Page 6 of Fame & Chaos

Another nod.

I felt sick, like all the air had been ripped out of my lungs.

The man I loved.

The man who held me when I was scared.

The man who made me feel safe.

Wasn’t my dad.

Meanwhile, the man who barely knew what to say to me apparently was, and I couldn’t understand how something that huge could be a mistake.

How could someone get something like that so wrong?

My eyes burned, and I couldn’t breathe properly.

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head hard. “No.”

Because it was wrong.

It had to be wrong.

Colt was my dad.

I knew he was.

I loved him.

A strangled scream tore from my throat before I even realized it was coming, and I bolted toward the manor. “Dad!”

Mum grabbed me before I reached the front door, but I fought her with everything I had. “Let me go!” I screamed hysterically. “Dad!”

I didn’t care if people heard me.

I didn’t care about anything except getting back to my dad.

He always made things better.

Always.

And now everyone was trying to take him away from me.

“Caleb, stop!” Mum cried, struggling to hold onto me. “You’re going to make yourself sick.”

“I want my Dad!” I kicked and twisted wildly until she lost her grip for half a second, and I took off running again.

“Caleb!”

But my body was too weak.

Halfway to the front door, my legs gave out completely, and I hit the ground hard.

Pain exploded through me.

Mum reached me seconds later, scooping me into her arms while I sobbed so hard I could barely breathe, and I clung to her desperately, my entire body shaking.

Because for the first time since meeting Colter Slade…