Page 69 of Flawless

“Of course, as long as they have your father’s approval.”

“Great!” she says, leaping out of the car and running towards the cottage.

I sit in the car for several more moments, lying with my head back and closing my eyes.

This was not the way that I envisioned this meeting going.

18 – ZENON

I’ve been pounding on this nail for so long now that I no longer see the nail, at least not until the wood finally splinters.

I’ve been building a shelving unit in my spare time outside in the backyard. Within seconds, I’ve demolished it. Throwing the hammer down onto the ground, I pace back and forth as fury pours through me.

I don’t know if the girls are in the house yet or not, but I don’t want them to see me this way, especially not Zee Zee.

I could have beaten that dude to a pulp until he was unrecognizable. Had it not been for Larisa calling out my name, I probably wouldn’t have stopped. There have been only two other times when I felt out of control this way, and they both involved Dani, directly and indirectly.

The first time was at that game where I lost my temper, the game, and my career all because she showed up with another man. The second time was when I was out shopping with my daughter and younger sister.

The paparazzi instantly recognized me and began taking pictures and asking a barrage of questions about my relationship with supermodel Nica. My daughter was snatched away from my sister and me, and it scared the hell out of me.

After I’d gotten Zee Zee back and safely with my sister and placed them in the car, I’d gone after that guy and kicked his ass. That was only seven months after the game.

He pressed charges, and I spent one night in jail before being released. The guy only wanted an apology, which I refused togive. But he didn’t pursue it beyond that. He did, however, use the incident and pictures for fodder in his story.

Fortunately for me, when it was published, another story was taking place at the same time and became a major story causing mine to fall into the shadows. It didn’t give him the credibility and the clicks he was hoping for.

I don’t like feeling out of control like that, but I’m quickly realizing that I’ll feel that way every time it comes to those two.

I drag my hands down my face. Fuck! As if I didn’t have my hands full with Larisa already. When she pulled me away to question me, it was because she had just realized who Dani was.

When I told her about Dani, on the phone, I only mentioned her as Dani and I didn’t give her full name. I was wrong for doing that, but I also didn’t want her to start asking a million questions. She wasn’t comfortable with Zee Zee being around Dani and informed me that she had seen all the stories on social media and the celebrity talk shows.

My only response to her was that you can’t believe everything that you see in the media, and that I would never do anything to harm our daughter, and she should know better than that.

It didn’t help matters when no sooner that those words came from my mouth than I saw my daughter and Dani being chased by a member of the paparazzi. Luckily for me, Larisa is all talk.

Although she claims she doesn’t want Zee Zee around Dani, she’s not actually going to keep her away because that would mean she would have had to take Zee Zee with her again. She values her freedom to live the life that she wants too much to give it up when the time arises.

However, that won’t stop her from giving me hell as soon as we speak again.

“Papai?” I hear from over my shoulder.

“Hey,” I say, smiling as I turn to look at my daughter.

“Are you okay?” Zílda asks softly.

I pull her into my arms and rest my chin on her head. Closing my eyes, I answer her honestly.

“I will be. I’m not right now, but I will be. I’m just glad that you are safe.”

“It’s one of the downfalls of stardom, Papai. You’ve experienced it.”

“Yes, but not at the risk of your safety. We should have known better. We should have been more vigilant. Neither of us were wearing sunglasses or anything else,” I say.

I guess that Dani and I have been in a cocoon of our own making here on this island and in this cottage that we forgot what existed beyond us in the real world.

“It’s not fair, Papai. You shouldn’t have to live like that, and neither should Dani. You both deserve better than that.”

---