“I’m not letting you drive this.”
“You’re notlettingme?!” My eyes flared as I threw up my hands. “You’re the reason I have to!”
Adam’s brow furrowed. “I don’t understand. How am I the rea—”
“When you takeover companies, do youevergive a second thought to the people you fire in the process? The people who lose everything just so you gain a few extra dollars in your pocket?”
“That’s just business.”
“It was our life!” I cried, fighting the rising tears. Adam reached out on impulse, but I recoiled. His touch would only make this harder. “My husband was one of those people.”
“What?” Adam’s face paled as his arm fell to his side. “Who did he work for?”
“Sunset Digital.”
His shoulders plummeted as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fuck.”
“He’d just started treatment, and instead of giving him the time off he needed, you laid him off. Your crappy health insurance policy ran out only a year later, and I’ve been drowning in debt ever since.”
He ran both hands through his hair as he paced the gravel driveway. “That was one of the first companies I acquired. I was trying to prove myself to my father.”
“You never even met with him. He was merely a figure on a chart to you.”
“I’m so sorry, Cass.” He gathered my hands into his. “You have to believe me.”
I dropped my gaze. “The damage you caused my family is unforgivable. Had I known Harlow Corp. was responsible, I never would’ve worked for you. I never would’ve…”
“Then I’m glad we didn’t know.” He grasped my face to level our eyes. “Because you would’ve never given me a chance.”
“There is no chance, Adam.” Tears flooded my vision. “I betrayed Dominic. And Finn. I don’t deserve any happiness with you.”
“Tell me what I can do.”
I shook my head as I stepped away. “There’s nothing you can do to make this okay.”
“Cass, please.” Desperation radiated through his energy. “I need you in my life.”
“And I need you to let me go.” I turned back to the house, but his hand grabbed mine.
“I love you, Cassidy. Surely you know that by now.” He moved my hand over his chest. “You must feel it.”
I pulled my hand from his body to wipe away the cascading tears. “No matter how much my heart wants to believe that, I have to listen to my head right now. I need to focus on my future and Finn.”
“I’ll make this right,” he said with fierce determination. “Whatever it takes. I promise you.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
Anger flashed through his glistening gaze. “I don’t.”
“Adam?” Finn materialized out of nowhere, making us both flinch. “Are you going already?”
Adam knelt down in front of him as I cleaned up my tear-stricken face. “Yeah, buddy. I need to get back. There’s a problem I need to fix at work.”
“Will we see you in LA?”
Adam rested his hands on my son’s shoulders. “I’m going to try my hardest to make that happen.”
As Finn wrapped his arms around him, the sight tore my heart in two. Their bond was as natural as a father and son, and for a fleeting moment, I feared I was robbing him of a second chance. “Okay, Finn. Let Adam go. We’ve got a car to pack.”