Cecil cleared his throat. “I have no idea what to say, Trinity. Whatever pieces of this you feel you can tell me, I’d like to hear them. But first…” A low sound that made it clear he was holding back tears. “Is it true that you think I didn’t want you?”
The fear I felt from Trinity broke my heart. I had no plans to interject unless she asked me to, but I was here. I pushed as much love and comfort as I could to her without moving. Her scent was brittle and sour, but not nearly as awful as when she’d been triggered, thankfully.
“Sometimes,” she said quietly. “Not all the time. You…” Huffing out a breath, she pulled her legs up onto the chair and wrapped her arms around them. “You never came back when you said you would. Not once. You always put those days on my calendar, and they would come and go. And you never asked me to go with you.”
“I didn’t know you wanted to.”
I was so proud of Trinity for the way she kept herself calm. “Yes, you did. I asked you all the time when I was younger. Then one time you said that I was too little, and to not ask you anymore, because you would tell me when I was old enough to go with you. And you never told me I was, so I never asked again.”
Cecil removed his glasses and dried his eyes with his shirt. “Before we go any further, I need you to know. There was never a time when Ididn’t want you. I clearly haven’t been the father I thought I was, or the one you needed, but I wouldn’t trade having you for anything. I love you.”
Trinity ducked her head into her knees with a quiet sob. He stood and went to her, kneeling in front of her chair. “I am so sorry. There’s nothing I can say to make up for any of this. There’s not anything I can do to take it back.” He paused. “And I’m so sorry you didn’t think you could come to me with any of it, or that I’d be angry with you.”
Trinity’s crying interrupted him. He reached out and hesitated, changing his mind. “I only hope that at some point you’ll be able to forgive me for not being a better father. For not doing right by you.”
He set a hand on her knee, and she grabbed it. For a second I thought she would throw off his touch, but she grabbed it and held on like a lifeline. She finally raised her head. “I hope I can, too.”
When Cecil opened his arms, she unfolded into them. I had to rub my chest to soothe the ache. It was far from reconciliation, but it was the beginning. The wound was far too deep and had been there too long to heal easily.
“If you can tell me, I want to hear it,” Cecil said when he let her go. “I want to know exactly the damage they caused. Not only so I can attempt to fix it, but understand how much they have to answer for.”
Rin wiped away some of her tears. “I’m not sure I can tell you all of it tonight. It’s a lot. I think I need a break. Maybe we can do it another time this week, or I can write it all down, or something.”
“Whatever you need,” he said. “Truly.”
She laughed once without humor. “I don’t know what I need, but I’ll let you know.”
“Can I have one more hug?” He asked.
“Yeah.”
I stood. “I’ll go check on the food and be right back.”
They barely noticed me slipping away. I still heard them behind me.
“I really do love you, Trinity. I love you so much.”
“I know. I love you too.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
_____________
TRINITY
Aiden took off the blindfold, and I looked at him in shock. “What?”
The guys had told me we were going out. True to form, they’d given me a dress, heels, and jewelry. Noticeably leaving out hand chains. I felt self-conscious without them, even if everything else was gorgeous.
A pale violet dress that billowed out from my hips, criss-cross ruching over the bodice and crystalline shoulder straps made me feel more beautiful than I ever had in my life. And the shoes? Which sparkled more than a disco ball?
All of them had already made it clear I was getting fucked in nothing but those later.
“Why are we here?”
We stood at the entrance to The Grotto. Where we’d gone on our date. And I hated the menu.
Aiden shrugged. “I’m making the experience better.”
