Her Fiancé's Father's Obsession

CHAPTER 15

Julius

I couldn't move. I couldn't trust myself to do anything but sit there and hold Jane’s hand while rage built in my chest like a hurricane gathering force.

My entire body was shaking. I could feel the tremor in my legs, the tension coiled so tight in my shoulders it hurt.

Every muscle screamed at me to do something, to act, to destroy, but I forced myself to stay still.

I forced my face into something that might pass for calm even though I was pretty sure I was failing spectacularly.

Hudson. My son. My own goddamn flesh and blood had done this.

The cheating was one thing. Men were weak, stupid. I knew that better than anyone, but this systematic destruction of Jane's entire life?

Firing her. Having her thrown out of her apartment. Poisoning her own mother against her. That wasn't weakness, that was cruelty. That was pure malice.

Jane had cried in my arms. This strong, beautiful woman had completely fallen apart, sobbing like her world had ended, because it had. Hudson had ended it.

My jaw ached from how hard I was clenching it. The hand not holding hers was fisted so tight against my thigh I could feel my nails cutting into my palm.

That was good. I focused on that sharp bite of pain, using it to keep myself from standing up and putting my fist through the wall. Or better yet, through Hudson's smug face.

"I'm so sorry," Jane was saying, wiping at her swollen eyes. "God, I shouldn't be doing this. This is so unfair to you. He's your son and here I am just unloading all of this—"

"Don't," The word came out too sharp, almost a growl, and she actually flinched. s**t. I took a breath, tried again. "Don't apologize to me. Not for this."

She looked up at me and those red, devastated eyes nearly broke something in me.

"Jane," I had to pause and swallow back the fury threatening to choke me. "There’s no excuse for what he did to you. None. Do you understand me?"

"But he's your son."

"I don't care."

And I didn't. That was the thing. Sitting there with her hand trembling in mine and tears still wet on her cheeks, I genuinely did not give a single f**k that Hudson was my son.

What he had done was unforgivable. I was going to destroy him. The thought settled in my mind with perfect, crystalline clarity. I was going to take everything Hudson valued and grind it into dust.

I was going to make him feel every ounce of pain he had inflicted on Jane, and I wasn't going to lose a moment's sleep over it.

He was my son, and I was going to ruin him. Jane must have seen something in my expression because her eyes went wide.

"Julius, please. I can't be the reason you and Hudson—I mean, he's your family. Your son. If I caused problems between you two I could never live it down."

"Stop," I turned to face her fully, my grip on her hand tightening. "After everything he's done to you, you're still trying to protect him?"

"Not him," Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. "You. I don't want to hurt you. This whole situation is already so messed up and I don't want to make you choose between me and him."

"There's no choice to make," My voice came out flat and final. "He already made his choice when he decided to treat you like garbage."

She stared at me, her bottom lip quivering, and something twisted in my chest. She was too kind. Even now, broken and devastated, she was trying to spare Hudson and trying to spare me.

I leaned closer, holding her gaze. "Don't you want revenge?"

Her breath hitched.

"After everything he did," I continued, my voice low and intense. "The affair. The lies. Firing you. Having you evicted. Turning your own mother against you. After all of that, don't you want him to pay?"

Jane opened her mouth and closed it. More tears slid down her face as she looked away from me, her whole body trembling.

I didn't push. I just waited, my thumb moving in slow circles against the back of her hand while she fought whatever battle was raging inside her.

The silence stretched and I watched her face. I watched her kindness war with pain, watched her try to be the bigger person even though Hudson had given her every reason not to be.

Finally, so quiet I almost missed it. "Yes,"

Something dark and fierce unfurled in my chest.

"I do," She said, stronger now even as tears kept falling. "I hate myself for it. I hate that he made me this person, but yes. I want him to hurt. I want him to feel what I felt,"

Her voice cracked. "He broke me. He treated me like I was nothing, like I never even mattered, and I want him to know what that feels like. Just for a second. Just so he understands what he did."

