Page 69 of The Bratva's Innocent Sold Bride
“Enough of your pity party,” I said, making his head whip up. There was a trace of anger deep down in his eyes that I wanted to stoke so he’d man up and move on. “Yes, you did a terrible thing, an unforgivable one. But I forgive you, and when I say I’m happy, you should believe it. I’m not leaving Mat, and I don’t need deprogramming. But you need to quit wallowing in your failure and pick yourself up and start fresh.”
“I’m too old,” he moaned.
“You’re fifty-two,” I said. “Hardly an old man.”
“He stole my baby,” he said, shaking his head.
For a minute, I thought he meant me, but I’d already assured him I was fine, and I was right there talking to him. Then I realized he meant Taurus Ingenuity and sighed.
“Start something new. I’ll help if you want. You still have your greatest asset, that amazing brain of yours.”
He smiled, looking a bit stronger. “And I could probably drum up some capital.” Then he wanted to know if I was truly happy, or if this wasn’t a way to keep him safe. I believed he would have tried to keep rescuing me until it did him in, and my heart softened toward him. He did love me, as best he could.
I was about to show him around the grounds and introduce him to Artem to show him just how happy I was with my new little family, when the head of the household slammed through the front door.
It was probably foolish to believe the guards wouldn’t rat me out as soon as my father showed up, and I was only surprised that Mat hadn’t arrived home faster once he knew.
What did surprise me was the anger he showed. Not just toward my father, but toward me.
“What is this?” he bellowed, making my dad shrink into his chair.
“CJ was just—”
“Not a word,” Mat hissed, turning to me. “What is this?” he asked in a quieter voice, but not much.
“Am I never allowed to see my father again?” I asked. “I thought you believed family was the most important thing.”
His eyebrows shot together. “We never discussed seeing your father,” he said.
True, but I was getting around to it. In fact, I was ready to tell him everything over the damn wine and cheese as soon as he got home, if he hadn’t rushed in like a steam train about to go off the tracks. I was silent for too long, overwhelmed by the way he was acting. Like a brute, all over again.
“Meeting in secret,” he said, more disappointed than mad. “Just like in LA.”
I was mad. “You knew about that?”
“So, you finally admit it, but only because you have to.”
I tried to take a breath, tried to count to ten. I could see why he might have been suspicious a week ago, but I thought we were past all that. “This wasn’t a secret,” I tried to explain, but the dark look on his face stopped me. Why was I trying to explain anything to this brick wall?
“Do you still not trust me?” My voice came out in a squeak.
It was hard to speak at all around the lump in my throat. Why was he making such a big deal about this? Was I still merely just a payment for a debt he’d never consider paid?
Chapter 42 - Mat
Coming home to find her plotting with her father felt like a solid punch straight to the solar plexus, and I reverted to form, blowing up before I knew the whole story. It only took me a second to see the wine glasses, the snack CJ had prepared. If this was an escape attempt, it was awfully leisurely. It took me twenty minutes to get back home after the guards alerted me to who had rocked up to the house shortly after I left, so she could have been gone by then.
The argument was about to get out of control if I didn’t do something to stop it. We’d already said too much. When she asked if I still didn’t trust her, something crumpled in my very soul.
“Get out,” I bellowed at Gordon.
He was already practically curled up in the fetal position in his chair, but he found a way to shrink into the background even further. I was seeing red. Not because of CJ or her father, but because it felt like something I cared about was slipping away from me, out of my grasp.
“Of course I trust you,” I said, too harshly. I lowered my voice, calming the storm raging in my heart, which told me to fight. “Of course I do.”
“Then what’s the problem?” The question came out in a snap, but she also changed her tone. “I was going to tell you everything. About LA, too. I wanted to make sure Dad realized I didn’t need his valiant rescue efforts anymore.”
“You don’t?” I asked.
