“You have to leave my place. Now.”
My father knows better than to come to my apartment at this time. He is well aware that I work, so the only reason he can be at my place without me is that he is there snooping. I doubt that he is up to any good. Fuck. I have to change my locks.
“No. Not yet. I need to talk to you. We have to speak about something significant.”
I grit my teeth. And before I can answer, he adds, “so you better get home soon.”
I don’t like the way he says it. And I know that I have no choice because Myah is there with him. God knows what that spiteful man can do to twist the situation I’m in. So, I put on my dress and leave the bathroom.
Owen is still on the sofa, his cock lying limp between his legs. His eyes are closed, and I feel that he is deep in his thoughts, probably still thinking about his missing daughter. Fuck.
“I have to go,” I say out loud.
Owen opens his eyes and stares at me hungrily. “I’m not done with you yet, pet. And you will not like what I will do to you if you leave now.”
I want to tell him how much I would rather be here with him than with my monster of a father, but Myah needs me. So, I walk to him and take his hands in mine.
“I’m sorry,” I begin, “but I must leave now.”
At first, Owen looks at me as if he’s seeing a stranger. Maybe it’s the gesture with the hands, but then he looks up and meets my eyes. I feel like I’m getting lost in them. He nods, and I let go of him. Then, I turn and leave, but he speaks up again before I can open the door.
“Do you need help?” his voice sounds so sincere that I suddenly feel like crying.
I turn to him and give him a half-hearted smile. “Not yet. But I will let you know.”
Chapter Fourteen - Sloane
I grip my stirring wheel as if it’s my life support. My heart begins to race, and I’m finding it hard to breathe. I can’t let this happen again, I say to myself as the rising panic creeps up my chest.
The dizziness started earlier after fumbling out of the hotel to my car. Thankfully, Owen didn’t see that happen. Although, he may have had an inkling about it because he sincerely offered some help to a mysterious woman that he is fucking. Who does that?
“Breathe,” I whisper.
The light turns green, and I step on the accelerator. My car eases forwards, but my hands tremble against the steering wheel. I force them to be steady, not wanting to end up in a car accident. I don’t want to die this way — lying to an honest father looking for his only daughter.
“Breathe,” I say louder, willing myself to do as told.
I turn another right and finally park in front of my apartment building. My heartbeat is still erratic, but the trembling has stopped. Stepping out of my car, I rush to my door. I’m here now, and I will not let my father get the better of me again.
My head is much clearer when I get inside my apartment. Myah is on the couch, looking very annoyed, while my father sits beside her, sipping a glass of my best scotch. Damn him. How does he even know where I hid it? I have the bottles under the sink where my young visitor, hopefully, will not look for them. I don’t want getting Myah drunk added to the growing lists of offenses that I have done against Owen.
Myah meets my eyes and rolls hers. I try to grin at her, but I feel like my face only ends up in a grimace.
“Your father is the biggest jerk I have ever met in my life,” she says loudly, not caring that the man is sitting next to her. “He even starts to make my own dad look like a saint.”
I feel myself calm down, and then a burst of bubbling laughter escapes me. Myah is really a force to be reckoned with. I wonder if I can be like her. Maybe soon, I think to myself.
But then, I meet my father’s eyes. He has on the look that has scared and scarred me for life — his eyes dark, his lips in a tight line, and his head tilted up. I remember how this stare has stopped me from living my life since I was a kid. And I feel like a fool for thinking that moving out of his fortress would help me escape the glare he’s giving me now.
“Before I begin to tell you why I’m here, Sloane, will you please enlighten me as to why this child is still in your custody?” Myah snorts, but my father continues as if he didn’t hear her. “Is this girl really a baby you had out of wedlock? Have you just found her again and finally adopted her?”