I missed her. I missed her so fucking much that it was hard to breathe at times. I’d only had the briefest taste of heaven before it was snatched away.
No. Before you wised up.
Lucy would look at me at times, worriedly examining the dark circles under my eyes and the weight loss from my lack of appetite. Her face would cloud with guilt, and I knew she thought my tired appearance was due to her secret and highly inappropriate relationship with Roman. I couldn’t absolve her of my worried nature completely, but it certainly wasn’t the main cause. Worrying Lucy only piled on more guilt.
It was too late to fix things with Dina now, even if I could. She was mad at me, and rightfully so. She’d called me and left countless unread text messages and a few missed calls before she finally realized I was serious. I hadn’t heard from her in over two weeks.
God, there were so many times I almost got into my car and drove back to Koby Plains, determined to beg on my knees for forgiveness.
But I couldn’t do that again to her. I had to let her go. She’d find someone else, someone more appropriate. It didn’t matter that the thought of her with another man made me want to punch a wall—which wasn’t ideal since I’d already bruised my knuckles punching a wall at our house when I discovered my daughter with Roman.
I shook my somber thoughts aside and scrubbed a hand down my face, trying to wipe away the shame and agony. I got up and decided to stretch my legs to fill my water bottle up before my next class. No point wallowing the whole day away.
As I walked down the hall, my tortured thoughts turned to anger when I spotted Roman fucking Drake walking towards me. The fucker looked perfectly calm and relaxed…even though his hair looked a little tousled, not like his usual perfectly groomed style. My eyes narrowed like slits as I stared at his rumpled shirt.
Roman nodded at me politely, not even a care in the world that he’d caused such grief and distance between my daughter and me.
“Michael,” he acknowledged as he passed me by.
I gritted my teeth. “Roman.”
I kept on walking even though I cursed him to hell and back.
He was a very real and somber reminder that I couldn’t have what I really wanted.
Chapter 11
Dina
“Ican’t wait to see you!” I squealed.
Lucy grinned, her eyes sparkling brightly. There was a half sly, half secretive curve to her smile, and now that I thought about it, she’d been looking like that for months now—as if she held the mysteries of the world. There were times I thought she was on the verge of bursting out with something, but she always restrained herself in the end.
“Me too. It’s been so long. I–I have so much to tell you.” Her mouth opened before it snapped shut again. She bit her lip and glanced away.
My brow furrowed as her eyes moved to look at her half-closed door. Memories flooded me as my stomach clenched, recalling that infamous video call that felt so long ago now. I could still see her dad glaring down at me as I defiantly informedhim, by way of Lucy, that I was going on a date.
A lot had happened since then—a lot of pleasure, and a shit ton of heartbreak. I tried to keep myself busy so I wouldn’t have to think about him anymore, and how he crushed my heart without a single thought.
Luckily, there was a lot to keep my mind occupied. College prep, graduation, school dances—okay, I skipped those—and just generally figuring out my life going into adulthood. I was attending a college in the city with Lucy but still really had no clue what I wanted to do with my life. My mom told me there was no rush, that I would always have a place at home while I figured things out.
Now that we had finally graduated and life was slowing down for a while, I was looking forward to Lucy coming back to Koby Plains. This weekend, Michael was throwing a graduation party for her and her friends, including the parents. That meant Michael would be there. My stomach rolled again, and I pushed my anxiety aside.
“Are you bringing any new friends to the party?” I asked, hoping for a distraction.
“Um…” Her eyes turned away from the screen again. “Well, there’s a teacher coming.”
My breath caught at her words, noting the look of unease on her face. “Oh?” I cleared my throat. “Did–did your dad meet someone?”
She shook her head, and the knot in my stomach loosened a bit. Not that I cared whether he was dating, of course.
“No, nothing like that. Unfortunately, Dad remains perpetually single.”
I chastised myself for caring so much. We would never be together anyway. He’d made that perfectly clear.
“His name is Roman Drake. He’s coming to the party.”
“Um…okay. Was he one of your teachers?”
