Page 148 of Marrying the Billionaire Single Dad

"So, I’m an artist now, huh?"

"You were always one to me," I say. "You were always more creative than me," I correct myself.

She turns around, takes in my features, "You don’t mean that." She frowns. "Your songs, your words…"

"Are meaningless without you." I hold her gaze. "I began a band out of some twisted sense of rebelling against the world, and what it had done to me."

"The incident?" she ventures.

"I was older than the rest of the Seven, when we were kidnapped. Not as susceptible to the mind games, and physically, in better shape."

"That’s why they made you fight?"

"For their pleasure." I stare out of the window. "Initially, they pitted me against Arpad. We had to fight until one or both of us lost consciousness. It became a game for the two of us, how to keep hitting each other, without hurting the other too much, but making it believable enough for our kidnappers to buy it. When they caught on, I took the blame for it."

"You?" She swallows.

"Arpad was much smaller than me at that time. No way, would he have survived whatever twisted plan they had in mind."

"What…what did they do next?" she whispers.

"They blindfolded me, took me to an underground fighting ring, where they pitted me against men stronger than me. I fought them, of course. I wouldn’t back down. I wasn’t going to die there, that much I knew."

"Then you were found?"

I nod. "The cops got a lead, tracked us down, sprung us, we went home, end of story."

"Or the beginning?"

I draw in a breath, glance down at her. "The rest of the Seven went through a lot more mind games than me. No wonder it warped them completely."

"But the experience changed you too..."

"Of course." I wipe my hand across my face, "I came out full of anger and with a taste for sparring, which you already know."

"But it hurt you in ways you didn’t realize..." She presses her palm to my cheek and I turn into her touch.

"Not until much later. Apparently, the shock of what had happened to me manifested with another trigger."

"Riley," she replies.

"My daughter," I nod. "When I confirmed that Stella was pregnant with my child, it was a complete shock." I rub the back of my neck. "I wasn't ready for a family, or for a relationship with her, but I knew I had to do what was right. I wanted my daughter to have a stable home, but I knew I couldn’t be around to provide it. So, I found an apartment for the two of them and I paid for whatever they might need so that Stella could take care of Riley."

"So, did you see Riley on weekends?" She tilts her head, "Or on certain days of the week, maybe?"

I shuffle my feet. "We didn't have a formal arrangement, as such. My career was just taking off. I spent more time away than at home. Whenever I was in town, I made it a point to see both of them, but with the schedule of tours I had, it became more and more infrequent." I rub the back of my neck.Bloody hell, I'd been such an ass.I could have gotten to know my daughter better; instead, I'd run from my responsibilities.

"Stella became increasingly frustrated. It wasn’t enough for her that I provided all the material requirements for her and Riley."

"She wanted more?"

"Understandably," I reply. "I thought I had been clear from the beginning. I wasn’t interested in a serious relationship with her, but I can see where she might have started to believe I might come around to the idea. She was the mother of my child, so we functioned as co-parents, but only insofar as I paid for everything and she took care of Riley."

She stares at me and I wince, "I know, I know." I rub the back of my neck, "I thought if I threw enough money at the problem it would suffice, that I could buy my way into my daughter's life." I raise my hands, "It was a mistake."One I have regretted every day since.

"We began fighting more. I barely saw Riley, even when I was in town, preferring to conform to my rock star image by carousing about town."

"I saw the headlines," she remarks.