Page 169 of Between Passion and Revenge: Part Two

My eyes slide closed, and I blow out a breath in the stale room. What the hell am I supposed to say?

Just speak from your heart.

My eyes snap open at the thought…and the voice that delivers it.

Like a signal from the afterlife, my mother’s perfume floats into the room, causing me to stand up straighter and slow my pulse.

It’s going to be okay.

It’s going to be okay.

In three steps, I’m on the other side of the desk, and Tempest’s bare toes peek from her hiding place in the foot space where Dad’s rolling chair used to reside.

She pulls them closer to her scrunched body, and I lower to the floor, sitting with my arms resting on my knees, silent.

And we stay there, just breathing and feeling, for more than ten minutes before I say something.

“Tempest, I’m sorry.”

She doesn’t make a noise, and I can only see the silhouette of her tiny body in the dark space, which tightens at my words.

“And I’m not just sorry for getting frustrated back there. I’m sorry for everything.” I drop my head back against a desk drawer, watching the dust bunnies float in the air.

“You’resosmart, Tems, and I know you see things us grownups think you can’t understand, but I know you can.” I look down at her shadow. “You’re such a strong girl, but I want you to know, it’s okay to feel things, too.”

I let those words land and give her space to process them.

“I’m so sorry I haven’t been here until now, Tems. I won’t make excuses because you’ve heard them all, and like I said, you’re a smart kid. A lot smarter than I am, actually. You get that from your mom, you know.”

The silence feels different somehow, like I can tell she’s listening.

“It may take a million times for you to hear this and believe it, but I love you, Tempest. You’re mydaughter, and you and your brother are the best gifts I could have ever asked for.”

“You don’t even know me. You’re a stranger,” she whispers, her voice watery and…hurt. I rub at my chest.

“You’re right. I am a stranger to you—a new person in your life—and I loved you from the second I knew about you. That feeling deepened when I saw you in person. And guess what?”

Tempest pauses for a second before saying, “What?”

“There’s nothing you could ever do or say that would make me stop loving you.”

Just then, the sun breaks through the clouds, casting the room in warmth. But the glow doesn’t last, fading after a few heartbeats.

“What if I never like you?” she murmurs, and her toes reappear at the edge of the darkness.

“That’s okay,” I reply.

Tempest sucks in a breath, scooting closer to me.

“What if I say I wish you never came back?”

I pause, and even though my heart aches, I say, “I’d still love you.”

“What if I cry a lot and I’m annoying and you don’t like me?”

“I couldn’t ever not like you. I’ll love you forever, Tems. So you can cry and tell me you hate pepperoni pizza when I know you love it, or you roll your eyes and use your Gen Alpha brainrot speak, and I’ll still love you.”

“And you won’t ever leave?”