Sweet Heart (The Hearts of Sawyers Bend #2) - Ivy Layne Page 0,76
with me. No way. Not Daisy.
A niggling doubt ate at me. But what if she had? It didn't bear thinking about. If Daisy had decided she was done with me, I wasn't going away quietly. What we had was too good to give up. Not without a fight.
“I just talked to her a few hours ago, and she asked me to stop by. If she wants to break up with me, I'd like to hear it from her.”
Her father's eyes went white-hot with fury. “You don't need to talk to her. You think I don't know all about you? The way you fuck your way through the women in this town? The way you think everyone should bow down to you, one of the mighty Sawyers? Well, fuck you and fuck your family. You can't have my daughter. She's done with you.”
Chapter Thirty
Daisy
I couldn't believe what I'd just heard. Why? Why would my dad tell Royal I was done with him? Rage and humiliation burning through me, I shoved the door wide. Three faces turned to me, Royal's relieved and my parents' defiant.
Of course, they'd be defiant. Why would they feel shame for lying to my boyfriend and humiliating me? My heart ached as I realized I'd been hoping for more. Support maybe? For them to think about me instead of their own agenda?
Whatever I wanted from them, it was clear I wasn't going to get it.
“Dad! Why would you say something like that?” I pushed past them, needing to get to Royal. I reached for his hand, hoping he wasn't too angry to listen. “He's lying. I'm not done with you.” More quietly, the truth whispered from my heart. “I'm never going to be done with you, Royal.”
His arms went around me before I was done speaking, pulling me tight to his side. “I'm so sorry,” I whispered, my cheeks burning with mortification.
“Don't apologize for them,” he whispered back. “You didn't do anything wrong. It's not your fault they're—” He ran out of words, probably not ready to call my parents assholes, even if they deserved the title.
Typical Royal, being a good guy even when he was in his rights to say what was on his mind. I spun in his arms, shielding him from Sheree and Darren. They were my problem, not his.
“Why would you treat Royal like this? You know we're together. How could you be so rude?”
“Because he doesn't deserve any better,” my father said. “You know who he is. Who his father was. He's just using you.”
“You're making a fool of yourself, honey,” my mother said, pity in her soft eyes.
I stared at both of them, speechless. “You know that isn't true. And you don't know Royal. I do, and you're wrong.”
I wasn't stupid enough to believe them. Maybe Royal and I hadn't talked a lot about what our relationship meant or where it was going, but considering we were practically living together and I'd never been happier in my life, I didn't need the talk. I knew how I felt. I hadn't told him I loved him, but I would as soon as I worked up the nerve.
My father dismissed me with a roll of his eyes. At that moment, I thought I'd never hated him so much in my entire life.
He was about to prove me wrong.
“We've let this go so far, but it needs to stop,” he said, ignoring Royal to focus on me. “He's nothing more than a spoiled man-whore and you're acting like a stupid slut. Keep your legs together and get back to work. I don't want to discuss this again.”
“You've let this go?” I repeated, incredulous. Had he just called Royal a man-whore and me a slut? What the hell? All of a sudden, I was done. “You owe us an apology.”
“I'm not apologizing for speaking my truth,” my dad said, his chin sticking out in defiance. Hell, he looked just like a sullen little boy when he did that. Why couldn't my parents act like adults?
I crossed my arms over my chest to hide my shaking hands. “Either you apologize, or you can get out of my bakery. I wish you'd never come back here. You say Royal is using me, that he's making a fool of me, but what about you? Are you ever going to pay me back? Or was that just a lie to placate me?”
My father's eyes skipped to Royal at the mention of payment. Just as quickly, he shrugged off his