Page 70 of Like You Love Me

“Sierra. “

“She knows what?” Possessiveness settled over him. “What the hell are you doing around my daughter?”

“Ask your wife. She’ll tell you.” Collin’s response hit him squarely in the gut.

“I’m asking you,” London barked. “And what do you mean, my daughter knows the truth?”

Collin released a frustrated breath before saying, “Sierra said she overheard her mother talking on the phone about her. So, she confronted me in the hallway.”

Slowly, London lowered onto the sofa. “Confronted? What are you talking about?”

“She asked me if I was her father.”

His body stilled with rigid tension. “I’mher father.”

“Herbiologicalfather.”

London bristled at the way Collin had emphasized biological. “And what the hell did you tell her?” Collin hesitated long enough for London to know he had confirmed her suspicions. “Shit,” he muttered under his breath before shouting. “Stay the fuck away from my daughter!”

“Please let Bianca know this wasn’t how I wanted her to find out.” Collin ended the call, and London sent the phone hurling across the room to land with a thug, just as Bianca came rushing downstairs.

“London, I heard you yelling. What is going on?” she asked, searching his eyes. “Who was that on the phone?”

He glared over at her. “Collin.”

Bianca was too stunned to reply or react.

“I guess it’s safe to assume this isn’t the first time he’s called you.”

Slowly, she stepped toward him. “London, baby, let me explain.”

London brushed past her and climbed the stairs, returning to the bedroom. Bianca followed.

“Are you going to give me a chance to explain?”

“Explain what?” he barked as he reached for a t-shirt and lowered it over his head. “What could you possibly tell me except that this isn’t the first time he has called you, or how in the hell did my daughter find out the truth?”

Bianca gasped in alarm. “What? Oh no! He promised he wouldn’t tell her.”

He met her averted gaze. “He promised? So, youhavebeen talking.”

“Well, yes, he’s called before.” She studied him. “What did he say?”

“He was calling to tell you Sierra overheard you on the phone talking about him,” he replied in a cynical tone.

“Oh, no!” A range of emotions— anger, fear, panic—flickered across her face, and London felt sorry for his wife because he knew there was no way she would have wanted Sierra to find out that way. The problem was that she had. “After we arrived yesterday, Sheyna called, and she asked if I had told you yet. I didn’t mean….”

“Sheyna knows? That means Jace knows, and there’s no telling how many others,” he said with a frustrated spat. Bianca shook her head and said nothing as her eyes clouded with tears.

Before he could say more, a phone chimed. London walked around the bed over to his phone and brought it to his ear. “Hey, Denise.” At the mention of his sister, Bianca nervously stared at him, waiting for her response.

“London?” Denise began. “I just received a call from the school to pick up Sierra.”

He groaned softly, then sighed. Denise was their emergency contact. “Yes…, we are on our way back home.”

Bianca wasn’t sure how she managed without throwing up on the ride home. London wasn’t speaking. Instead, a tense, heavy silence hung in the air, and she was so embarrassed that she didn’t know what to say. Instead, she strapped into the seat and closed her eyes, saying a silent prayer they made it back safely so she could talk to her daughter.

What have I done?

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