Tangled In Strings

Chapter Twenty

"We should have stayed in Italy. I should have married you there. We wouldn't be going through this bullshit."

"I don't think Norman would have appreciated an elopement, Gio. Or your mother." I smile, ruefully at him when he glares at me.

"How is he? I heard he had a family emergency at the party."

It takes me longer to speak than I thought it would. My attempt at a shrug is accompanied by a heavy sigh. "He's digressing...quickly."

"How quickly?"

"His pain meds are not enough. He's doubling his dosages. He left tonight, in a cold sweat. I made him go."

"He's not going to be able to keep up the charade for long. This is stage four."

I nod. "I know."

He takes me hand in his, lacing our fingers. "What's going to happen? Does he still expect you to stay? Take this over?"

"Yes, he does."

When he doesn't say anything more, I look up. He is simply gazing at me. The second our eyes meet, I know he can see straight through me.

"It's no crime to love him, to want to please him."

"This feels like a handout."

"You made this company what it is. It's number one because of you. Norman even told you that. He's fought to keep you here."

"How do I know that's not because I'm his daughter?"

He regards me with amused disbelief. "Are you seriously doubting yourself?"

"No." I shake my head, truthfully when his head tilts in suspicion. "No, I'm really not. I know I'm good at what I do. But I haven't always been good. Norman brought me in and has raised me up to this and part of me believes that he did that only because I'm his daughter."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's true. Doesn't mean it was a handout. Scar, I know what a handout is. I took one from my father, which was a large sum of money, and I picked something I thought I would be good at. You worked your ass off to get here. Take pride in that."

I stare at our hands joined. "So... you think I should stay?"

"No. I think you should take over the new offices in California, but yes. I think you'll regret it if you let this go. Especially after he's gone." His thumb caresses the pale skin just under my knuckles. "This is your inheritance."

The thought of that is mind-blowing and produces a chuckle deep in my chest. "You're right. We really should have stayed in Italy."

He smiles, softly but doesn't respond with a joke or pleasantry. In fact, he doesn't respond for a while and the tension grows around us. I know whatever he's going to say is important—and is going to hurt.

When he lowers himself from the desk, bending his knees, taking both of my weak hands into his grasp, I know it's really going to hurt. I stare down at him, trapped in my fear.

"You...you need to prepare yourself for what's coming, baby."

My body stiffens, my hands fisting beneath his.

"He's going to get much, much worse. And he will need you. He'll need anyone that will be there for him. I know you will go above and beyond for him because that is simply your nature, but you need to prepare for the heartache that will come with losing someone you do love." He breathes in. "Most likely, I will not be there to help you through it and that scares me."

"Why?" I whisper, almost inaudibly. He smiles, sadly, reaching up to push my hair shielding my eyes from him.

"You've lost so much already. As happy as I am that you have a different father than the one who raised you, it kills me to know you're going to lose him too. I know it's selfish of me to ask you to be strong, and if I were here, I'd tell you that falling apart is only natural. But—"