Chapter 22
AMAYA
“Don’t run away, okay?”
Something inside of me melts instantly when he utters those words, but I lift my chin and push it out of the way I can’t afford to get distracted, especially by this man.
“I’m not making any promises.”
His eyes darken imperceptibly and he takes a step forward, effectively taking all my personal space.
“There’s no place you would run to that I wouldn’t find you, Amaya.”
1 blink in surprise. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?“–
Caesar turns around and walks into the room without answering my question, leaving me in suspense yet again.
I watch through the glass, amazed at his transformation when he’s with his daughter. Gone is the angry authoritative CEO In his place is a warm, kind man whose eyes shine with love for his only child.
I don’t know why, but tears prick my eyes as I watch Michaela hang on to her daddy in a tight hug with all her might. It’s obvious that she loves him very much.
However, before I can even collect myself, Caesar turns
ns around and motions at the door.
My heart tightens with panic and I push away from the door like it’s on fire.
“Shit! Did he see me watching like a creep?” I whisper to myself
I lean against the wall, trying to control my distorted breathing. To my absolute horror, the door suddenly opens and Caesar appears, rooting me to the spot with those dark, soulless eyes.
“Come in, Amaya. Michaela would love to speak with you.
I blink in confusion.
“She wants to speak with me? Is something wrong?”
A tiny, dangerous smirk curves his lips and something inside of me tells me that I’m doomed.
“Just come in.”
Without giving me the chance to even make a decision, Caesar wraps his fingers around my wrist in a powerful grip and pulls me into the room.
The moment she sees me, Michaela’s little face brightens with a big smile and she claps her hands with all the energy she
can muster.
“Daddy, you really brought her! I can’t believe it!”
I look up at Caesar who’s eyes are still pointedly fixed on my face. His expression is set in a dark mask as usual. I can’t read
the man.
“You lied to me? Why?”
He shrugs, suddenly looking distant.
Chapter 22
“Sometimes you have to play dirty to get what you want.”
My veins burn with annoyance.
“Why didn’t you just tell me that Michaela wanted to see me? Why did you trick me?”
He lifts one perfectly arched brow;
“Would you agree to come with me if I’d told you that my daughter asked to see you?”
Thesitate and something shifts in his eyes. His expression becomes shuttered and he backs away from me.
Goddess, why does it hurt?
“Have you perhaps forgotten that you forced me down here?” I whisper–yell so Michaela doesn’t hear us. “I didn’t have a choice either way
“Daddy? Is something wrong?” Michaela’s soft voice breaks into our argument. “Didn’t Miss Amaya want to visit me?” The sad note in her voice breaks my heart to pieces. When I turn and see her even sadder eyes, my heart completely
shatters.
Caesar walks away from me and sits on the bed beside his daughter, taking her hands in his;
“Baby, Miss Amaya has something very important to do at home right now. I’m sorry but she won’t be able to talk to you…” hurry forward and cut him off before he gets the chance to break the little girl’s heart.
“You know what, Michaela, maybe my chores at home aren’t that important. I’m very happy to see you today. How are you? Caesar’s eyes drill holes into my face but I pointedly refuse to look back him.
“I feel much better!” Michaela squeals. “Can you give me a hug?”
I force my lips into a smile and lean forward without hesitation. I’m not worried about hugging her. I’m worried about hurting her by mistake. I can be so stupidly clumsy sometimes.
However, when Michaela wraps her little arms around my neck and pulls me close, all my worries disappear.
Her hair smells like fresh strawberries. Even at the age of six, she has this clean, healing baby scent.
“I’m so happy you came.” She whispers as we pull apart.
Suddenly, she sniffles and I look down, totally horrified to see her huge eyes filled with tears.
“Did I hurt you?” I ask, totally panicking as I run my eyes over her frail body.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. Please don’t cry. Where does it hurt?”
“Right here.” She places a hand over her heart and I pause.
“What?”
She’s crying even harder. Goddess! What do I do?
