Page 28 of Cruel Love

Where the fuck did that come from? He didn’t even know her. I was pissed. He had no right to judge her. My dad, sure—Grandad could take his shot. But Aspen was off-limits. He had no right. He kept talking at me instead of to me, when Aspen’s voice cut through his messed-up monologue.

“Hey, Phoenix.”

We heard her before she reached us, and it shut up my grandad. But, fuck me, I didn’t want him anywhere near her until we talked. He’d never intervened in my life before, and I got that the accident probably scared him. He was just looking out for me, but he was going about it all wrong.

“I can’t find my bra or shirt. Is it out there?” She breezed into the room, wearing my shirt. It fell to her knees, and when she looked up, horror leached all the color from her face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize anyone was here.”

“You’re fine,” I spoke before he did. “I’ll be just a minute. Do you want to wait in the kitchen?”

Grandad picked up her bra and handed it to her. “You should probably leave, dear.”

She nodded, snatched her purse from the coffee table, and rushed out of the room before I could make my weak-as-hell legs move to stop her.

“That was not—”

“You’ve been in an accident, and her being here tells me more than I need to know. She’s taking advantage of you and isn’t the kind of girl who will ever amount to anything,” Grandad snapped. “I will pay for an abortion. Tell the girl to set it up.” He got in my face. “This is your opportunity to fix it. Otherwise, I will.”

No one talked back to Grandad. We were supposed to go along with him and let him control everything. But I couldn’t. I wanted Aspen and our baby. “No. She and the baby are mine, and you have no right to interfere.”

Grandad’s eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward, inches separating us. “If you want to be able to go back to school, you’ll toe the line and get rid of the girl and that bastard baby.”

I fought to stay on my feet as Grandad stormed out of the house. I made it to a chair and collapsed onto it. Grandad was a force, but he’d always been aligned with what I wanted for my life. What had just happened shocked me—he’d been CEO and the man who’d always tried to make sure our family had everything we needed.

I had no idea what to do about him, but I wasn’t going to give in about Aspen or our baby.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

ASPEN

My head rested against the steering wheel. I was beyond embarrassed that I’d blurted out, in front of Phoenix’s grandfather, that I’d forgotten my bra. And the way he’d looked at me… I’d wanted to disappear.

That man, however horrible I found him to be, would be in my kid’s life. I couldn’t react in the way I wanted to, which was to tell him to back off. In truth, I had nothing to be ashamed of. It was just an awkward situation, one I hoped would be laughable later.

I attempted to slow my racing pulse by counting to ten. Emotions made everything so much worse than they really were. Still, I had to calm down before I got on the road. The front door opened—oh God—and Phoenix’s grandfather stormed out while I was still sitting outside the house that he’d told me to leave. I slumped down and closed my eyes, hoping and praying that he didn’t see me. It was not the impression I wanted him to have of the mother of his future first great-grandchild.

A tap sounded on the window, and I opened my eyes. This is not my day. Not anymore, anyway. I pressed the button to roll down the window as my phone rang. A glance showed that Phoenix was calling.

“I would like to speak to you about my grandson. We could meet tomorrow. When does your last class end?”

“Eleven.” I wasn’t sure why I answered. I chalked that one up to low blood sugar.

“I believe there’s a coffee shop on campus that’s quite popular.” His gave me closed-lipped smile that didn’t reach his eyes. It sent a chill down my spine. “I’ll be expecting you after your last class tomorrow.”

I nodded, not feeling like I could say no. The guy freaked me out, but he was my soon-to-be-born daughter’s great-grandfather.

He walked away, got into his car, and waited. Then the passenger window rolled down, and he surged forward. I lowered my window.

“I’m not leaving until you do. My grandson needs his rest, and you being here isn’t helping his situation.”

My hands shook until I gripped the steering wheel then pulled forward. The insistent ringing from my phone grated on my frayed nerves. Instead of answering, I exited the circular driveway and onto the street. The old man was on my tail, making sure I left and didn’t try to go back in, which was what I really wanted to do, but I drove to campus anyway.

He’d insinuated that I didn’t have Phoenix’s best interests at heart. I needed to process this situation, and how I would deal with him going forward before I talked to Phoenix, who was currently blowing up my phone.

Between Phoenix’s calls and texts, my stomach rumbled loud enough to alert the car in the lane next to me. At a light, I scrolled through my contacts and pressed the button to connect to Max then put the call on speaker.

“Hey, you almost back?” Max’s cheerful voice filled the interior of Phoenix’s SUV.

I released a breath as a fraction of the tension in my shoulders eased at hearing his voice. “I’m on my way.”

---