For a moment, the only sound was my harsh breathing as I attempted to swallow the sobs desperate to escape my chest. "That counsel you give affects lives, Daddy. Real live, breathing humans who have hopes and dreams. Like the advice you gave Cooper on how to handle the situation with me. You crushed me. Did you know that? You crushed Grayson, too. Please, please don't do this. Just put a stop to whatever you've done and let us be happy. You've done enough. Please." I did sob then, a harsh, gasping sound.
"I'm sorry, Kira. This is for your own good, and Cooper's too, yes. But you'll see the wisdom in my vision someday. As for your current husband, I've made him a very generous offer to walk away from you. I suggest he take it if he doesn't want his business to fail."
"And what strings are attached to that?" I spit out.
"Not many. He's receiving a significant amount of money for very little sacrifice. I asked only that he walk away from you permanently, and go along with the story that he took advantage of you—a troubled girl with a significant trust fund."
Very. Little. Sacrifice. Me. That’s what he thinks of me.
My blood turned to ice water, not at the fact that my father would throw me under the bus again, but at the realization that he had no qualms about ruining Grayson's life, too. Again. "He's just beginning to earn back his reputation. And now you're asking him to lie and have people look at him like a pariah again? How do you expect him to make a life for himself in a place where people have no respect for him?"
"That's not my problem. With the money I'm offering, he can make a life anywhere."
He saw himself as some sort of hero. His ego so colossal, he truly viewed himself as an agent of justice. He was truly delusional.
"Is that why you married him?" he asked. "Another charity case to you?"
"No. I love him," I said simply and truthfully. There was no reason to try to convince him of anything anymore.
I suddenly felt numb. He would never leave me alone. I'd spend the remainder of my life being his pawn in some form or another. Staring unseeing out the windshield, I ended the call without another word.
I didn't remember the drive back home. Home. Another sob threatened to choke me as tears slid down my cheeks, one faster than the next. "You're okay," I assured myself. "Everything will be okay. Grayson and I will work this out together. He said he'd take care of me now." Oh God, but neither one of us had a cent to our name once again.
I pulled through the gates and immediately noticed a black town car parked in front of the fountain. Oh God, now what? As I pulled in behind it, Cooper stepped out of the back seat. My heart stuttered again and then took up a staccato beat. At this rate, I was likely to die of heart failure before this day was over.
I took one last deep breath and stepped out of my car, closing the door with a quiet click. Cooper was already walking toward me. "Kira, what's wrong?" he asked, a look of concern on his face. I swiped at my eyes.
"Do you really not know, Cooper? Or are you in on this, too? You and my father—some sort of demented duo," I suggested flatly.
He took a deep breath, his brow creasing. "Yes, I know what he did. I'm sorry. But I have to agree with his desire to get you out of here." He waved his arm behind him at Grayson's home. "He's a murderer, Kira," he said harshly. "You're probably not even safe."
"I'm about a million times safer with him than I ever was with you." My voice rose in volume as I spit the words at him. But suddenly another wave of defeat crashed over me. Fighting with Cooper wasn't going to solve this situation. I changed my tactic. "Cooper," I said, moving closer to him, my voice shaking slightly, "I know what you did was . . ." I shook my head, searching for words that would persuade him, rather than anger him, "because of the drugs and alcohol. I know that wasn't the real you."
He seemed to consider that explanation momentarily and find it agreeable. "It wasn't, Kira." Liar. "It wasn't me. I was out of control. But no one can know that. It would ruin me." But you were perfectly fine with ruining me.
I shook my head briskly. "I don't want to expose you, Cooper. I'll never reveal what happened between us. I'll take the fall. It's okay. I'll do whatever you ask of me. Just please, convince my father to take the hold off my gram's money. Convince him to leave us in peace. Will it really hurt you to come up with a new plan, one that doesn't involve me? Please, Cooper, if you ever loved me at all, please let me be happy."
Cooper worried his lip, appearing to contemplate my words. Hope leapt in my chest, and I moved a few steps closer. "You don't know everything he does, everything he's capable of. I know you're better than him, Coop. Don't align yourself with my father any more than you already have."