Page 78 of Forbidden Bond

It turns out I may be a mom soon so now might be time to get my life back on track.

“You can do that after you get back from Paris,” he states.

I pause. “What?”

“Paris, honey. I’m sure you’re aware your sister and mother left the country a few days ago.”

“Yes.”

“Well, I was thinking it’s probably a good idea if we both go and join them. Make it a family vacation.”

“Why do you suddenly want to go on vacation?” I question curiously.

“I just think it’ll be good for us. We’d be out of the country and safe.”

“Why aren’t we safe in the country?” I ask on a laugh.

He doesn’t say a word for several moments, and when he does, it’s a muttered, “Of course we’re safe.”

“Alright. Then I’m not going.”

“Katherine,” he says, letting out a sigh.

“I’m staying here, Daddy.”

I might be imagining it, but this conversation seems very passive aggressive. Then my dad speaks again and his tone is all aggression.

“Why? Because you’d rather stay in New York with Christopher D’Angelo?”

My jaw tightens. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t lie to me, Katherine! I know you’ve been seeing him. I’ve had someone on your tail for about a week now. I know you’ve spent most of your nights at his house.”

“That’s—you had no right to do that!”

“I had every right. I’m your father. And this has gone on long enough.”

I take a deep breath and force myself to calm down. “I don’t know what you think you know, Daddy. But the least you can do is let me explain myself.”

“Really? And what explanation could you possibly have for cavorting with the son of a criminal? A man who belongs to an entire family of them. Do you even realize how this looks?”

“Dad, forget about how it looks for a second and think about how I feel,” I say desperately.

He falls silent for a beat, then he lets out a short laugh. “Please don’t tell me you were foolish enough or deluded enough to fall in love with him.”

His words sting. My grip on the phone tightens. “I did fall in love with him,” I say confidently. “Because he’s amazing. And kind and caring. He sees me for me.”

My dad barks out another laugh. “You really are deluded.”

“No. I’m thinking clearly, Dad.”

His voice grows angrier. “Listen to me, Katherine. I’ve already booked our plane tickets. You will show up to this house tomorrow morning after ending things with that boy—otherwise, you are no longer my daughter.”

And there it is. The ultimatum I’ve been waiting for. I was expecting it, and yet somehow his words still hurt.

“Then maybe I’m not your daughter anymore,” I say tearfully.

Before he can speak again, I hang up the phone. I’ll probably regret that in a few minutes. Like it or not, I’m going to show up tomorrow. And I’ll sit him down and try my hardest to make him see things from my perspective. He probably won’t, but at least I’ll know I tried.

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