Defiant Heir (The Heirs 3)

I quickly shake my head. “I love her. Whether we get married now or in ten years, nothing’s going to change how I feel about her. I’m graduating in a couple of months, and we’ve talked about getting a house.”

“You have?” Mr. Reyes murmurs, way too calm for my liking.

“Yes, sir.” I swallow hard on the nerves that are grinding my gut to dust.

Mr. Chargill takes a seat on one of the couches. “I have one question.”

When Mr. Reyes sits down, I take a seat again next to Mr. Cutler.

Mr. Chargill tilts his head, and he pins me with a deadly stare. “Where were you this past Christmas break?” He shakes his head. “My goddaughter was in a world of pain, and I don’t recall seeing you offering her any comfort.”

I take in a deep breath, and after gathering my thoughts, I say, “I agree, I didn’t handle the situation well. Not at all. When I woke up, and I couldn’t see anything, I panicked.” Remember the fear and anger, I clasp my hands together. “When I learned Fallon got hurt, I lost it. I blamed myself, and I couldn’t live with the fact that I scarred the woman I love more than life itself.”

“I went to visit the accident scene,” Mr. Reyes interrupts me. “I also saw the dashcam footage.”

Dad mentioned it to me, but back then, I couldn’t see shit, so I forgot about the footage.

Mr. Reyes gets up. “I have the footage here if you’d like to see it.”

I don’t know where he’s going with this, so all I can do is nod.

I wait as Mr. Reyes switches on the TV, and then he connects his phone to it. A moment later, the screen lights up, and it shows the road we were driving on.

Instantly my muscles tighten.

‘Never,’ I hear myself say. ‘You’ll always be beautiful to me.’

Then Fallon’s voice sounds up, ‘Even when I’m old and wrinkly?’

I see the truck coming down the road at one hell of a speed, and my body goes ice cold as it heads right for us.

Christ.

‘Shit,’ I hear the panic in my voice, and then the nose of my car swerves sharply to the right, and the next second, the sound of the truck slamming into my side of the vehicle vibrates through my body. The car rolls, and then it’s pushed into the field next to the road.

‘Starting 9-1-1 –’

Mr. Reyes stops the footage, then looks at me. “Four seconds. That’s how much time you had to react, and you managed to turn the car so it wouldn’t be a head-on collision which could’ve killed you both.” His eyes lock on mine. “You took the full brunt of that hit, and it could’ve killed you. Still, you didn’t hesitate.”

“You have my blessing,” Mr. Cutler murmurs from next to me. “I know Fallon will be safe with you.”

“So,” Mr. Reyes says, “You pushed Fallon away because you felt guilty and you were blind?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Have you groveled to Fallon,” Mr. Chargill asks, a smirk pulling at his mouth.

I let out a chuckle. “Quite a bit, but I’m not done groveling yet.”

“Kao,” Mr. Reyes says to get my attention, “Can you promise to give my daughter the quality of life I’ve given her?”

“I’ll always do my best to try and measure up to the standard you’ve set in her life,” I answer, meaning every word because I know how important Fallon’s parents are to her.

“Well then,” Mr. Reyes climbs to his feet, and I instantly shoot up off the couch. He holds his hand out to me, “you have my blessing.”

“Wait? That’s it?” Mr. Chargill interrupts us. “Am I the only one worried that they’re too young?”

“Shut up, Mace,” Mr. Cutler snaps. “You proposed to Kingsley when she was nineteen.”

“Fuck,” Mr. Chargill grumbles. “It’s just… Fallon’s one of our little girls.”

Emotion washes over all their faces. Wanting to reassure them, I say, “Fallon’s my life. I’ll never stop working my ass off to deserve her.”

“You better,” Mr. Chargill grumbles.

“So…” Mr. Reyes asks him.

“So what?”

“Does Kao have your blessing?” Mr. Reyes asks, a little exasperated.

“Oh. I guess so. The two of you already outvoted me.”

“God, I pity the man who has to ask you for Aria’s hand in marriage,” Mr. Cutler mumbles.

“You better have the paramedics on standby that day,” Mr. Chargill says.

“For you having a heart attack or you beating the poor guy into a coma?” Mr. Reyes asks.

“Probably both.”

I struggle to keep the laughter in, just thankful I’m not the poor guy.Chapter 28FALLONI cling to Kao’s hand as we walk into Dr. Menard’s office. My heart is nothing but a fearful echo behind my ribs.

As we reach reception, the lady smiles up at us. “Fallon Reyes?”

“Yes.”

“You can go through. Dr. Menard is waiting for you.”

“Thank you.” I’m a second away from squeezing the life out of Kao’s poor hand as we walk down the short hallway.