Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 54283 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54283 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
He's unhinged in a way I haven't seen since the day my mom died, like his world is ending. He tore the house apart in his grief and rage that day. God only knows what damage he did outside these four walls. Niall adamantly refused to talk about it when they stumbled in covered in blood at dawn, but I know it was bad.
We had peace for months. For the first time in my life.
My throat burns at the sight of him so close to that edge again now. Disappointing him is the last thing I wanted to do. But I'm tired of disappointing me, too. I'm sick of barring the doors to my own damn cage and pretending that's the way it has to be just to keep him and Niall happy.
"It's true," I whisper, my voice steady even though my heart feels like it's in a vise. "Everything Naz told you is true."
Dad storms across the living room toward me, his heavy steps thundering against the hardwood floor. He reaches me in four long strides, his hands clamping down on my shoulders, his fingers digging into my flesh. "How the fuck could you betray your own family like this? For him?"
I cry out, fear pulsing through me. For the first time in my life…I'm afraid of this man. "You're hurting me," I whisper, struggling against his hold.
He mutters a curse, releasing me as if my words scalded him. Regret flashes in his eyes as he stares down at me, a modicum of sanity dimming the red haze.
"Jesus Christ, Brynna." He runs a shaking hand through his silver hair. "What the fuck have you done?"
Tears burn the backs of my eyes, but I blink them back. I won't cry now. It's a weakness I can't afford. "We fell in love, Dad," I say softly. "If anyone can understand how that feels, I thought it would be you."
He loved my mom beyond reason. He lived for her, breathed for her. And losing her broke him. It's been years, and he still isn't over her. He never will be.
"If you believe that, you're a fucking fool," he spits, the words like venom on a tongue that's never said an unkind word to me before now. "The man is incapable of love. All you are to him is a pawn, a pretty little plaything to use."
"You don't know anything about him," I growl, anger welling up from my soul. He doesn't know what he's talking about. If anyone should be able to see beyond the surface, my father should. But he's so blinded by hatred, he refuses to even consider it. "He makes me happy. Happier than I've ever been."
"He's a fucking criminal, Brynna! His hands are so bloody, it's a wonder they aren't permanently stained red."
"You're one to talk," I snap, beyond tired of everyone judging Naz for the same damn sins they've committed. "Or have you forgotten about the empire you built on blood? I certainly haven't. I live with the memories haunting me, with the guilt and regret staining my soul."
"Everything I've done has been to protect this family! To protect you."
"Maybe that's what you tell yourself, but we both know you did it for power and pride," I say. "Everyone who targeted me, you killed because you could. Because they dared to insult you. It had nothing to do with me, Dad. It was all about you. And so long as you had your power and your pride, you didn't give a shit what it did to me."
Pain roils in his eyes, aging him. He seems…older, weathered in a way he never has before. There are cracks in his armor, chinks I've never noticed before now. "I've given you a good life, Brynna."
"No," I whisper, shaking my head. "You gave me a cage and called it a life, hoping I'd never realize the difference. You made me complicit in things I never wanted, never asked to be part of. It's different with Naz. I know exactly who he is and what's he's capable of. But he gave me a choice, Dad. You never gave me that." I pause, tears blurring my vision. "He loves me. Why can't that be enough for you?"
"Because I don't want to bury my only daughter!" he roars, slamming his fist into the wall. The plaster cracks beneath the force of the blow. "One way or another, he'll get you killed. I won't stand back and watch it happen. You aren't seeing him again."
I thought my heart would crack in half when this moment came…but it doesn't. Too much of it belongs to Naz now, his name emblazoned and branded across entire tracts of it. Instead, a small corner of it crumbles, shattering into pieces.
"You're wrong," I whisper, reaching down to scoop up the bag I packed earlier. "I am seeing him again, Dad. I choose him."