After pressing his lips into a firm line, he inhaled through his nose. “She thought that if she was here, he’d stop searching for you.”
“Like a trade-off?” My voice sounded distant and hollow.
“Of sorts.”
My fingers reached for wardrobe door handle, only to hesitate and withdraw. I locked my resolve deep and turned to Arnauld.
“I’m ready to meet with my father.”
Chapter Eighteen
Hallie
“Helga,” my father declared in his drawn-out way of speaking the instant Arnauld knocked and led me into a large study. “Nice of you to finally join me.”
“I figured you’d waited over twenty-five years, so what was another hour?”
Anger flashed through his once-calm expression. “Watch your tone.”
I rolled my eyes. “What do you want?”
“Arnauld, leave us.” My father dismissed him with an impatient wave of his hand.
Arnauld gave me reassuring nod before leaving under my father’s command. When the study door clicked closed, I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Care to explain these?” I gestured at the new clothes.
His eyes narrowed on the shower hose hanging from my hand, then he shrugged. “Your mother helped me assemble a wardrobe for you. The lady of the empire needs to dress as such.” His gaze flicked up and down my body, then hardened. “Not in black clothes and combat boots.”
“If you’re expecting a thank you or thinking you can change me, you’re mistaken. I’m not in the habit of complying with my captor’s demands.”
“You’re not a captive.” He threw his arms wide. “This is your home, Helga.”
“Myhomeis in the U.S. As soon as we moved there, this was never my home. Not when you kidnapped me as a child, and certainly not now.”
“The difference this time is that you came back willingly. I didn’t force you; you came to me.”
“You used Mom as bait!”
He tsked. “She came here willingly too.”
“You blackmailed her!”
“Besides, I’ve been tracking you for years.” My gut plummeted as my father continued, oblivious to my ever-increasing unease. “And I knew once she was here, all I’d have to do is sit back and wait. As predicted, you came running, albeit slower than I initially anticipated, but running, nonetheless. I know all about your reckless teenage years, the countless men you’ve dated, your military accolades, and your new career venture—as incognito as that is. I know your fear of commitment and your inability to remain in one place for long, but that will all need to change now. Once your union with Reinhardt is complete, you’ll need to be the woman I intended to raise you as.”
I scoffed. “You didn’t even tryto raise me. Even while I was here for months as a seven-year-old, you hardly even talkedto me. You tasked your maids to see that I was cared for and to comfort me when I was upset. You were literally nowhere to be seen! So if you think you have a right to claim you parented me, you’re more despicable than I thought.”
Wrath and fury darkened his hazel eyes. “Helga, that’s no way to speak to your father.”
“It’s Hallie now! One fucking detail and you still can’t get it right!”
His backhand connected with my cheek before I saw it coming. The loud crackrang out through the otherwise quiet study, immediately followed by my gasp. I cupped my burning face and gaped in absolute shock, only realizing we were no longer alone when Arnauld’s touch landed on my elbow.
“Johannes,” he barked. “Enough.”
Arnauld didn’t release my elbow while my father dragged a hand down his face. “Arnauld, this is between me and my daughter.”
“The moment you lashed out; it became between the three of us. Get on with your point, then I’ll escort Miss van Staden back to her room.”