Falling for Fallon (Oak Hill 2)

Whenever I was alone with my father—which wasn’t often—I instantly morphed into a five-year-old who was s

cared to death because she knew she was about to get reprimanded for something.

That was how I felt.

Like I was in trouble.

“What’s going on?” I asked, sitting back on my couch.

My father stayed standing and put his hands in his pockets.

He stood staring down at me for a long, dreadful minute before heaving out a sigh. “How are things going with the wedding planning?”

My eyes darted to the magazines on my coffee table and then back to him. “They’re fine.” Lie. “I just picked out a color for the bridesmaids.”

He pursed his lips and then nodded. “Interesting. So, the other night, when I saw some man underneath your dress, that wasn’t what I thought it was?”

I knew right then if I didn’t somehow disappear, melt into the ground, and evaporate into thin air, that I was going to die from embarrassment. I couldn’t form words, but the second my father’s face appeared in front of mine, I wanted to die. He looked… disgusted.

“Who is he?”

“Huh?”

“The man whose face was underneath your dress. Do you love him?”

My mouth gaped, but nothing came out. Oh. My. God. My entire body felt hot, like I’d descended into hell or something.

I almost wished the devil would come up right then and pull me down.

“Do you love him, Fallon? It’s a simple question. Do you love him? Are you throwing your life away, all of our hard work, for someone else? Why would you do this?” My father’s voice was laced with a harshness I’d only ever heard once in my life.

Silence entrenched the room, making me feel uneasy. A shaky breath escaped my mouth as I peered down at my fuzzy socks.

“You’re lucky that Derek didn’t see that footage, Fallon. I destroyed it the second his father showed me.”

My eyes flew up to his. “His father?!”

My father nodded. “His father owns that building, Fallon. How careless can you be? And what on earth were you thinking? What are you thinking? This is the final straw, Fallon. Your mother and I have tried our hardest to raise you kids to be the best you can be, and yet, every time I think we’ve finally got a hold of you, you turn around and go back to your childish ways!” I wanted to cover my ears, because my father’s voice held decibels I didn’t even know a human could reach. “Do you know how difficult it was to get Derek to take an interest in you?”

Tears sprung to my eyes, but at the same time, an angry shell formed around my tiny body, ready to shield off anything else he said. “Why not just tell me I’m the worst thing on Earth, Dad? You make it sound like I’m some charity case. Like you couldn’t believe Derek would even give me a chance. Maybe I should just throw everything away. I’m not worth all of this, am I?”

His voice grew loud, causing me to jump. “Stop fucking around, Fallon! You know exactly what will happen if you throw everything away. I’ll do to you just as I did to your brother.” My teeth clenched together. “Your mother and I care about your future, Fallon! We want you to have a good life! Look where you are right now! You’re living in the guesthouse, a few yards away from your parents’ house! Derek can give you a good life. A life of wealth and protection. That’s all we’ve ever wanted for you.”

“No, Daddy.” I knew the word Daddy would cause him to pause for a second. “You don’t care about me. You barely even know me. Have you ever thought that maybe I don’t want this life? And that I’m trying my hardest to make myself into someone I’m not, for you? It’s your way or the highway. And you were the one that begged me to live out here in this guesthouse, pairing it with a fancy car and money in my account. And that was simply so you could hold it over my head.” His eyes softened for a second, and I took advantage of it. “You know very well that if I left, I’d have nothing. It took me a while to figure it out, but that’s exactly why you did it. You and Mom manipulated me. You know I’d have nowhere to go if I left. I’m stuck here, and that’s exactly what you want. You want me to be the perfect Addington daughter, and I’m just not.”

He shook his head vigorously. “You want to leave? For what? To live in some shack with only enough money in your account to pay the bills? You’d rather have a life like that than be a part of this family?”

I crossed my arms. “So, I was right then. I go off on my own and that’s it? You’ll just ban me from the family? You’ll do to me like you tried to do to Samuel?”

My father’s cold eyes pinned me to my spot. I wanted to stick my tongue out at him and stomp my foot like an eight-year-old. “If you’re going to throw your life away, you can do it somewhere else. This foolishness stops now. You have Addington blood running through your veins, and if you want to act like someone else, then so be it. But it will not affect this family and our legacy. Be ready to accept the proposal, and if you don’t….” He turned and stalked the few feet over to the door, spinning around one last time with an emotionless face. “Then this is goodbye. I just hope you know what you’re getting yourself into.”

The slam of the door caused me to jump. Tears welled behind my eyes, but I was quick to brush them away.

I shoved my father’s words to the back of my head and snagged my keys.

There was only one person who could make this disappear for the night, and his name was Emmett.

Chapter Twelve