"He's picked up all his stuff?" Mia asked after a few moments when the silence had settled again.
"Looks like it."
She nodded. "I think it's for the best."
I was grateful that Mia finally saw my point. She shrugged off her jacket and hung it up.
"I went to go and see your Dad," I told her. It was like ripping off a band aid. There was no point in waiting.
"What?" Mia spun around to face me, looking horrified. "What did you say? What did he say?"
"I'm not having him pay me back anymore."
Mia didn't say anything. In the silence, I wasn’t sure if I was in trouble with her for taking the matter into my own hands.
"Why?" Mia asked, confusion clear in her voice.
"You said to me once that I don't need his money. That's true," I told her. "I don't want it anymore, either."
"But that means I don't need to..."
She was no longer required to stay here with me. Mia was not bound to me by her father’s mistake, but I hope that she was bound to me by more. The plan had been she would leave as soon as Hector’s debt was cleared. When she had first arrived, we both counted down the days until our lives would no longer run in parallel, but now I couldn’t imagine a day without her. I had never imagined being able to love someone as deeply as I did Mia, with her smart mouth and kind heart. Without the safety net of Hector’s debt, I hoped that her love would be enough to ensure she stayed.
Mia glanced at the bracelet that hung on her wrist. Slowly, she had been placing cautious steps into my world. I had truly underestimated her when the feelings had first surfaced. I had been worried that she would be scared and put her foot in it but Mia had been nothing but diplomatic and that pull she possessed had worked on more than just my household.
"Do you want me to stay?"
I closed the gap between us so quickly that she swayed. My kiss was forceful and full of want. It was as if I wanted to communicate everything to her through this simple action.
"Do you want to stay?" I asked. My forehead rested against Mia's and we both breathed heavily. This wasn’t my decision but hers. I needed to know I was a choice she had made when nothing forced her hand.
Mia didn't hesitate before she responded, "Always."
Chapter Fifty One
Mia
Iraised my hand and balled it into a fist but was momentarily paralyzed with fear. The last time we spoke it had spiraled into an argument, but things had changed since then. I thought the moment Dad’s debts were wiped clean that I would feel a sense of relief and be ready to return home, but when Luc told me about his decision, I panicked thinking I would lose the best thing that had ever happened to me.
That wasn’t the case. Luc just wanted me to make a decision about him without any pressure. I didn’t need to think about it. I knew that my heart belonged to him and going back to life before him was an impossibility.
Building up the courage, I knocked on the door and Dad opened it without a word. He looked better every time I saw him. He didn’t smell of alcohol and had some weight around his middle. All that was missing was his smile.
"Can I come in?" I asked.
"It's your home, Mia."
Dad looked around outside, I assumed to see if Luc was with me. I had asked him to stay at home and give me time alone with my Dad. As usual, he wasn’t happy with my request, but he gave in, allowing me to take one of his cars as long as I promised to call if there was a problem.
"He's not here, Dad," I said.
We both walked into the house and he looked over his shoulder. "You left him?"
The amount of hope in his voice made my heart hurt. "No."
We stood in the living room, suffocated by the awkward silence.
"Why did you choose him, Mia?"
