Page 157 of Filthy Savage

He grabs my jaw and grits his teeth, his irises darkening. “Don’t ever call yourself nothing again. Because you’re far from nothing, mo ban dia. You’reeverything.” His gaze lands on my lips before it crawls back to my eyes. “Your father doesn’t matter.What he did or didn’t do doesn’t define you or your worth. You understand?”

I nod, a knot forming in my throat. He’s right. I know he is. It’ll just take me some time to get over all of this. But one good thing did come out of it: I haven’t had the dream since I came face-to-face with the man who abandoned me.

“Thank you.” I grab his wide wrist. “I appreciate that.”

“Just telling the truth.” He cups both sides of my face and kisses my forehead, and my budding affection for him grows.

“Okay, let’s go. I think I’m ready.” But the fluttering in the pit of my stomach says otherwise.

He steps out of the car first, coming around to open the door for me before I can do it myself. “I’ll be near at all times.”

When he helps me up, his gaze drifts down to my tight jeans and simple light pink t-shirt with flats. I don’t look like anything special, but from the way he stares at me, it’s as though I am.

As I take a deep breath, we start for the entrance and are immediately led toward the back, where Julius is already seated, typing something on his phone. When he looks up, his smile expands.

“Will you also be joining us?” he asks Fionn, getting to his feet and shaking his hand before giving me a hug.

“No. I’ll be at the table right there.” Fionn points to the one to the left of us.

“You’re more than welcome to join us.”

Fionn shakes his head and turns to me, grabbing the back of my neck and giving me a quick kiss.

“If you wanna leave at any time…” he whispers across the shell of my ear. “Just scratch your right temple.”

I nod, and he lets me go and struts toward his table, his eyes on us as he settles. Clearing my throat, I take my seat from across Julius.

“Thank you for agreeing to speak to me,” he says. “I know this must not be easy for you.”

“It isn’t.” I pick up my ice water, taking a few sips. “But I’m sure you feel the same way.”

“Yeah.” He runs a hand down his face, blowing a breath. “I never believed my mother when she thought he was cheating. I took his side, and I feel guilty about it now.” His chest rises and falls with another quick breath. “I’m sorry about how he treated you. I let him have it the next day. It wasn’t right.”

I can tell from his tight expression that he means it. And why wouldn’t he? The man was a complete asshole.

“Thank you. It’s all crazy to me. I’ve spent all this time wondering about him, and he had this whole other family. No offense.” I grimace, afraid it came out wrong.

He lets out a short laugh. “None taken. I get it. You were alone while I had him.”

“Yeah… Was he a good dad?”

I know I probably shouldn’t ask because if he was, that will just sting more. Not that I want Julius to have had a bad childhood or anything.

My God, these thoughts are just so hard to wrestle through.

“He—”

“May I get you two anything to drink?” A waitress interrupts.

“A Coke for me,” he says.

“An unsweetened iced tea, please.”

“Sure. Coming right up.”

Julius glances at me, then down at the table before he speaks again. “To be honest, he was for the most part. I’m sorry if that’s hard to hear, but I would hate to lie.”

“No, no! Please don’t. I want the truth.”

---