Page 40 of Broken Boss Daddy

Clearly gunning for me if his next words were any indicator.

“I wasn’t there,” he gritted out, “because you didn’t tell me anything. If I had known, I would’ve been right by your side and helping you with everything.”

The bastard!Did he really think I gave two shits about what he could’ve helped with? Grant had the audacity to use my financial troubles—I’d confessed some of them to him—against me. Obviously, he would take the financial side over everything else. I couldn’t care what money and resources he had to help. All I cared about was having him with us, not his stupid ass money.

It was no secret that he had money, and I never asked him for a penny. Not now, and neither would I have back then if he was around.

Taking it as I saw it, I spat back at him, “You can go take your pretentious, rich ass and fly a kite.” Grant had royally pissed me off. “It was a mistake allowing you back into my life, and an even bigger one telling you about Abby. But worst of all, Grant, my biggest mistake was falling for the man I thought you were.”

Moving to get away from him, Grant stopped my retreat with a hand on my elbow.

“I’ll get a lawyer involved,” he said.

He ignored everything I had told him and jumped right to what his entitled brain thought was best.

Unknowingly to him, there was nothing he could’ve said that would’ve broken my heart more.

I faced him one more time, heartbroken and disappointed. “That’s your own prerogative.”

Not waiting for his reply, I quickly opened the door and walked back inside the classroom, effectively slamming the door in his face.

Chapter 18: Grant

Dammit!

I stopped short of pounding my fist on the closed door, cursing myself for being such a freaking idiot.

Why I went and said those things was a mystery to me, but it had been said and there was no way for me to take it back. That was if Jessica ever forgave me.

Leaning my hands against the doorframe, I dropped my head and took a couple of minutes to calm down. Our conversation took a complete turn, and it left me wondering if I still had a damn brain.

Jess never outwardly said she had a problem with my background and finances, but I knew the idea of my wealth made her uncomfortable.

And then I had to go put my foot in my mouth. More like both my feet, actually.

“Shit,” I muttered, staring at the closed door and desperately wanting to follow her inside.

Instead, I forced myself to turn away and walk in the other direction.

Finding my way out of the school building was pretty easy, yet it felt like the longest walk of my life.

I’d promised myself that I would try my best to keep things cool between us when we spoke. After thinking about it at length, I understood why Jessica did what she did. She still shouldn’t have kept it from me, and maybe it was too soon for us to talk about it properly. But seeing her again reminded me of her betrayal and all the feelings that built up inside came rushing out.

Walking away was the best thing at that moment. Both of us needed to cool off before we caused more damage to each other. Jess was the mother of my child. Whether we liked it, we were stuck with each other. There was no way I was leaving my daughter fatherless again.

Even if I had to stay in the background. Just being around for anything, especially if Abby had ear infections again, would be enough.

It would be great if I could get that through Jess’s stubborn mind.

The bright sun hit my eyes the minute I walked out of the building. Squinting, I tried to remember where I had parked as I was too preoccupied with other thoughts to note it.

Finding my car amongst the few that were parked near the back, I sighed and made my way over to it. I was hesitant, though. Something was telling me to stay and make amends for this silly argument.

Except, I highly doubted Jessica would answer me, let alone open the door.

Running a hand through my hair in frustration, I was only a couple of feet from my escape when I spotted an older woman walking toward the school.

Through the glare of the sun, I would recognize that face anywhere and any day. She looked exactly like Jess, an older version, but a carbon copy of the woman that had occupied my entire being for the longest time.