Page 123 of Vow to Hate You

“Stop,” I cut him off sharply. “I am not going to be a part of it.”

“Come on, son,” he pressed. “You’re saying you’re happy he survived? After he kidnapped your wife?”

My fingers tightened around the phone. A part of me agreed with him. Did that make me a shit person? I wasn’t sure how long his time in prison could be, and I never wanted to worry about him coming after Talie again.

He sighed. “We can talk about it more at the office tomorrow?—”

I scoffed. “I knew you’d try to back out. I’m done, Dad. Done with business. Done with you. I had my lawyer draw up the contract. I’ll have it sent to you tomorrow. I fixed it. The deal was that Talie and I would be free.”

“Damian, think clearly,” he snapped, annoyance laced in his voice. “This will be your empire someday. You can’t just walk away. Jude won’t allow Natalia to leave.”

“Walking away is exactly what we’re doing,” I said firmly. “Neither you nor Jude will stand in our way.”

“You can’t do this,” he growled, his rage growing with each word. “I won’t sign it. Stop acting like a fucking child. You’ll be in the office tomorrow, and we’ll talk about it. If you want to keep the little club, we can work that out too.”

“There’s no talking about it. You’ll sign it.”

“You don’t give me orders.”

“Ifixedyour problem, Dad,” I said slowly, letting threat creep into my voice. “I have everything that Jack took. Enough to bury you and Jude.”

The heavy silence dragged on as I waited for his response. This was the first time I’d ever stood up like this to my father, but there were no nerves. No regrets. I knew what I wanted and didn’t care what I needed to do to get it.

“You think you can blackmail me?” he finally questioned. “If you do, it will also hurt you. You’re part of the business. The shady parts too.”

“I don’t care.”

“Don’t care?” he sputtered in disbelief. “You’d be sending yourself to prison.”

“You’ll be in handcuffs right next to me.”

“You’d rather spend years behind bars than work with me?”

“Yes.”

“You’re doing this for her,” he accused, as if it were a secret.

“My wife doesn’t want this life. I’ll do anything to make sure she gets what she desires.”

“You lovesick idiot,” he raged. “Your marriage was supposed to be nothing more than a business deal.”

“It was always more.”

“Don’t do this.”

“It’s already done. Let me spell this out for you to make sure there isn’t any misunderstanding.” I paused, letting the words sink in. “In the contract you and Jude are about to sign, there is a list of stipulations. You’ll be cutting me from the business. I don’t work with you anymore. My life is my own. Jude will not contact Talie unless she initiates it. She is free to do whatever the fuck she wants.”

“You’re saying neither of you want to be part of the family anymore?” he asked bitterly. “This will break your mom’s heart.”

“I’m not cutting her out. I’ll see her whenever she wants. Just like Talie will still have a relationship with her sister. It’s you and Jude we’re leaving.”

“Damian—”

“If either of you fail at obeying the contract, the amount of money you’ll lose will make the lawsuit from a couple years ago look like pocket change.”

Money talked more than anything when it came to my father. Which was why I made sure he would lose millions if he broke our contract. It was a good thing Ash had the blackmail Jack had taken, or I wouldn’t have had enough to make him agree.

“I give it a year,” he sneered. “Until you realize life without money is nothing, then you’ll both come running back.”

---