"You don't have a full grasp on the situation, Lila. There is far more going on behind the scenes of all of this than you could possibly comprehend. I can't just come clean about something that may or may not be true about our products."
"No, what you can't seem to come clean about is that you fucked up. You put yourself in this situation, and you hurt me, too. Because of your relentless devotion to the company and not your own daughter, there is a man who is hunting me down, who is sending people to hurt me."
Lifting my wine glass as my fingers start to tremble, I take a long sip before setting it back down on the table. My appetite is entirely gone.
I also can't help but notice that Marcus has been a little quiet. When I look up at him, though, sympathy and anger are burning behind his eyes.
He sucks in a deep breath through his nose as I watch him mirror the large gulp of wine that I took. When he sets his glass down, he looks toward my father as if expecting him to do something. Anything.
"I am well aware of the type of man that Cilento is. I am familiar with his business and the type of people he works with and for. If you are involved with him, you have likely contracted him for exactly what Lila is suggesting. For the short time that I've known her, she has never once lied to me. If she's coming to you about this now, I suggest that you tell the truth. If nothing else, to protect your daughter."
My heart is pounding so hard against my ribs, I'm pretty sure it's going to crack one. My father looks utterly stunned. And what I wouldn't give to storm up to him and slap that expression off his face.
He had to know something like this was coming. Can't keep the truth hidden forever.
His fork clatters against his plate as my father sets it down. He reaches into his lap for his napkin and dabs at his mouth politely. So poised, so still.
When he meets my eyes again, they are cold and stern. Nothing new, but the lack of emotion still hits as hard as ever.
"I may have gone to great lengths to ensure the success of Wellward, but that is because this company is everything. I built it from the small company that it was when my father owned it to what it is today. The life you lead now is thanks entirely to the success of my company. It would be disastrous to admit to any supposed contamination. It would not protect you. It would deplete the company's assets and leave you with nothing to live on. So for once, you're going to listen to me, Lila. And you're going to drop this here and now."
I don't know why I'm surprised. I don't know why it still hits me so hard that my father is unwilling to do the right thing.
He's never going to reveal the truth. He's never going to go public with the information about the drug and how it is unsafe.
It is abundantly clear that all my father cares about is his company.
Not me.
My eyes burn as the tears threaten to spill over, and I will not cry in front of him. I can't be here for this. I can't be around that man a moment longer.
Shoving out of my chair as hard as I can, the table rattles, my wine tipping over and staining the white tablecloth. I don't care. I don't care that these beautiful, expensive things have been ruined. I don't care that the money my father makes could come to a crashing halt if he were to come clean about what he did.
I wanted a father. Not some business mogul who will go into bed with the mob and risk his daughter's life.
I tear from the room as fast as I can and head straight to my bedroom. Betrayal stings in my throat as the lack of food churnsin my belly. And as I round the corner in the hallway, the tears finally break free.
There is nothing he won't do for his company. And there is nothing he will do for me.
Flinging myself onto my bed, I allow myself to sob until my chest aches. I didn't bother closing the door behind me, and I hear Marcus's footsteps as he approaches, closing the door behind him.
As the bolt clicks into place, Marcus locks it, and I bury my face deeper into the covers.
They smell like us.
My brain scrambles, unsure whether to feel embarrassed, continue to feel utterly betrayed, or focus on how good Marcus was able to make me feel, even for a short period of time.
Something tells me that the betrayal is nowhere near dying down. I'm going to be carrying the sting of that for the rest of my life.
But I also know that this feeling I have toward Marcus isn't dying down either.
Everything inside me calls to him, wanting to push his buttons so that he'll snap and bend me over his knee.
Being a virgin doesn't mean I've never seen porn. And I have a very particular type that I enjoy.
My mind has been filled with images of what that man might do to me, like in those videos, since the moment I saw him. Marcus is large and imposing and bossy and a grump and everything this dark, bratty side of myself has been hungry for.
"I'm sorry about that, Lila. Your father had no right to say what he did. It's clear he's putting the company's assets and success ahead of your safety."
