Page 127 of Severed By Vengeance

My father hung his head as he swiped at his eyes with both hands. “I’m so sorry. I should have told you. Should have told you about Frankie.”

I turned my back and covered my ears like a child. “No, please stop.”

“Eva.” His voice was strained. He swallowed hard and continued to speak, despite my protests. “One night, shortly before you were born, I accidentally witnessed something I shouldn’t have. I begged for my life, offered them money—they were going to kill me until I offered something of use. Myself. My expertise.”

I leaned on the wall to steady myself, but I didn’t turn to face him.

“They forced me. I had no choice. I tried to leave. Years later, I was determined to…” I’d never heard or seen my father cry, not even when Frankie died. But I was too numb and broken to care. “To teach me a lesson, to keep me compliant, they murdered him. Told me you were next.”

“Mom?”

“I’ve never lied about your mother. She died giving you life, and that’s the God’s honest truth.”

He touched my shoulder. “Please go,” I whispered.

“You have to understand. I didn’t have a choice. The world is not what you think it is, Eva. Derek is a testament to that.”

I bit down on my lip and swallowed the sob tearing my throat. “Go.”

My father didn’t say another word and slipped out the door.

While a part of me hurt to see him upset, I didn’t care. And I wouldn’t care for a long time.

Six, five, four…

Leaning against the door, I let myself slide to the floor as sobs racked my body. It hurt. Everything hurt. It hurt to breathe knowing Derek used me. But it hurt even more, knowing that despite his betrayal, I still loved him. I clawed at my chest, seeking relief from the pain and weight of his lies. I didn’t know what to do with all of those emotions. It was as if the more I cried, the bigger my grief and longing for him swelled.

“So stupid. So fucking stupid.”

A soft knock at the door made me pause. I shot to my feet and tore it open.

“I thought I told you to…” The words died on my tongue when instead of my father, it was Derek staring back at me. I’d never seen him so… disheveled. The hair on his head and face was a mess, and he was wearing sweatpants and a wrinkled t-shirt. He looked as if he’d just rolled out of bed.

God, I hated that I wanted to jump in his arms and say to hell with everything… but I couldn’t be that pathetic. I had a shred of dignity left beneath the shards of my shattered heart, and I refused to let him take any more of me than he already had.

“I thought I told you I never wanted to see you again. That I’d—”

Derek rushed me, sweeping my feet off the floor as his mouth crushed mine. He kissed me with desperation, his tongue seeking entrance, and for a second, I wanted to give in. Every cell in my body was humming as if it recognized precisely who it belonged to…

Fuck.

No.

I pushed him away and punched at his chest.

“No! Stop. Get your fucking hands off me, and get out of my house.”

“Eva, please… I can’t. I need you. Please.”

I backed up, putting a sizable distance between us. “It’s over, Derek. Why are you here? You don’t have to keep this charade going.”

He moved forward, but I raised my hand, causing him to halt.

“Charade? You think I’d be here if you meant nothing to me?” He clutched the sides of his hair before raking back the unruly strands. “Fuck, Eva, you gotta know that’s bullshit.”

“I don’t know anything, because everything was a lie. Everyone. You, my dad, Helena—Everyone!”His eyes narrowed. “Yeah, you think I’m too stupid to put those pieces together. She’s like you, isn’t she? And Kai? Ronan.”

“I told you it’s complicated.”