“Update me,” She says, then points at the men behind us. “Do your duty by your girlfriend. Update me on what happens.”
“Okay,” Gio says simply.
And that’s all it takes for us to go. I keep looking back, wanting any excuse to stay, but none come. I’m nauseous but alive which means I’m going to my father’s office. We climb to the elevator and I keep petting my dogs.
When we stand just outside my dad’s office, I turn to face the guys. I show them my phone and call Max. “If I say kiwi or you hear something intense, come in. I’m not locking the door behind me.”
“I don’t like this,” Konstantin says. “I’ve seen how afraid you are.”
“I have to face my demons and I have to do that alone.”
“Says who?” Max asks. “We’re a good team, Juliana. That’s why this relationship works.”
I smile and put my hand on the doorknob. “We are. But this is my family and my chance to grow. I can do this.”
I open the door, then shut it behind me. I hear something I don’t expect. No ticking. No foot tapping on the floor. It’s crying. I take another step into my father’s massive office and see him with a bottle of red wine – Mom’s favorite – as he cries.
“You should have fought,” He whispers.
I blink a few times and take another step forward. I’m worried I’m going to break whatever spell he’s under, but at the same time, I just can’t stop myself from moving toward him.
“I can’t do this alone. Why did you curse me to this?” He demands before bringing the wine glass down too hard on his desk so the stem shatters.
He gasps and starts openly sobbing.
I’ve seen my father in plenty of different moods and different personas, but this is new. It’s chilling honestly. Maybe I should feel connected to him in this grief, but it’s so wild, and that ‘danger’ siren in my chest is going off.
Charlie nudges my arm and Nolan licks my elbow, reminding me they’re right where I need them. But at that exact moment, my father notices me. He points at me. “Did you see your mother today?”
“Of course. I put flowers down. Patricia and I had a nice talk with her,” I whisper.
He nods. “Because she’s still here. I can feel it. She’s ...”
“Are you okay?”
“No.” He stands up and reaches into a drawer.
I take a step back. “Daddy, let’s go see Mom. We can go to her favorite restaurant after and-“
“You shame her. You know that?” He demands. “You spit on her memory and disgrace our family name and everything I’ve worked for.”
“What are you talking about? I do everything! I work in your business. I agreed to the bodyguards and have worked to take care of the problem with them. Mom would be proud and-”
Before I can do a thing, he hits me. Hard. The sting radiates from my cheek and I just gasp as I stare at the floor. Nolan snarls so much he sneezes, but I can feel him straining to get out of my purse.
I slowly stand back up, putting my hair in place. “That was uncalled for.”
“Youfuckeda bodyguard,” He hisses. “That’s something that a classless slut would do. Are you fucking all of them?”
I don’t answer.
“You are, aren’t you? That’s why Max came in here and tried to tell me how to parent. That’s why Gio hasn’t been checking in. You think that would make your mother proud?”
“She would be,” I argue. “Because I’m following my heart.”
He comes at me again and I lose my temper. “I’m handing in my resignation.”
That makes him pause for all of one second before he reveals his other hand. The horsewhip. I drop my purse. I haven’t seen it since my freshman year of college. But it brings back every painful memory. I can feel the sting of each scar.