he abruptly stood and stepped up in my face, he saw it.
He felt it.
Because he could feel me too.
I wasn’t just imagining things. It was clear as day. We had a connection, and it scared him in the same way it scared me. From the excruciating expression on his face as he looked at me, to the way he watched me gravitate toward his daughter, to the way I witnessed him break down in front of her.
All of it was fueled by these emotions, these feelings I couldn’t even begin to describe.
His vicious responses to me.
His brazen, desolate eyes.
His, his, his…
“Ma! Ma! Ma!”
He faintly grabbed Journey’s arm, and her piercing shriek was enough to break solid glass.
“This is what you wanted all along, isn’t it?! To take my family from me!”
“That’s absurd! I’m just trying to help and you’re doing the exact opposite of that right now!”
He was making things so much worse, but how could I stop him? How could I help this broken man?
“Journey, come to Daddy!”
“Ma! Ma! Ma!”
I was about to correct her, show him I wasn’t trying to take anyone’s place. Especially not her mom’s.
I opened my mouth, but he cut me off. Booming vigorously, “She’s not your mother!”
With my heart pounding and my ears ringing, I felt what could be described as a slap in the face when we both heard Jackson counter, “She’s the only mother Journey’s ever known!”
Rendering me speechless, but at least I was no longer alone.
CHAPTER TWO
<>Camila<>
Aiden turned around, coming face to face with Jackson, who resembled him so much in that moment. There was no denying they were father and son.
“What did you just say?” Aiden questioned in an eerie, menacing tone. One that had me holding Journey more firmly in my protective arms.
Her little fingers clung onto me tighter, angling her head to rest on my shoulder. Letting out little whimpers as she watched the scene unfold in front of her with cautious, curious eyes.
“You heard me, but I have no problem saying it to you again.” He stepped up into Aiden’s face, eyeing him up and down with so much love and so much hate all at once. “She’s the only mother Journey’s ever known. The only father she’s ever known as well.”
Dr. Pierce grimaced, not hiding his reaction from his son.
“You don’t know her, and I’m not talking about Camila. Journey loves her, unlike you, who doesn’t know the meaning of the word.”
My lips parted, and my eyes watered with tears on the brink of spilling over. My heart broke for both of them. Aiden didn’t say a word, not one word. Like he needed this from his son, allowing Jackson’s voice to be heard.
“You’re nothing like the man I thought you were. My hero, my father, my best fucking friend…”
Aiden’s jaw clenched as he held his head higher, his strong demeanor crumbling right in front of our eyes.
Jackson grinned with the knowledge he was hurting his father, savoring the feeling it enticed.
“After everything you promised Mom, Jagger, me, your family… you’re just like them. You’re exactly like the men who didn’t give a shit about you.”
Dr. Pierce’s hands fisted at his sides, his temper looming near the surface.
“How’s it feel to turn out to be a piece of shit like them? Huh? How’s it feel to lose everything you worked so hard for?”
“Jackson, that’s enough,” I uttered in a soft tone, not wanting this losing battle to reach the point of no return.
What did he mean by that? What men? Who raised Aiden?
“You’re not my mother,” Jackson snidely replied, glaring solely at his father. “She’s gone, and she’s not coming back.”
Aiden was teetering on the edge. I could physically see him hanging on by a thread.
“Jackson, please, just stop.”
“Oh, come on, Mary Poppins! Don’t you want to know where she is? I thought that’s what you wanted!”
We both jerked back when his father finally spoke, “Jackson Pierce, don’t talk to her like that. I raised you better than this. You want to come at me, then you come at me like a man. Leave her out of this!”
“Oh… for Camila you talk, huh? Mom would love that.”
“Jacks—”
“And you haven’t raised me for almost a year! All you give a fuck about is your goddamn hospital!”
“Watch your mouth,” Aiden warned, getting closer to him.
“Oh, so you want to try to be my father now? Where the fuck has he been while everyone else has taken care of his responsibilities? Huh?!” He shoved him, but Aiden didn’t waver.