“But it is!” she argued, lifting her head to look into my eyes. Those glittering blue eyes stared right into my soul, piercing my heart as I saw the hurt deep inside them. “A couple of years ago, I was with a man I deeply loved. His name was John, he was actually Lucas’ best friend. We’d secretly been together for a year. I didn’t want to come between them, and when John told me he loved me, I broke it off. Only he died a few weeks later–” her voice cracked as she fought to speak through her streaming tears. “I found out I was pregnant two weeks after his death. I thought maybe it was God’s way of giving me a piece of John to hold on to, only he violently ripped that away from me, too. Turned out that the egg had implanted in my tube and they had to remove the fetus.”
Her hands covered her eyes as she shook her head, sobbing so heavily. I didn’t know my heart could hurt this badly again. I wanted to take all her sadness from her, to take it upon myself. Seeing her cry like this was hurting me so much, a tear streamed down my face, and I was a hard man to make cry. I grabbed her once more, cradling her to my chest and allowing her to let it all out.
“It’s not your fault, Lisa. None of this is your fault. I am so sorry you had to go through that. I had no idea. Does Lucas know?” She shook her head in answer, which only told me she had been going through this alone all this time. “I’m here now, My Warrior. You’re not alone anymore. It’s going to be okay. Whatever you decide to do, we will do it. I promise you.”
She allowed me to rub her until her breathing eased once more, and she fell asleep on my chest. I held still, trying not to wake her as she rested. Carefully, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and texted Frank.
Davis:Do it now.
We would release the first illegal act Idris has done, embezzling from his own company. Derek's already got the ball rolling, but this would put more pressure on the authorities to do it faster.
That One Asshole:With pleasure 3:)
The little devil emoji suited him well. I closed my eyes, deciding to nap with Lisa. When we wake up, there should be a bit of buzz about her father. Hopefully, it'll cheer her up a bit to see her his company start to crumble the way she wanted.
I woke up to Lisa silently scrolling through her phone with her back towards me. She was trying not to wake me, being very silent, but I saw the smile on her face. It wasn't like her usual sweet one. It was one of great satisfaction at her father's misery. Peering over her shoulder, I saw she was looking at the stocks. Porter international was going down fast.
"When did you do it?" she asked me, realizing I was awake.
"When you fell asleep, I texted Frank."
"Thank you," she whispered, but she never turned or looked away from her phone. She was glued there.
"Anything for you, Lisa." I kissed her bare shoulder, feeling her sigh deeply.
"Even not having another kid of your own?"
I knew she wouldn't wake up feeling better about that fact, but I had hoped that she would know that I would be happy with her, no matter what.
"Yes, even that. I love you. I don't need to have another baby to be happy. It would have just been a bonus, but a bonus that I am fine without. If you want to talk more about our options later, we can. Whatever you want to do, Lisa, I'll support you one hundred percent."
I won't have her believe otherwise. She nodded her head silently, making me wonder if she really believed me. Now was the time to ask my question, because I really think it was the only way she would realize how serious I was.
"Alright, time to get off the bed," I told her, staring down at her as I stood up first.
"I don't want to," she complained.
"I have a surprise for you, a gift. It's hidden in the house. You can get a clue anytime you want, but you have to land a punch on me to get it."
She loved games, and she loved proving to herself that she was strong. It was not the most romantic, but it was the way that best suited her. I was sure of it.
"Davis, I really don't feel up to it." She frowned, not moving from the bed.
"Come on, Lisa. Are you worried you still won't be able to hit me?" I teased her, trying to rile her up.
"Hey, I've hit you before," she argued with an adorable pout.
"Only because you threw your shirt on my face." I laughed at the memory, but I was impressed by her at the time.
"Oh, whatever, I could totally hit you if I wanted to."
"Prove it." I smirked.
I saw that fire in her eyes and knew I'd won. She got off the bed in an instant, immediately sparring with me. Her smile only proved to me she was enjoying this. She enjoys feeling strong, like she could take on anyone. I know she never wants to feel weak again. Never wanting to be overpowered by a man again. I let her hit my side after a while.
"Ha! See, I did it. Now give me a clue." Her eyes were sparkling with excitement as she met my gaze.
"It's in this room." I told her, keeping it vague.
