Page 50 of Falling for the Forbidden
Falling down on his bed, I pull his pillow to me and cry. I cry for what we had as well as for what we’ve both lost.
I’ve no idea how long I’m there for, but when I hear movement downstairs and a deep male voice, I know it’s time to find out everything. The real truth. Wiping my swollen and sore eyes, I pull my hair away from my face and secure it in a bun with the band around my wrist, preparing to fight.
“What the hell did you do?” I roar as I run down the last few steps, seeing my dad putting his overnight bag down in the hallway. “What did you do?” I fly at him, my arms taking on a life of their own as I try to slap and punch him. My heart breaks all over again and tears stream down my cheeks. His arms come up to protect his face as I hear Jenny’s footsteps behind me.
“Lauren, what on earth?” Her arms wrap around my waist, but she’s too weak and I fight her off in my need to get to him.
Tohurthim. I need to do something that’s going to take away the agonising pain of my heart splitting in two.
My arms start to burn as I fight to drag in air between my wailing, and he must see I start to tire because he reaches out and wraps his fingers around my wrists to stop me.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
“You. You are what’s wrong with me,” I seethe, staring up into his hard, cold eyes. “What did you do? What did you say to him?” My body’s limp, exhausted, and drained from the emotion that’s washed through it in the past few minutes.
“Lauren, I’ve no clue what you’re talking about?”
“He’s gone, Dad. Gone. I know it’s because of you.” All I feel is emptiness as I say those words out loud.
“Who’s gone?” Jenny asks, but I can already tell by the flat tone of her voice that she knows.
“Ben. He’s gone, and it’s all his fault.” I thrash to get out of his hold and this time he lets me go.
“Where’s he gone?”
“I don’t fucking know. But this arsehole here sent him away.”
“Lauren,” he warns, but I cut him off when he starts to say more.
“Don’t even think of chastising me for my language because you deserve much, much worse. Were you not content with controlling my education and career? You also had to weigh in on my love life? You’re a fucking joke as a father. Afuckingjoke.”
“Enough!” he roars. His fists clench and I flinch away from him, afraid to be on the wrong end of them again. “I haven’t done anything. I’ve been at golf all weekend. I—”
“You’re a fucking liar,” I scream.
“I went to golfaftermy business meeting on Friday night.”
A laugh falls from my lips, but it’s anything but amused. “Golf? Was that her name? There’s no way he’d have left by choice.Yousent him away.”
“Trust me, Lauren. I wish I got the chance. I’d have done it years ago if I could.” I don’t miss Jenny’s gasp behind me, but we both ignore her. “He’s a fucking waste of space. Nothing but bad news. You’re better off as far away from him as you can get. This just proves what kind of man he really is, don’t you think? He’s been caught out and he’s run. All he was trying to do was piss me off, trying to show that he’s better than me by doing something I forbade him to. I told him very specifically what I would do to him if he came anywhere near you, but he did it anyway. Now, he’s running scared. You don’t deserve someone like him, Lauren. You deserve a real man, someone who’ll stand by you and fight for you. Not a pussy like him.”
“No, no. You’re lying. He wouldn’t just leave. I don’t believe you.”
“I swear to you, Lauren. I haven’t done anything. I was expecting to come home now to sort this whole mess out.”
“This isn’t a mess, Dad.” I shout, shoving my palms at his chest. “It’s my life and you’re fucking ruining it. You’re ruining everything.”
“I haven’t—”
“You’re a fucking liar. You don’t care about me and what I do. All you care about it keeping up appearances and making money. You don’t care about me,” I repeat. The reality of the situation hits me. Fresh tears spill from my eyes, my fight draining from my body.
“Of course I care. I only want the best for you, Lauren. What’s he’s done just proves he’s not good enough for you. He should be standing here now fighting for you.”
“No, he wouldn’t just leave me. He wouldn’t. What we have…it’s…it’s…”
Dad’s face softens, and for the first time since he walked through the door, I see concern on his face. “I’m sorry you’re hurting. Come here, sweetheart.”
I’m too weak to do anything but what he suggests, and I fall into his arms. He holds me as I cry and rubs my back to try to calm me. I was so convinced that this was his doing. I never even considered that Ben didn’t want this as much as I did. I took all his words as gospel, and it’s only now that I doubt everything he ever said to me.
