Lured into Love (Blossom in Winter #2) - Melanie Martins Page 0,64
child. Then he stops in front of my bookshelves, observing a frame of Petra and me—it’s a picture we took on the twenty-fourth of December last year, before our heated argument.
“That is the last time I saw her alive,” I tell him as I walk over in his direction. Standing beside him, I take a closer look at the photograph. I smile seeing my daughter glowing, happy, her arms wrapped around my neck and her cheek touching mine. I can’t help but feel a squeeze in my chest each time I look at us.
“It’s a beautiful selfie,” Roy says, sounding unexpectedly honest and warm.
I study his face attentively and then ask, “What’s going on, Roy? What brought you here?”
He lets out a sigh, his eyes still pinned on the frame before they look up to meet mine. “I want the best for our daughter, just as you do.” Oh dear. I instantly roll my eyes. He’s got something up his sleeve. “Petra is awake,” he announces.
“What?” I reach for my mouth immediately, covering my gape. My mind is so astonished by his announcement that I can barely breathe. I close my eyes and let the first tears of joy course down my cheeks. Those three words are the ones I have hoped to hear the most. Oh, my little angel… What a miracle. Then I draw in a breath and quickly wipe the tears, trying to regain my composure. “When?” I ask, barely containing all the emotions. “When did she wake up?”
“Around two weeks ago.”
I let out another gasp, my eyes and mouth wide open as a wave of shock overtakes me. “And why am I only finding out about it now?” I bark instantly. “Why didn’t Dr. Nel inform me?” This time, I’m the one pacing around, digesting all this news. “It was her duty to do so!”
“Petra asked her not to,” he informs me. “Dr. Nel just respected her choice.”
Before I can fall on the ground, mercifully there is a sofa behind me to sit on. “I can’t believe it,” I mumble, my mouth remaining wide open to breathe, and I try to drag some precious air into my lungs. “But why would Petra do that?”
Roy walks slowly in my direction, sitting in the armchair beside me. He leans forward, supporting his elbows on his knees, his hands entwined. “Tess…” he says gently. “Because she doesn’t want to see you, or to even talk to you.” His words squeeze my heart so much that I can barely breathe.
“She knows you asked Alex to leave her again.” He pauses for a beat, his eyes darting down for a second. “As I said, I want the best for our daughter, just as you do. And that is why I came here… to ask you in person to accept the fact that they want to be with each other.”
I can’t help but chuckle at the absurdity of his request. “How dare you, huh?” I glare at him in disgust. “How dare you!” And I leap off of the sofa. “We had an agreement. A deal is a deal! He’s nothing but a—”
“They are engaged.” From absurdity to atrocity… I sit again to avoid dying in between. “And before you curse him once more, she is the one who proposed.”
“She is sick.” That’s all I manage to say. “Petra needs therapy.”
“She is undergoing therapy, but she loves—”
“This is not love, Roy,” I snap back. “He is manipulating her. Grooming her.” I take a much-needed breath before standing up again. I walk a few steps and stand in front of the glass wall, looking absently at the gray sky. After calming down, I turn to face him, and with a steadier tone, I say, “Your friend is a predator. A dangerous pervert hidden behind good looks and a gentle smile.”
“I know him very well, I don’t share the same—”
“Look,” I cut him off. “Letting our daughter be alone with that man for one week in Aspen was already a huge mistake and miscalculation on your part.”
“But they love each other, for God’s sake,” he interposes.
“Stop it!” I say louder. “What a disgraceful and immoral man you have become…” I shake my head once more. “He’s luring our daughter into becoming someone we do not want her to become.” I hope Roy will now finally understand me. “Do you really think he will tame his domineering nature once they are married? Once she has his surname?”