“My daddy. my daddy says you don’t want to marry him anymore. And I’ll never get my mommy with red hair.”
Wait-
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Chapter 22
I turn to Caesar, my surprise and confusion mixing with annoyance when I see the smug smile on his lips.
1 would give anything to shove my fingers into his eyes right about now. He planned everything.
His plan is to use his slaughter as emotional blackmail to persuade me to marry him.
1 take a deep breath and try to get ahold of my temper. I’ll show Caesar Manchester that he’s messing with the wrong
Woman
1 scoot in front of Michaela and take her face into my hands.
“Stop crying, princess. Okay? Don’t cry anymore.”
I wipe her tears and pull her against my chest, patting her hair softly while she cuddles against me.
Caesar looks at me, his brows furrowed in confusion, his eyes asking what the hell I’m doing.
“You know what sweetheart, I’m not making any promises but 1 give marriage to your daddy a serious thought. Okay?”
She leans away and lookup at me imploringly. “But I want you to marry my daddy now.”
My lips curve in a smile. “And I perfectly understand that. But I’m promising to think about it, okay? I’ll come back here personally to give you an answer soon.”
After a moment of hesitation, she nods and smiles brightly at me once again.
Okay. I can take that.”
My eyes stray to Caesar, my heart blooming with satisfaction when I see the anger in his eyes.
I’m
pretty sure he expected me to say yes on the spot, but that backfired pretty quickly. Score one for team Amaya!
To further rub salt in his injuries, and because I genuinely want to spend more time with Michaela, we launch into a full blown conversation of her likes and dislikes, and I realize that we’ve got a lot in common.
Our favorite colour is orange. Odd, I know. We both hate Barbie. We love Lightning Mcqueen and chocolate.
I finally decide that it’s time to go when her eyelids start drooping with sleep. I get to my feet and tuck her into bed, my heart lurching when she says:
“I wish you’d married Amaya right from the start, Daddy. I love her very much.”
When we finally make it to the car, my blood is boiling as 1 wait for Caesar to say his goodbyes to his daughter.
When he walks out of the hospital, it’s a struggle to keep my treacherous eyes from checking him out.
Long Legs encased in perfectly ironed slacks, broad shoulders covered in expensive Armani, a perfect jaw that makes me wonder if he’s related to Zeus, and eyes that can make any woman melt to goo- the man is perfection on legs. It’s so unfair.
“You know, I always thought you were a glaring red flag, but I never thought you’d stoop to the point of using your daughter
what you want.” a weapon to get
His jaw is tight and his eyes are as cold as ice.
“Will you marry me. Amaya.” He asks suddenly, throwing me off balance.
“After that stunt you pulled in there? Of course not.
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Chapter 22
He shrugs and starts walking away to his side of the car.
“Then there’s really no point for this conversation.”
“What?” 1 sputter. “We need to talk about this.”
He stops in his tracks and turns to me, radiating that dark, dangerous energy.
“The only reason I want us to get married is because it’s Michael’s dying wish. Nothing more.
It’s not because I’m in love with you or obsessed with you. You’re a beautiful woman, Amaya, but honestly, you’re just not my type.”
I swallow the painful lump in my throat, wondering why the heck his words hurt so much.
“Of course. Your type is Elle, isn’t it?!” I snap at him.
He opens his mouth to say something but snaps it back shut a moment later.
“You know what? You’re right. My type is Elle.” He walks towards me and doesn’t stop until he’s so close, I can marvel at his long, thick lashes.
“My type is Elle, but I want to marry you, Athena. Mark my words, I would do anything for my daughter, even if it means marrying someone like you who isn’t even my type.
You might say no now, but you’ll accept my proposal later and we’ll get married by the end of the week. I assure you.
Okay. The audacity.
“You seem awfully confident, Mr. Manchester.”
He shrugs. “I am. This is a game that I’m willing to play to the end, Amaya. And I never lose. Mark my words…”
I thought he was bluffing. But in the next few days, I’ll come to realize that Caesar Manchester doesn’t play around when it comes to his threats.
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