Page 140 of The Daddy’s Girl

“Ronan, please calm down,” Matis says with his hands up.

One minute, my dad is walking toward him, and the next, Matis is slammed up against the wall with my dad’s hand around his throat.

“Daddy, stop it!” I shriek.

“My little girl?” he sneers in his friend’s face. “My baby girl!”

“She’s not a little girl, Ronan. Let us talk.” Matis still has his hands up in surrender while I grip my dad’s arm, trying to pull away as a sob escapes my lips.

“No!” my dad bellows. “You crossed a line. You—” He releases Matis’s throat, glaring at him with a hate-filled expression. The anger on his face makes my chest ache.

“Daddy, listen, please,” I cry. “I love him.”

For the first time since he walked through the door, my dad looks into my eyes. “Did he hurt you? Did he…?”

“No!” I scream. “We love each other. We’re happy. Can you please just listen to me?”

“Love?” he shouts in shock.

“Ronan, can we just talk about this?” Matis asks calmly. “Hear me out. I am your best friend.”

“No,” my dad mutters with rage. “You are not my friend. Friends don’t do this. You were supposed to protect her! You are her godfather!”

“I am protecting her, Ronan. I would lay down my life for her. I would do anything for her,” Matis replies.

My dad spins away from Matis, burying his hands in his hair. “This can’t be happening. How long…? No, I don’t want to know.”

“It was recent. I promise.” Tears stream down my face. Seeing my dad’s anger, his disappointment, his feeling of betrayal…it all hurts so much worse than I thought it would.

“Go home, Amelia. Please,” he begs with anguish on his face.

And just when I open my mouth to object because I couldn’t possibly think about leaving him now, Matis appears at my side. His fingers intertwine with mine.

“She is home, Ronan.”

The look on my dad’s face shatters my heart. I can’t do this to him.

“I’m so sorry, Daddy. But I meant what I said. I love him.”

“You lied to me. You both lied to me,” he says. Shakily, he sits in a chair.

“Let us talk to you,” Matis pleads. “Please, hear us out.”

My dad puts up a hand. “I can’t. I need some time to process this.”

Leaving Matis’s side, I rush over to my dad. Kneeling on the floor in front of him, I take his hand in mine. Tears continue to stream down my cheeks.

My dad has been my constant my entire life. He ensured my childhood was happy and comfortable and safe, and I always knew no matter what, I could come to him, and he would love me unconditionally. He did what any father is supposed to do.

And now I’m breaking his heart.

“I’m so sorry, Daddy,” I sob, clutching his hands.

When he stares into my eyes, I can feel his pity, but it does nothing to repair my broken heart.

Then he looks up at Matis. With a wince, as if he’s seeing the man he’s known for thirty years in a new light, he turns away.

“I need to get home,” he says. “I just need…your mother.”