Page 38 of Merciless King

“Is there something you want to say about that?”

He’s figured it out and now he’s judging me, disapproving of my choices. And he just fucked me to what… soften me up so I’d fall for his charm and confess everything? What is he playing at?

He has some nerve. Maybe I should have told her that her father was a Mafia criminal who didn’t care about me or her. Perhaps I should tell him that, see if he really wants Elysse to know the sort of man he truly is.

I scramble out of bed and grab an old T-shirt, jerking it over me as I shake in a mixture of anger and self-loathing that I’d fallen for his charm again. “You have no right to judge me.”

16

ELIO

“You have no right to judge me for my choices,” Piper seethes.

I sit up, startled by the sudden shift in her demeanor. "I’m not judging?—”

"Aren’t you? I have every right to protect my daughter from the man who decided he didn’t want her.” She laughs bitterly, tears welling in her eyes. "You have no idea what it's like, Elio. No idea how hard it was to find out I was pregnant, to have my entire life uprooted because the father of my child decided he wanted nothing to do with us."

My heart clenches at the pain in her voice, and I reach for her, but she jerks away from my touch. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize?—"

“Don’t patronize me. How could you possibly think I’d tell her about her father who didn’t want her?”

Her words hit me like a punch in the gut, and I stare at her in stunned silence. I can't imagine any man walking away from Piper, from the chance to be a father to a child as amazing as Elysse.

Piper's tears flow freely now, and she covers her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. "You have no idea what it was like," she chokes out. "To be so young and scared and alone, to have the person I loved most in the world abandon me when I needed him most."

My heart aches for her, and at the same time, I wonder about the man she loved most in the world. I thought that had been me.

I exit the bed and slip on my boxer briefs. “I’m sorry that happened.”

She laughs humorlessly, wiping at her tears. "Yeah, right."

I shake my head, frustration building in my chest. Why the hell is she so mad at me? I didn’t abandon her.

“You just walked away like a coward, leaving me to deal with the fallout on my own."

What the fuck? "Piper, I don't know what the hell you're talking about. "

Piper shoves my chest, her eyes blazing with fury. "You have some nerve, coming back into my life like nothing happened, like you didn't abandon me when I needed you most."

I grip her wrists, holding her in place as I search her face for answers. "I swear to God, I have no idea what you're talking about. I never abandoned you. You're the one who left me, remember? You disappeared without a word, without even saying goodbye."

She wrenches her hands from my grasp, her lips curling into a sneer. “Yeah, you tell yourself that if it helps you sleep at night.”

Anger surges through me at her accusations. "Damn it, Piper, I'm telling you the truth. I have no idea what you’re so pissed off about."

"Well, it's too late now. I want you to leave. I want you to stay the hell away from me and my daughter."

My temper flares. "What the fuck, Piper? One minute you’re hot, falling into bed with me, and the next you're cold, telling me to leave and stay away. What the hell do you want from me?"

"I want you to leave me and Elysse alone!" Piper shouts, her face flushed with anger as she jabs a finger at my chest.

I stare at her completely confused. “Is this about your husband?—”

“No. He’s just proof that I make terrible choices in men. First you, and then him.”

“Me? All I did was love you.” I feel like I’m in an alternate universe. Nothing she’s saying is making sense.

“Until it was inconvenient. Then you sent your parents to do your dirty work, to pay off my parents and send me away so you wouldn't have to deal with the consequences of your actions."