"You…you know?" I ask, stunned.
"He confessed everything to me after he brought you back home safe and sound. He told me he still wants to marry you. Still wants to take over the family business when I'm gone." Deep frown lines settle into his leathery face. "I agreed," he says as if that should make everything better.
I twist my arms out of his grasp and move away from him. "He took everything from me. I willnevermarry him!" I hiss.
My father's hands ball into fists at his sides. "No daughter of mine is going to talk to me like that," he says through clenched teeth as he begins to unbuckle his belt. "I'm going to teach yourespect…even if I have to beat it into you!"
When the first blow comes, I almost pass out from the pain. But I eventually become numb to the strikes after that.
I had felt like I'd died with Lucien that day…and now I wish I truly had.
CHAPTER 26
ADELINE
MY HANDS GLIDE across the piano keys as I play a song that I had played once for Lucien. It seems so long ago now, but it's been only a matter of weeks.
I close my eyes and imagine Lucien's dark eyes on me. He was always watching me as if I was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He treated me like a treasure, his possession, but I know now that he would never, ever hurt me.
He loved me more than words could describe. Maybe someday he would have been ready to tell me those three little words I so desperately wanted to hear, but now I'll never get the chance to find out.
He's gone.
Lucien is fucking gone…forever.
I drop my chin as a sob rips out of my chest. My fingers falter on the keys, producing a few sour notes.
If my piano teacher were here, he would berate me for not playing perfectly.
But Lucien never cared if I messed up. Even though he demanded perfection of every single thing in his life, he didn't expect it of me. He accepted me and all my flaws, and I don't think I'll ever have that kind of acceptance again.
I hear a key sliding into the lock on the door to my room, and my attention snaps to the other side of the room. My father has been keeping me under lock and keyliterallysince I've returned.
Snapping shut the fallboard, I stand and flee to a chair in the opposite corner.
The door opens a few seconds later with the doctor from the other day following closely behind my father, who looks pissed off at the world right now.
That's never a good thing. Especially not for me.
"You wanted to see her," my father spits out. "Now tell me why we couldn't do this in my office downstairs."
There are a few sheets of papers in the doctor's hands, and he's holding them close to his chest, as if guarding the contents. "There is a very delicate matter I need to discuss with Miss Valenti regarding her blood tests," the doctor tells him. And then he glances at me before saying, "Perhaps Adeline and I can discuss this in private."
I furrow my brows at his request. Delicate matter? Did the tests come back positive for something bad? Is there something wrong with me?
A million questions swirl through my brain.
My father clenches his hands into fists at his sides. "Anything you want to say to my daughter you can say in front of me."
"Please, Mr. Valenti, this might be best to —."
My father's hand suddenly shoots out and grabs the smaller man by the collar of his shirt. "Don't tell me what is best formydaughter! Now, spit it out what you came here to say, or so help me god I'll kill you and find someone else to read the goddamn results!"
I cower in the chair, curling my knees up to my chest. My father always had a terrible temper, but I was never really bothered by it before. I think I was conditioned to just accept what is. But now I'm suddenly seeing everything through a new set of eyes.
Nothing about this life is normal, and my father is definitely not a good man. He does very, very bad things. But I was so naïve and disillusioned before that I couldn't perceive any of this.
Maybe because I didn't want to.
