His face twisted with pain, but I didn’t think it was physical discomfort. And when he spoke, it was choked. “I cheated.”
“Stop lying, Daddy,” I snapped at him. “You would never do something like that to Mom. Never.”
He shook his head. “But I did. Look, I’m not going to fill your head with everything that happened. Most of that is only your mom’s and my business. But the truth is, I fucked up, and it cost me seven months with my Angel.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I demanded, confused as to why he was revealing something I never would have known about his and Mom’a relationship if he hadn’t told me.
“Because I want you to see that even when a man loves a woman as desperately as I love your mom, we can still make mistakes.” He reached for my hand and gave it a firm squeeze. “Braxton told me what happened. All of it.”
“Daddy—”
He held up the other hand, the one with the IV in the back of it. “I’m not saying what he did wasn’t wrong. Honestly, I’m not. I understand why you’re upset. I do. Don’t think I’m making light of what you’re feeling, Nevi. Because even right now, I want to kick his ass for hurting you.”
“Then what are you saying?” I muttered.
“What I’m saying is…” He paused and shook his head. “Over the last few years, I’ve watched that boy. And before my eyes, I saw what he feels for you blossom into something lasting. After a while, I stopped worrying so much about you being so far away from us because I knew Braxton would move heaven and earth to keep you safe and happy. He loves you. And don’t you lie and say you don’t love him just as much.”
“I wasn’t going to lie. Yes, I love him. I don’t want to, but I do.” Which was why my heart hurt so much.
“You have to know that he isn’t going to marry this Darcy chick,” he chided. “You know him better than that. He loves you too much to even look at another person, least of all marry someone else.”
“I know,” I whispered, because I did know. It wasn’t so much that I thought Braxton would actually marry Darcy. It was that he kept everything from me. That he broke his promise.
“Then why—”
“Why are you on his side?” I cried. “He’s the one who broke my heart. Not the other way around. Braxton lied to me. He kept all of this to himself after he promised we wouldn’t have secrets from each other.”
“Because I’ve been in his shoes.” His voice rose as he spoke. “I lost the woman I love because I was dumb and drunk, and I will regret it until my dying day. And I don’t want you or him to go through that hell, Nevaeh. He made a mistake, and he regrets it.”
“But how am I supposed to trust him not to break every other promise he makes to me?” I asked desperately, twin tears spilling down my cheeks. “How do I put my trust and faith in him not to break my heart again and again?”
Daddy’s brows rose. “How many has he broken before now?”
“What?”
He leaned forward and grimaced in pain, but he cupped my chin and tilted it up so he was looking into my eyes. “How many promises has he broken before now?”
That gave me pause, and I quickly thought back through any promises Braxton might have made in the past. “He… He never made me any promises before this one.”
“Bullshit.”
“Daddy, I swear, he never made me any other promises. This was the first.”
“You’re wrong, sweetheart. He’s made you and me plenty. Keeping you safe was the first one he ever made me. Not once has he broken that. And he might not have made you any promises aloud, but trust me when I say his eyes have made you plenty.” He gently released me and sat back, groaning in discomfort. “I think you owe it to yourself to give him one more chance, Nevi. Just one more. And if he fucks up again, if he breaks your heart even once more, then I’ll kill him.”
A choked laugh escaped me, because his voice was suddenly dripping with venom and menace. “Daddy, you know I love you, right?”
He took hold of my hand again, giving it a squeeze. “You couldn’t possibly love me as much as I love you, Nevaeh Joy. But yeah, I know you love me.”
—
When I opened the door, I wasn’t surprised Braxton was standing there waiting. He leaned back against the wall, his face blank as he gazed straight ahead without seeing anything. As the door closed behind me, he blinked and focused on me, life returning to his handsome face as he straightened.
“Are you hungry?”
Eating wasn’t exactly the first thing on my mind, but at the mention of food, my stomach growled hungrily, making his lips tip up with amusement.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Let’s go.” He took my hand without asking and guided me toward the elevators.