Page 67 of Vow of Darkness
“Good. I’m glad.”
“To your husband’s credit, I have been given food every day now. It shows up on my doorstep almost like magic.”
I look at Gabriel, feeling thankful that he’s been doing this for my dad, despite everything. “Thank you,” I murmur before turning back to my father. “I get to spend the day with you. Let’s talk. Catch up.”
His eyes flick to Gabriel. “It’s sort of hard when your husband is glaring at me. The man who kidnapped me. Who forced you into a marriage.”
Gabriel sighs. “I see that there’s a lot of baggage here. I get it. I treated you terribly, Andrew. But need I remind you that you stole from me?”
“To feed me and my daughter. The daughter you seem to care about now.”
“Which is why I am allowing her to see you. It’s why I won’t ever kill you, despite what you did. I will let the past go if you will.”
Dad shoots to his feet. “You forced my daughter into a marriage. You kept her from me. How am I supposed to be all right with that?”
“Dad,” I say, reaching my hand out to him. “I’m good. I promise. Gabriel and I are making it work. My life is not miserable anymore. I’m… happy.” The moment I say it, I know it’s the truth. Now that Gabriel has been honest with me and let me in, I feel more complete. Less alone. I have hope for the future.
“You are?” Dad asks with a gasp. “How?”
“Gabriel… can be cold but he hasn’t been cruel either. I am happy, Dad. I know this isn’t ideal. I know in a different world we wouldn’t have starved every day and you wouldn’t have needed to steal from Gabriel to save me. But this is the life we live in and I have accepted it. I’m happy. Truly. So let’s focus on the positives. You have food. I am taken care of. I am not being hurt every day. I promise you that. I just want to spend the day with you.”
“I don’t want to spend the day with him,” he spits out, glaring at Gabriel.
I turn to my husband. “Would you mind waiting outside? Can you give me and my dad some time alone? Please? I’ll be safe here.”
After a beat, Gabriel nods and leaves the tiny cottage. The moment he’s gone, I can tell my father feels more at ease.
“Let’s just talk,” I say to him, patting the spot beside me. “Just you and me.”
He pulls me into a hug the second he sits down. “I am happy that you’re not hurt. I just hate that he stole you from me.”
“I know. But you have to learn to let me go, Dad. We’ll get to see each other from now on. You have food. I have safety. That should matter. And I care for him.”
“How can you care for him?” he asks, pulling back. “How?”
“Gabriel opened up to me about who he really is. I don’t hate him, Dad. I feel a little ashamed about it but I don’t hate him and I can’t deny that I don’t hate him. I care for him. And it’s better this way. Don’t you want me to be happy? Don’t you want me to be well cared for?”
“Of course I do. I just didn’t want it to be at the hands of a mafia man like him.”
“I know. It’s not ideal but I have accepted my fate. I accepted it the moment I made the deal with Gabriel. I need you to accept it too. For all of us to move on. For us to be happy.”
Dad’s eyes search mine – probably looking for the truth – and once he finds it, he nods. “I want you to be happy. Of course I do. If you say you’re happy, then I’ll believe it.”
“Thank you. Don’t ever try to hurt Gabriel. I want you to be safe.”
“I promise. I’ll try to… let go of my anger. I’ll try not to hate the man who stole you from me.”
“I know. But I don’t hate him. That’s a start, isn’t it?”
He nods. “It is.”
“So let’s just spend some time together. Why don’t you tell me what you’ve been doing? Other than surviving.”
“Well.. now that I haven’t had to worry about food, I found a job.”
“That’s great.”
“It’s a start.”
