Page 137 of The Heart of a Villain

Love and luck.

Rush ruined it. He smeared her in the kind of dirt that will never wash away, and that’s an unforgivable crime in my eyes.

“Our daughter’s lived on the dark side since she was born,” Valencia whispers, and I close my eyes, anguish washing over me at the memories that are still so vivid in my head. I hope my daughter will never find out about her mother’s and my beginning because shame fills me whenever I think about it. “I know she’s your little girl, Lachlan. But if you don’t do something, we will lose her.” She connects our mouths in a gentle kiss, almost reassuring me, and then presses her forehead against mine. “Please don’t make her choose.” Her warm hand pats my heart, giving me a light peck, and with this walks back to our room, leaving me standing alone while conflicting emotions consume me.

How doesn’t she understand?

A father wants the best man to capture the heart of his daughter because he wishes to believe she’ll be happy and safe with him no matter what.

Aileen will never be truly safe with Rush, as there will always be monsters ready to tear him apart.

The gust of wind slaps me, and I look at my kids once again as Levi does weird poses to make Aileen laugh, but she just gives him tight smiles.

And that’s when, with crystal-clear clarity, I understand that Valencia is wrong.

No matter what I choose, the end result will be the same.

I will have to let go of my daughter.

And how does a father do that without ripping his heart apart?

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“My father was always my hero.

But in my love story, he became a villain.

And the man who wanted to destroy me…

became my prince with a heart of gold.”

Aileen

Aileen

An owl hoots in the distance, the sound echoing through the night, and my hand with the brush freezes, stuck in my long hair cascading over my shoulder.

Because the evening’s arrival sends shivers up my spine as the message Rush sent me earlier plays in my mind.

You have until tonight. After that, willing or not, I will drag you out of that fucking castle myself.

I guess asking him to be patient for three days straight without any opportunity for us to meet and talk wasn’t the best plan. But what could I have done with my father trailing after my every move?

Ever since they came back from France, he’s been watching me and coming up with endless family activities for us.

It almost seems as if Dad is challenging Rush with all his actions. However, that’s impossible and crazy, since he doesn’t even know we’re still in contact.

Catching my reflection in the mirror, I swallow hard, and my lungs burn from the invisible pressure on my chest, so heavy I no longer remember how to breathe.

Because the woman staring back reminds me nothing of the person I was just a few months ago. The hollow expression reflected in my eyes shows all my desperate emotions, leaving no doubt I’m falling into the abyss with no one to hold on to.

Just a little longer, and I will vanish into thin air, leaving only fleeting moments to remember me by.

Is this what all those princesses trapped in castles felt like? Unable to control their fate due to the rules of the kingdom set by their kings, who ignored their pleas and decided their destinies?

To be fair to Dad, he never spoke to me about Rush, but all his comments in the last couple of days rubbed me the wrong way and just increased the internal conflict within me.

Not about being with Rush but how to break the news to Dad without him disowning me.

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