Page 55 of Torch

I simpered at his words. Leaning in, I kissed his lips softly. “I know you do.”

He nodded, offering me his hand. “Let’s get in there, baby. We can’t sit out here forever.”

I took his hand, allowing him to lead me inside. When I walked through the door, all the men in the shop turned their gaze to me. Christian possessively wrapped his arm around my waist, glaring at all of them. I elbowed his side, and he looked down at me with a raised brow.

I shook my head, glancing around the room. There were ten stations filled with barbers, except for the last one in the back of the room. I was going to assume that was my father’s chair since I didn’t see him anywhere. Walking over to the reception desk, I nearly froze at the sight of my brother, Bentley. He was watching me with a strange expression.

“How can I help ya?” he greeted us, rising from his chair. My eyes widened at his size. He had to be around six feet six inches tall with an insane amount of muscle.

“Um, I’m here to see Bryce Miller,” I said, my voice trembling with nerves.

His brows bunched together as he frowned. “Can I ask what this is pertaining to?”

I looked up to Christian for help. I didn’t know whether it was intentional, but Bentley was very intimidating. His stare was so intense, and I couldn’t tell if he was upset or not.

“It’s kind of personal, but it’s very important that Brittney speaks with him,” Christian told him.

After a moment of silence, Bentley hesitantly nodded. “Follow me.”

He led us to the back of the room, and everyone shamelessly watched us. Bentley approached a door and gave it a light tap. “Pops, it’s me,” he announced as he slowly pushed the door open.

When I walked through the door, my heart pounded in my chest at the sight of him in person. In the photo, I saw the similarities between us, but seeing them in the flesh was insane. In this moment, I realized how little I favored my mother. If anything, it looked like my father had carried me and made me all by himself.

“Bentley, I told you I was going over the books—” his words cut off once he raised his head and saw me standing behind Bentley. He gave me that same strange look as Bentley. “W-who is this, son?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. She came in asking for you and said it was important that she talk to you.”

“Me?” He pointed to himself.

Bentley chuckled. “Yeah, you, old man. You’re the only Bryce Miller in the building.”

He gave Bentley a scolding look. “You think you’re so funny.” He stood up and made his way around the desk. “Since this doesn’t concern you, you can let yourself out.” Bentley opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it, making an about-face to the door. Once the door was closed, he turned his attention to me. “What is this about?”

Christian rubbed my back, nodding his head encouragingly. I took a deep breath before blurting out, “I think you’re my father.” His eye bucked as his mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. Before he could say anything, I continued. “You were married to my mother, Regina. I recently found out that my mother was pregnant with me when you two divorced.”

Hearing my mother’s name, I watched his face go from shock to livid. “You mean to tell me after all these years, she finally decided to tell you I was your father and sent you here without her?” His voice had dropped a few octaves, and it had a bit of a growl to it.

I twiddled my fingers together. “Not exactly,” I sighed. I began to fill him in on what happened the night I found out the truth. By the time I finished, he stared at the ground in shame.

He gestured with his hand to the couch in his office. “Let’s have a seat.” I followed him to the sofa and sat between Christian and my father. “First, I want to say I knew nothing about your existence. Yes, I cheated on your mother when we were together, but I would have taken care of my responsibilities. The same way I did with Bentley.”

Tears formed in my eyes. That was exactly what I needed to hear. My mother was secretive about things to the point where I started telling myself maybe she was trying to save me from getting my heart broken. No one wanted to find out their parents didn’t want anything to do with them. While I was relieved, I was also fuming inside. She had robbed me of so much time that I could never get back.

Then she watched me, my entire life, try to prove myself to a man who didn’t really view me as a daughter. I didn’t care how much she tried to deny it. She had to see the difference in treatment between Morgan and me. She didn’t even know what the word no meant. She got everything she ever wanted without having to work for it. Myron never hesitated to withhold things from me. He would always come up with bogus excuses.

I remembered when I was in the eighth grade, my school hosted a spring dance. My friends and I all wanted to coordinate and dress alike. When I asked Myron to go shopping, he told me no because my grades weren’t good enough. I had a majority of A’s and one B. My mother sat next to him and didn’t utter a word. The very next day, he took Morgan shopping, while she was passing her classes by the skin of her teeth. I was so hurt and angry I ended up venting to my grandparents about it.

My grandpa was livid. He went to our home, cursed Myron out, then took me to get my outfit. Myron barely said two words to me for a month, and my mother didn’t do anything about it. It was reasons like that that led me to my grandparents’ home rather than my own.

“Did she know about Bentley?” I asked him.

He shook his head. “No. She didn’t even know about the affair with Bentley’s mother. Hell, I didn’t even know she was pregnant until she dropped Bentley off on my doorstep when he was only two months old.”

“Wait, you cheated with more than one woman?” I tried to hide my disgust, but I didn’t think I was doing a good job. Multiple babies at one time. Cheating with God knows how many women. I was starting to wonder just who the hell my father was.

He paused, staring up at the ceiling. “I’m ashamed to even admit this. But yes, I was having an affair with two other women. Now, before you judge, just hear me out. When I met your mother, her parents were against it. I was the neighborhood bad boy, always getting into trouble. I had women flocking to me from every direction. At twenty years old, I felt like the man. I was young and dumb. I had no business marrying your mother when I knew I wasn’t about to be faithful. Ever since we divorced, I have never played those types of games again. Being a father made me grow up and see the bigger picture. I didn’t want Bentley to grow up and become the man I once was.”

I could hear the sincerity in his tone. For that, I was a little more open to hearing what he had to say. “Did anyone know about the marriage?”