Her Collateral Bride: A Lesbian Age Gap Romance

could never be together. The age gap could maybe be

overlooked, but the fact of who Haley was would never work.

Her father would come between them every single time. He

would poison everything. He’d never let his precious daughter,

the one thing he actually cared about in the whole world, be

with someone he hated. He considered Claire a monster, and

honesty, she’d been living her life in a monstrous pattern of

loathing, desire for revenge, and a hardness that kept all

emotions at bay for such a long time, it was a shock to wake

up and realize they’d filtered in without her even being aware.

She was slammed back into her body, but it felt changed. A

stranger’s body. She didn’t recognize the ache in her chest.

The claws of a beast that lived in her now. She did know what

regret felt like. She’d lived with it long enough that she knew

all about the cold, cruel tendrils that twisted and twisted and

never let her go. This wasn’t about Robert or her restaurant,

her job, her dreams. This was only about Haley.

She knew she’d regret sending her away, hurting her,

breaking whatever magic they had, but that didn’t change

anything.

When Haley was dressed, she sat down on the bed, her legs

folded and crossed underneath her, her arms wrapped around

herself. She stared Claire down. “So. Tell me. What happened

between you and my dad?” Her tone said she’d listen and

reserve judgement for later.

Claire could only hope Haley would believe half of it. She

wanted her to take her side, not her dad’s, even though she

knew she should never put her in that position. She felt so off

balance that she walked over to the closest dresser and put her

hand on it to steady herself.