“She will be the moment you marry. Scrap that, she was the other woman the moment you were engaged to someone else.”
“Charlotte is business, old man. You’ve got no right to meddle with this.”
“Belle is my daughter. I love her very much, and she wanted her independence. I knew letting Melanie take care of her was a big mistake. I never liked that girl, but she’d never steered Belle wrong, until now.”
“Your idea of taking care of her is laughable. She pulled Belle into my club not once but twice, and on both occasions, I took care of her.”
“You had to.”
“No, I didn’t. I don’t have to take care of anyone or anything. Belle, I took care of her because I wanted to.”
“The life you live, Diego, it is not good for her. Look at her face.”
“I’m not even responsible for that.” Diego was losing control of this conversation, and it pissed him off. His name had been printed many times. If they couldn’t get to the press in time, they always passed the stories off as rumors, and hatred. Or the person writing the articles would be discovered to be an addict of some kind, and their storylines would never be remembered as truth but as the babbling writings of an addict waiting to get his next fix. “I’m not letting her go.”
“You’ve got to tell her the truth.”
“I don’t have to do anything. Belle is mine, and if you want to stay a part of her life, you’ll let me handle everything.”
He glanced over at her father.
“Listen here, Diego. I don’t give a flying fuck who you think you are or who you’re connected to. You will tell my daughter exactly who you are, that you’re getting married, and you will let me take her home with me. This is not an agreement. This is a fucking promise.”
“Yeah, and why would I listen to you?” Diego laughed.
“Because if you loved her even a little bit, you’d let her go rather than hurt her. If my daughter is just a passing fancy for you, you won’t care about her a year from now. I’m doing what is best for her.”
“You know I could kill you right now. Tell her it was an accident.”
“You’re not going to do that,” James said.
“Why not?”
“You think I didn’t see the way you looked at her. How patient you are? I’ve been with Belle since the very beginning. When she was a baby. I remember her running around the neighborhood, screaming and laughing, and doing all the kinds of things kids do. Then the accident, and her sight was gone, vanished. I watched her struggle. I’ve seen her fight for everything, and I admire her for it. She has a spirit and a passion that I will never take away from her. When you look at her, you see her. You don’t see that she’s blind. You don’t see that she’s a burden. You see her, and I know you see an amazing woman. It’s probably why you’ve broken every single rule you have. I don’t know you, Diego. I know men like you. She has gotten you under her spell, and what is more, Belle doesn’t even have a clue she’s casting it. This is all new for her.”
If it was anyone else, he would have killed them by now.
Just to keep The Boss safe, he should kill James.
The only problem? James was Belle’s father, and what he was saying was right. He couldn’t keep her as he would only break her heart more. He knew it, and he fucking hated it with every fiber of his being.
Keeping Belle to himself was the most selfish thing he’d done, but letting her go, he couldn’t even think it, let alone do it.
“I’ve got to have some more time with her,” Diego said. “Please.”
“Did you even realize you were in love with her?”
Diego said nothing, simply staring at her father. He hated this fucker so much. There wasn’t even a good reason as to why he felt this way, but he did. Especially in this moment. With Richard he didn’t have to listen to his not-friend. With James, he was her father, and if anyone was going to take care of her better than him, it would be James.
“I need more time.”
“You’ve got to the end of the week. Then I’m taking her home. I suggest you use that time wisely.”
James got out of the car. He’d brought it to a stop outside the hotel. Diego waited as he got a key and disappeared inside his room before pulling away. He drove back to Belle’s apartment with an overwhelming need to see her.
Parking up, he rushed inside her building, pulling out his key and entering her place within a matter of minutes.
He saw her on the sofa with some soft music playing.