Page 108 of His Forced Irish Mafia Bride

Not this time. I turned and looked at him. He looked older than I remembered.

“I know Father Michael made you take the blame for the failed deal,” I said. My voice stayed steady.

He didn’t pretend not to understand what I said. He looked down briefly, then gave a small nod. My chest tightened, but I kept my gaze on him.

“No more silence,” I said. “It’s over.”

He exhaled slowly, and I saw it clearly. He wasn’t going to hide from it anymore. He looked at me for a long time before he spoke. Like he was deciding where to begin.

I didn’t rush him.

“I didn’t plan for it to go this far,” he said. “Father Michael came to me with a plan.”

The name landed heavily, but I didn’t react.

“I know,” I said.

He gave a small nod, like that confirmed something for him. “He said the weapons deal was going to collapse. Hugo Fernández was unstable. People would die either way.”

I watched him without speaking. “Go on,” I said.

He looked down at his hands. “I was told there was one way to control the fallout,” he said. “To limit how far it spread.”

I let out a quiet breath. “And you believed him.”

He shook his head. “I didn’t believe him,” he said. “But I believed I had no other choice.”

That tightened something in my chest.

He continued. “The deal failed. Sean’s family was hit first. After that, everything turned into chaos.” His voice lowered. “And then it became about survival.”

I stayed still.

He swallowed before speaking again. “Father Michael told me that if I took responsibility, it would protect you,” he said. “He said he wasn’t threatening you, just promising to keep you safe.”

My fingers curled slightly. “You believed that?”

He met my eyes. “I wanted to,” he said. That was worse than a simple yes. It meant it came from fear, not logic. He leaned forward slightly. “The money wasn’t just payment,” he said. “It was what kept everything stable. Your life. The house. Everything that would have collapsed otherwise.”

A cold feeling settled in me. “So you accepted it,” I said.

“Yes.”

“And Sean’s family kept being hurt by the real traitors.”

He didn’t deny it. That was enough. I stood up slowly. The pew creaked as I moved.

“You didn’t save anything,” I said. “You only decided who would pay for someone else’s betrayal.”

His face tightened. “I was protecting you,” he said.

I looked at him for a long moment. Then I shook my head. “No,” I said. “You should’ve told me the truth a long time ago.”

He went quiet. For the first time, I didn’t just see my father. I saw a man who’d made a decision and lived inside it until it became all he was left with.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

I stood still, staring at the altar without really seeing it. All I could hear were the words from before.