Chapter 49

I shoved his chest, and he almost fell off the chair. I pushed again. His domestic staffs began encroaching, but he signalled for them to back off, and they obliged. That got me extremely mad because he was treating it as if I was throwing a mere tantrum.

I grabbed his shirt, dragged him up to his feet, and his back hit the wall before I could even process what was happening. My screw had gone loose, and I lost control of my temper. It got worse as I saw some bastards who called themselves his security try to pull out their guns, but he waved at them to stay still.

I could not even believe they were treating me like the hostile one who was hurting Harrison almighty.

I breathed in and out to calm myself because I did not want anyone pulling guns anywhere my daughter was.

"Samuel, I am trying my best to hold it all in, but you are pushing all my buttons. My daughter is not your daughter. I do not know what devil possessed you to say that to my father, but you just flipped my life the fuck off."

"You want to know why I did it? You want to fucking know why I did it? It is because I want to give your family some relief. Their daughter can finally visit them and stop hiding their grandchild as if she is an abomination. They can proudly tell people about their lovely granddaughter who has done no wrong, and you can stop hiding like a caged lion in that suffocating house because of Martin. You can fight me all you want, but I know you care about your family enough to get them out of their misery."

"The nerve to think you are my fucking saviour. You must be delusional, Sam! Look around you, Samuel. This is not real. You are not her biological father because I have never opened my legs for you. Stop telling people you are."

"And what if I want to be her father? What is so wrong with that?"

"Are you asking such a dumb question right now? Are you insane? Why will I let you be her father? I barely know you."

"Bollocks! We both know we are way past that. There is nothing wrong with us running at our own pace. Yes, we just met, but what we share feels decades old, and you cannot deny you know me more than many people who have known me all my life. You said I am good with her, so tell me the fucking reason I am not qualified to be her father."

God, why is he not getting it? Must I spell out the words to him?

"Because you are not her father. Your blood is not running through her veins. It is as simple as that."

"Family is whom you chose, Debs, and I am choosing you two. I want to be your family. I want to be your man, and I want to be her father. Why is that such a sin? Would it be so bad if we go by my version of the story?"

"It is a terrible idea because your story is a lie, and I do not want to bring my daughter up in a lie. I will never put myself in a position where anyone as bonkers and unreliable as you would hold my secret over me."

"Debby. I would never hold such a thing over you. You should know that by now." He was as frustrated with me as I was with him.

"I do not know that, Sam. You are unpredictable. Feelings change. People change. Two weeks ago, you did not know we existed. You may have the urge to play father today, but that may not be the case tomorrow. You are not her dad, Sam. You cannot just create an alternative reality for yourself and force us into it."

I turned to leave. I needed to cool off, but his voice held me in place. It was dangerously low, but it held venom.

"Maybe it is time you stop projecting your insecurities onto others. You have a crapload of trust issues, Debby. Just because another man tore your heart apart and abandoned you, does not mean everyone will. I do not want Sam growing up without a father when she has the chance not to, and I will not let you take this away from her. She is my daughter. End of story."

Who does this boy think he is? What gives him the right?