Page 14 of Bound by Love
Brie sat there in shock. He knew about the blackmail attempt…
“What do you have to say for yourself?” her father demanded.
Still in shock, she faced him. “If you know what Lilly was accusing Thane of, then you must understand why I wanted it kept secret. I appreciated how hard it was for you to accept Thane because of our lifestyle, and I couldn’t take the chance you might believe Lilly’s accusation.”
She looked down at her hands, wringing them nervously. “I couldn’t bear it if you ended up hating him, especially if…” Her voice caught again, but she forced herself to finish. “Especially if Thane had died and never gotten the chance to defend himself.”
“Did you really think I’m that stupid?” her father demanded.
“Stupid? No, of course not…” Brie faltered, feeling the conversation already heading south.
Her mom reached over the seat and squeezed her shoulder gently. “Your father has a keen mind, honey. Initially, he was as shocked as I was when he read what Lilly was claiming. But, after poring over the anonymous message and the photos, he was able to deduce that she had set Thane up and sent the email to us, hoping to discredit him and to hurt you.”
Brie glanced at her father, now wondering if she had trusted him back then, if she might have had her parents’ support the entire time.
“I’m not an idiot, Brianna.”
“I know, Daddy. But even I was questioning my own husband when she first made those accusations. How could I expect you to react any differently?”
“Your lack of trust hurt, little girl. Are we not family?”
Brie swallowed hard, nodding.
What her father failed to acknowledge was that Brie had reasons to fear what his reaction would be. It had started that first day, when she announced she was dating Sir and he had reacted badly. Things became even more complicated when her documentary came out and both of her parents began struggling with her lifestyle becoming public. All along, her father had wanted to blame Sir for the direction her life had taken, not accepting that everything she’d done had been her decision alone.
Truly, it hadn’t been until the premiere of her film, when she had been attacked, that Brie had seen a glimmer of hope around her father’s changing feelings toward Sir—it was the first time her father acknowledged that Sir might truly love her.
Being a man of principles, Sir always treated her father with the respect his position deserved, no matter how disrespectful her father was in return. Sir’s actions eventually won him over—enough to bless their marriage and walk his little girl down the aisle in Italy.
Despite having solid reasons for her caution, one thing was clear from their conversation: Her parents genuinely loved her and supported Thane, and she had hurt them more than she knew by her continued silence.
“I’m sorry…sosorry for hurting both of you.”
Her father surprised her by pulling off to the side of the road and turning to face her. “Look at me, Brianna.”
Brie braved meeting his gaze.
“What you did was wrong, but your mom and I love you. Our hearts are big enough to forgive you for this. While we will choose to forget and put it in the past, I want you to remember it. Not because I need you to feel guilty, but because I want it to serve as a reminder of our loyalty to you…and to Thane.”
She nodded, speechless, his words having touched her so deeply.
“Brie,” her mother added, “I understand why you thought you needed to keep things from us. But from now on, we can’t have secrets between us.”
Brie smiled, but it was with a heavy heart. She wanted to be open with her parents, but there were certain events that would always remain a secret between them, including the attempted kidnapping. Brie knew her parents would never stop worrying if they heard what Lilly had done.
Heck, even now, they might insist on her moving back to Nebraska in a misguided attempt to keep her safe. As their only child, they had everything to lose, but Brie didn’t want to live her life that way.
So, even if she knew then what she knew now, Brie would have made the same decision to pull away to protect them—and herself.
Sadly, her parents would have to remain in the dark, but she would do everything within her power not to cause them that kind of pain again. Her parents had done nothing to deserve it.
“While I can’t change what happened, I promise not to hurt you guys again. I love you both too much.”
Her father chuckled. “Sorry, Brianna, you can’t make that promise.”
“What do you mean?”
“Parents are always affected by their kids. If you are happy, we’re happy. If you are suffering, we’re suffering. You are going to hurt us again. It is the way things are, no way around it.”
