Page 114 of Her Greatest Mistake

“That’s her choice. Marriage isn’t for everyone.”

I let out a bitter laugh. “It wasn’t her choice, though. Not really. You and Mom did that to her. You would have done it to me, too, had it not been for the Huttons.”

A dark cast slips over his face as he curls his lip. “You’re not a Hutton, Braxton. You’re a Heights. It’s time you started to remember that.”

“Not yet,” I retort, snapping my spine straight.

“Not yet?” he repeats slowly.

“You said I’m not a Hutton. You’re right. I’m not a Huttonyet. But I will be.”

His knuckles turn as white as snow on the railing as he grips it tighter and grinds his jaw hard. I wait to hear a crack, but it never comes.

“You deserve better,” he spits.

“You have no ideawhatI deserve! You don’t care about anybody but yourself. You never have. It’s been all about you for decades!” I shout, hands curled into fists at my sides.

“I’ve done what I’ve done for our family!”

“What family? Do you see one here? Because I don’t. You don’t have a family because there isn’t a single one of us who can stand to be around you. You hired someone to break into my car and didn’t even call when that person sent me to the hospital!”

A rush of cool air hits my cheek, and I realize it’s wet, stained with tears. My anger grows, both at him and myself for not being stronger.

“I never hired that guy. And I didn’t know you were hurt. Nobody told me,” he mutters. His eyes soften slightly, and I nearly flinch. “Are you okay?”

I ignore his concern, not buying it. “You expect me to believe you didn’t have anything to do with what’s just happened? The article that calls me desperate and naïve and calls Maddox a money-hungry fraud?”

I might have looked over the article as I sat on the driveway outside before collecting the nerve to get out of the car. It doesn’t paint me in a good light, despite its false narrative as an interview I had willingly given, and it paints Maddox even worse. The audio she had of me is obviously not from a real interview. It sounds like it was recorded from inside a backpack.

“I never denied that I was involved in the article, just in the hiring of that man. I would never put you in harm’s way. I distinctly told Rose to bug Maddox’s vehicle. Not yours. It’s not my fault she decided to do whatever she wanted.”

“Is that how you get yourself to fall asleep at night? By convincing yourself of things that aren’t true? Does the guilt ever get too much? Too heavy?” I ask, wiping at the tracks of tears on my cheeks.

“What do you want me to say, Braxton? You won’t accept any apology I give you, so I’m not going to bother.”

I shake my head, dread heavy in my chest. “You’re right. I don’t want you to apologize because I know you won’t mean it. I want you to own up to what you’ve done. To accept that it was wrong and evil. I want you to tell me that you’ll stop and leave this alone. I want you to be a real father and put my happiness above your own, because Maddox Hutton makes me happy, and no matter what you try to do to tear him down and make him pay for your mistakes, you will never win. The only thing you’ll continue to win at is being alone and miserable.”

The silence echoes in the empty, cold house. Roy stares at the floor and scratches at his jaw, grip loosening on the railing.

At one time in my life, this man was my hero. The protector of my kingdom. But that time has passed, and I’ve learned that not every hero deserves his happily ever after. Sometimes, the hero is just a villain in disguise.

“I want you to tell me that you love me and that that is enough to break this hideous cycle, because if you continue to hurt the people I love, you will never see me again,” I finish, heart in my stomach.

I stand and wait for a reply, but when one never comes, I wipe at my eyes one final time and then turn around. There’s nothing impressive about the way I steel my spine and lift my chin as I start to walk out, because it’s all an act. A way to pretend that I’m not hurting inside because a man who was supposed to love me no matter what, every single day for forever, has chosen revenge instead, knowing just how badly that would hurt me.

My nose burns as I weave through the mess of boxes and set my hand on the doorknob. I nearly jump out of my skin when footsteps sound behind me before coming to an abrupt stop.

“What would you need me to do, Braxton?” he croaks.

My shoulders fall, a wobbly breath escaping me as I hang my head, knowing full well Maddox is going to hate this.

“Get me an interview with Rose Carpenter.”

* * *

MADDOX

“Hutton! Where the fuck is your head?” Coach yells from the boards.

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