Page 28 of Unconditional

I talk him through all that is going to happen in Europe, our schedule—even though I emailed it to him already—and plans for the rest of the year. I talk about Thalia and the Nations cups teams and her chances of still competing on them. I discuss her injury, the progress she is making, and everything else apart from what I really want to speak with him about. When I have exhausted all talk of showjumping and anything else that isn’t telling him about my relationship with his daughter, the room falls quiet. I look at my piccola, who pleads with her eyes to just get it over with. Rip the Band-Aid off. So, with nothing else to say, I swallow, clear my throat, and get to it.

“Christian, Elena, I wanted to speak with you about something very important,” I start.

He eyes me for a long beat. “Okay, well go ahead, Theo. We have dinner plans in Miami that we can’t be late for.”

Straightening, I look him dead in the eye and prepare to say my piece. “I am in love with your daughter,” I blurt, hearing two separate gasps—no doubt from Thalia and Elena—but I don’t take my eyes from Christian. Not taking his burning, angry gaze from me either, he searches for something. What that is, I’m not sure.

The room is so silent, you could hear a pin drop. It’s like waiting for an invisible explosive to go off, waiting for Christian to speak. His jaw tics, fists clench. Apart from those small tells, he is the epitome of cool, calm, and collected. But then I suppose he has mastered the art of controlling his emotions, what with being who he is. He can’t exactly have meltdowns in the boardroom if he doesn’t like something.

Right now, though, it’s eerie how relaxed he seems. Anyone would think I just told him about the weather and not that I’m in love with his eighteen-year-old daughter. He’s controlled, poised. But there is no doubt in my mind he wants to strangle me right now.

He finally moves his gaze to Thalia, a flicker of disappointment in his eyes, then back to me. “Is this some sort of joke?” he finally grits out.

“Christian,” Elena warns beside him, clamping her hand on his knee. He looks at his wife. His eyes soften. Just in that one move, you can tell how much he loves her. “Hear him out,” she implores him.

“You knew?” he asks incredulously.

Elena looks guilty before sighing. “I only found out a couple weeks ago, darling,” she tells him honestly.

His jaw works, then he looks to his daughter who squirms under his intense gaze. “Princess?” he questions, his voice low, almost pleading, as if he wants her to tell him it’s all some big joke.

“I didn’t mean for this to happen, and I would have stopped it if I could have. But neither of us had any control over our feelings. I love Thalia and she loves me,” I speak.

Christian’s head whips round, his gaze landing on me. “I trusted you,” he spits. “Trusted you with my barely legal daughter and this is what you do? You are married and way too old for her. You took advantage,” he shouts as he jumps off the couch. He closes the distance between us. Fisting my shirt, he gets right in my face. “You disgust me. Dragging my innocent daughter into whatever sick situation you have going on.” He shakes his head in disgust. “She will not stay here, and she certainly will not be travelling across Europe with you,” he booms, and I let him say his piece. It’s a shock for him, I’m sure.

“Daddy!”

“Christian!” both Thalia and Elena shout at the same time.

“It’s okay, piccola,” I say softly, moving my eyes to hers. She is out of her seat, not a foot from us. “I would have been more surprised if your father shook my hand and gave me his approval. He is allowed to feel protective of his baby girl.” I’m being honest. If I had a daughter and found out she was sleeping with her thirty-year-old trainer, I would feel the same. Probably worse.

Christian eyes me. Something in his eyes I can’t quiet detect. Releasing me, he shoves a hand through his hair as he paces. “You are married,” he repeats, a bite in his tone.

I grab the back of my neck and blow out a breath. “I’m not, actually. It was a fake marriage but something I had to do to make Melody believe it was real. It was for reasons I will not discuss right now. What I will say is that I did it to protect your daughter, sir.”

“He did, daddy,” Thalia cries, her cheeks tearstained.

He steps up to her, cupping her cheeks. “Sweetheart, I know you think you love him, but he is too old for you.” His tone leaves no room for argument but my piccola argues all the same.

She shakes her head, tears pouring down her beautiful face. “I don’t think. I know. With everything inside me I know Theo is the man I am supposed to be with. I wouldn’t put us through all this if it was just for a fling. Surely you understand love and what it means? You love mama. I love Theo.”

He searches her face. I see the heartbreak and realization in his eyes. Thalia is not his little girl anymore; she is a woman. My woman.

“Darling, I understand you are shocked, I was also. But you only need to look at them, watch them together, to see they love one another. They remind me of us. You remember what that was like?” Elena laughs.

“He’s too old,” Christian repeats with a murmur.

“You can’t help who you fall in love with, sweetheart,” Elena says softly, cupping his cheeks. They look lost in each other, consumed by one another and I know Elena is right when she says that Thalia and I remind her of them. I thinks it’s possible that the love I have for my piccola is stronger than the love her parents share.

Heels clicking on the marble tiles has all our heads snapping to the door. My head reels back when Melody storms into the room with a smug smirk. She glances around, her smirk deepening. I want to kill her.

“Oh, isn’t this cozy. Is your whore’s family meeting you in a boyfriend capacity?” she chirps in her British accent as she looks between us. I move towards my piccola, standing in front of her protectively as my cell vibrates in my pocket. “You might want to check that.” She jerks her head at me. What is the crazy bitch up to now?

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Check your phone.” She grins triumphantly. Fishing my cell out of my pocket, I open it to a text from Mel. Squinting at the screen, I’m confused for a minute. My heart slams into my chest, eyes snapping to Mel’s when I realize what it is.

What the fuck?

She grins sardonically. “Congratulations, daddy. We’re having a baby.”

With those words, my legs buckle underneath me and I fall to the floor as my whole world comes crashing down around me.

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