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“Titan.”
I froze. Hearing Ron call after me was shocking to my core. I turned back to him.
“You don’t get to address me.”
He left the elevator and stepped into the hallway followed by his sons.
“Titan, listen, we need to talk.”
“You don’t get to address me, fool!” My eyes went wild, and fury burned in my chest.
“I’m thirty-five years old! You’ve known about me since birth, and I know you have, so don’t lie!” I dropped Santari’s hand and balled my fists, but she cupped my right fist with her hands in an attempt to keep me tethered to sanity.
“If you never saw me here, you wouldn’t have wanted to talk! All these years that have gone by you haven’t wanted to talk. So what the fuck could you possibly have to say now?”
“I know, and I tried to reason with your mother, but?—”
“I don’t give a fuck about your excuses!” I shook my head. “Got damn it!”
I spun on my heels as rage boiled through me.
“But you need to know I wanted to be there for you.”
“When? Was it when Jidenna dropped me off at the nearest shelter’s doorstep because she’d decided she couldn’t raise a child alone? Or maybe it was when I was shoved from foster care to foster care with people who only took me for a check and abused me instead? Or perhaps it was when Nigerian authorities locked me away in a place you would hang yourself in because I was caught stealing food?” I moved closer to him, my anger brimming in my veins. “You’re a liar. You never gave a damn about me, and as far as I’m concerned, you can go to hell.” My nostrils flared. “Now… get the fuck out of my hotel!”
His eyes widened, and Xander, Christian, and Elijah glanced at each other. Christian spoke to me.
“You’re our brother?”
“Don’t act like you didn’t know.”
“They didn’t,” Ron said. “Nobody knew but me.”
I shook my head. “Well… now your dirty little secret is out, Dad.” I turned back to Santari but spoke to them. “Fuck out of my hotel.”
“This is your hotel?”
I mocked him. “This is your hotel?” Glaring, I scoffed and tsked.
“Unlike you, I don’t hide myself. The name is scribed on every branded item in this motherfucker!” I pointed to a sign right beside the hotel door.
Your luxurious stay is complemented by Titan Valentine, owner and CEO of Primal Luxury Resort.
They were bewildered, their eyes wide as the truth settled in their souls. I walked off, ushering Santari before I exploded.
“We should talk!” Xander shouted at my back.
I slowed. “You’ve got fifteen seconds to get on the elevator and return to the first floor, or you’ll be stuck in the hallway.”
With that, I opened the door to the presidential suite and left them to their own devices.
Titan stoodwith his back to me, looking out the windows to the beach beyond the hotel. At the bar, I fixed him a glass of Cognac on the rocks, then strolled to him and lifted it as an offering.
Glancing at me, then at the glass, Titan sighed, took the liquor, and pulled me into an embrace.
“Are you okay?”
I slipped my hands under his shirt, caressing his back and muscular torso.