Lincoln lowered his head, palming his forehead. From his sniffles, Zayne knew he was sobbing.
"Why was he just that lucky? Always having what he wanted. ? I’m always a second choice. To our family, I was a second choice. Sage was better. Even to Adriana, I eventually beca a second choice. And then there is Evelyn...I’m also a second choice to her."
He dry-laughed. "Even if she knew I was her real father, she’d never look at the way she did Sage. Sage always kept her close. He loved her, I wouldn’t deny that. He deserved to be called her father, because she never lacked anything, not with him. But...but what about ...?"
"I could’ve given her everything too if I was just given a chance. But here I am, a fucking pathetic loser. I can’t even look her in the face when I see her... When my own daughter looks at , she looks at like I’m...so stranger, and nothing hurts more than that."
"Sage on the other hand, she looked at him like he’s everything." He shrugged. "Just a word of his praises ant the world to her from when she was little. It’s always been like that and when I stare, the only thing I could think was...how I’d give her as much praise and attention as she wants because really...she’s a tough girl. Intelligent, incredible, just like her mother. Even Sage knows that. She was better in all aspects compared to her siblings and that’s why he gave the corporation to her. Yes...he told . To him, she had the most potential—"
"I know that," Zayne said.
"What?"
Lincoln snapped his gaze up.
"What do you an?"
"I know why he gave TDG to her. Everything he’s been doing, he wanted to perfect her for the role, because Sage knew the son he had. How far Preston would go to have what he wanted. He was hard on her a lot of tis because he wanted her to be able to handle Preston. But Evelyn doesn’t know that, and even if she did, Sage wasn’t the best father. You, however..." He eyed him. "What are you going to do?"
"Huh?"
Zayne steepled his fingers. "You’re going to tell her the truth."
"I can’t do that!"
"I don’t care, Lincoln." He said, "Evelyn deserves to know the truth. I’m sure Preston, Lyra, and Brandon are aware of this. So, no, you will not be keeping her in the dark any longer than you have. It is either you tell her the truth or I will."
"Zayne Mancini—"
"Listen here, Lincoln, I don’t care about you or your sob story. My only priority is her. She is all I care about, and I’ll crush anyone who hurts her. That does not exclude you. You tell her the fucking truth, or I will. Neither you nor Sage had the right to keep her in the dark. And you two are more than selfish, hurting a girl you claim you love."
He shot to his feet, turning to walk away.
Lincoln grabbed his wrist.
"I didn’t an to do what I did. I was angry with my brother. I wanted to get back at him and sohow I got Adriana into that ss with . I think she realized that and couldn’t look at the sa. Then there ca Evelyn and she sohow wanted to start afresh, to actually give Sage a chance."
He dropped his head low. "Fair enough, to be honest. After all, Sage was perfect. He beca everything she wanted and I watched her slip out of my hands before my eyes. I-if I could turn back ti, I would’ve done things differently. Maybe I would’ve let her be with him, because the truth I refused to accept was that she could love him. Sage was everything I wasn’t. I looked down on myself and it morphed into sothing I didn’t even recognize at so point. So yes, you’re right. I was as obsessed with her as was Sage. So, no, I’m not a saint myself."
"Please..." he implored. "Give ti and I’ll figure out how to fix things. I don’t want to hurt that girl anymore. I beg of you."
Zayne spared him a glance.
"Suit yourself." And then he walked off, leaving him standing alone within that restaurant, head lowered in the sha he couldn’t swallow down.
———
Stepping out of the bathroom, Zayne found Evelyn still fast asleep on the bed. When he ca back around seven, she’d gone to sleep and for the past hour, she hadn’t moved an inch or even shown any signs of waking up.
"Hey Alexa, call Alessio."
[Calling Alessio, now]
Settling down on the sofa, he wiped his hair, pausing eventually at the box on the far end of the seat.
Louis Vuitton.
"Oh."
She’d received it just in ti.
[Why are you calling in the middle of the night, Zayne?] The voice belonged to Alessio.
"It’s eight p.m."
[So? Still eight. I’m busy]
"With?"
[I’ve got a blind date to go to. And no, this is just for fun. Don’t say anything to ]
Zayne frowned. "Are you coming to the event tomorrow night?"
[Yeah. My company got the invite. By the way, I’m bringing Dario]
"Dario?" His expression fell. "No, you’re not."
[Zayne, he’s our older brother. What is your problem with him?]
"My problem?"
[Yes, and I’m hanging up, because I don’t want to hear it. I have a date to go to. Not all of us have a mate cuddled up to us]
The call was ended.
Zayne stared at the phone and tossed it aside on the sofa. Getting to his feet, he proceeded over to the bed and lay next to Evelyn, head turned to stare at her face.
Her lips were slightly parted, hair tousled and scattered all over the pillow. Palming her cheek, he rubbed his thumb against her under eye, grazing over her long lashes.
Evelyn made a little sound. But she didn’t turn away.
"You are what I need, little monster. All I need."
His words were barely audible.
"You are completely mine."
Reviews
All reviews (0)