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I quickly stood up, evading another punch as I narrowly escaped the tray of glasses on the counter.
“Dad!” Evie yelled to no avail. Her yells grew louder.
“We were friends in college,” he roared, charging at my new position from the opposite end of the counter.
I escaped his grip.
“James, you have to calm down,” I pleaded with both hands raised to gesture my words.
Suddenly, he stopped, his breath coming out in pants. “Calm down?”
“I’m calm, Ethan,” he released a humorless chuckle.
“I’m fucking calm, so explain why you’re doing this to me… to her.”
I swallowed, pain searing through my bones. There was no justification.
“There’s… there’s no justification for what I did, James. I’m sorry—”
“You knew.” He balled his hands into a fist. “You knew there was no justification, yet you did it.”
“We did everything together.” He gripped the edge of the counter tightly. “Motivated each other along the way. We fucking did life together!”
“Twenty-four fucking years we’ve known each other.” He took daunting steps toward me.
I took a few back, swiftly moving to the other side of the counter.
Frustration seeped through his next words. “You're nothing but a worthless, conniving bastard.”
“I am, James. I betrayed you, and I’m sorry.” I was on edge.
He growled. “Saying it doesn’t help shit.”
“I was there for you when you had issues with your late wife, Ethan!” his voice reduced to a whisper.
“I honored you both despite everything. Yet you dishonored my wife by disrespecting my daughter.”
His words struck more than his blows. They hit my chest with intended precision.
“You knew the consequences, still, you went ahead with it. That only means you never valued our friendship.”
“No, James. It was never—”
His broken gaze on mine was enough to interrupt my words.
God. I couldn’t bear his stare.
“Let me ask you this,” he continued.
“Did you ever see me as your equal? Or just some poverty-stricken bastard you could take advantage of at any time−”
“Stop it,” I gritted. “Don’t say that, James.”
I clenched my eyes at the tears that rolled down his cheeks.
“You tell me not to say it…but you did it. You took advantage of my situation.”
“I feel cheated, Ethan. I feel hurt…” his chest heaved.
