received the first two payouts and it was more than enough for us to live off for the rest of our lives. With that money alone, neither of us has to work, nor do our future children. But we enjoy our modest life, choosingto splurge on vacations and experiences rather than material things.

“He didn’t tell you?” My father glances back and forth between us.

“I turned it down, so it didn’t matter. And I’ll turn it down again and again, because there’s nothing on this earth that’ll keep me from being with her.”

“I know that, son, and I never should’ve asked you.” He pauses and clears his throat, as if it pains him to admit his mistakes. “I thought there had to be another reason you would make such a decision, so I had my guys look into it.”

“She didn’t trap me in a relationship, if that’s what you’re thinking,” I sneer, and we both turn our attention to Liv when she scoffs.

“Are you implying that I would trap Dylan with… a baby?” Hurt and resentment are evident in her tone as she scowls at her former stepfather.

“I’m not proud of the things I’ve done, and there’s a lot of things I’d do differently in my life.”

Now, we’re both fuming as we glower at him, waiting for him to explain what he wants.

“Clearly—” He looks at her. “I was wrong.”

“Yes, you were,” she snaps at him.

“They couldn’t find a single reason for you to walk away, and I was dumbfounded as to why you’d do it. I combed through their notes and decided to look for myself. That’s when I went to some of the addresses they gave me and saw you had a whole life I knew nothing about.”

“You didn’t wanna know.” I cross my arms over my chest, ready for this conversation to be over.

“You’re right. I didn’t,” he admits. “But when I saw you working alongside Mike and your crew, you looked genuinelyhappy. You were smiling and laughing and I couldn’t remember ever seeing you that way with me.”

Emotions war within me, but I keep them locked up.

“Then I followed you to dinner with Mike and watched with remorse as he treated you like a son—something I never did.”

My throat threatens to close as I finally get the acknowledgement I’ve waited for my whole life. “That’s all I wanted from you. For us to have that kind of relationship.”

“I know that now.” He blinks a few times while pinching his lips together. “And then I saw you with her and everything about you changed. You really do love her, don’t you?”

“I know that’s hard for you to understand, but there will never be anything better than what I have with Liv. And I’m sorry if us being together threatens your precious reputation. I just hope you realize some things are more important before it’s too late.”

“You’re right, son, and I’m working on that.”For his sake, I hope that’s true.“Well, I just wanted to apologize and to let you know I haven’t forgotten that your birthday is next week.”

I raise an eyebrow at him, because I can’t remember the last time he’s acknowledged my damn birthday.

“I was planning to call you, but then I saw you tonight and thought it’d be better to talk in person. I’ve already approved for you to have full access to your trust. Happy thirtieth birthday, Dylan.”

Holy fuck. Did he say what I think he did?

Liv covers her gaping mouth as she stares at me in shock. Still processing everything, I decide the least I can do is shake the man’s hand. I rise from my seat and extend my palm, but my father stuns me again when he pulls me into a fierce hug.

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