Her fingers tightened around mine, her whole body shaking now. "I want him to lose something. I want him to feel small and worthless and—"

She broke off with a sob, covering her face with her free hand.

"Then use me."

Her head snapped up. "What?"

"Use me," I said again, my voice clear as day. "For your revenge. I'm offering. Whatever you need, resources, connections, power, money, it's yours. We'll make him pay together."

"Julius, I can't possibly ask you to do that."

"You're not asking. I'm offering," I shifted closer without thinking about it, close enough that our knees almost touched. "I don't care that he's my son. What he did is inexcusable. And honestly?"

A cold smile touched my lips. "It would be my absolute pleasure to knock him down a few pegs."

She was staring at me like I had grown a second head. "But he's your family. Your only son."

"And you're someone who deserves a hell of a lot better than what he gave you," The words came out more intense than I meant them to.

"Let me help you, Jane. Let me help you get your revenge. Whatever it takes, whatever you want to do to him, I'll make it happen. I want to see you get your fire back. I want to see you happy instead of broken, and if destroying Hudson is what it takes, then that's what we'll do."

Every word was true. I should have been shocked at myself, at how easily I was offering to ruin my own son for a woman I barely knew, but I wasn't.

Something about Jane had gotten under my skin. Maybe it was just protective instinct. Maybe it was something else entirely, but whatever it was, I meant what I said.

Jane's eyes were searching my face like she couldn't quite believe me. "Why?" She whispered. "Why would you do this for me?"

I didn't have a good answer. I didn't have one that made sense even to myself. So I just said simply, "Because you have been through too much and you don’t deserve it."

Her face crumpled and then she was launching herself at me, arms wrapping around my neck as she buried her face in my shoulder.

The force of it knocked me back into the couch cushions and for a second I just sat there, completely frozen.

Then instinct kicked in. My arms came up and wrapped around her, pulling her close.

She was practically in my lap now, her body pressed fully against mine, and I could feel every tremor running through her, every shaky breath.

"Thank you," She choked out against my neck, her lips moving against my skin in a way that sent an unexpected jolt through me. "Thank you, thank you."

"Hey. It's okay," My hand came up to cradle the back of her head, fingers tangling in her soft hair. "I've got you. It's okay."

She clung tighter and I held her, one hand stroking through her hair while the other splayed across her lower back. I was just comforting and supporting her. That's all this was.

Except it wasn't.

I became acutely, painfully aware of her. The softness of her body pressed against my chest.

The way her thighs were draped across my lap. Her breath was warm and damp against my neck. The scent of her.

Heat coiled low in my gut before I could stop it. This was wrong.

She was vulnerable, devastated and young enough to be my daughter. She had been engaged to my son. This was so inappropriate, but I couldn't make myself let go.

Jane shifted, adjusting her position, and the movement pressed her more firmly against me. I felt rather than heard her breath catch. I felt her body go very still in my arms.

She had noticed. The charge in the air shifted and it became something electric and dangerous.

Slowly, she pulled back just enough to look at me. Her face was inches from mine. Those green eyes were still wet, but now holding something else.

Her lips were parted, red and full from crying. My gaze dropped to her mouth before I could stop it.

I heard her sharp intake of breath. One of my hands was still buried in her hair, the other pressed against her lower back holding her against me.

This position was dangerous. How easy it would be to just close that tiny gap between us, to—

What the hell was I doing?

I cleared my throat and instantly loosened my grip. Jane seemed to come back to herself at the same moment, her eyes going wide as she realized where she was.

How close we were. What had almost happened. Color flooded her face and it was not from tears this time.

"I—" she started.

"Sorry." I said at the same time.

She practically scrambled off my lap, putting the length of the couch between us. Her face was flaming red as she tucked her hair behind her ear with shaking hands, refusing to look at me.

I shifted my position, grateful for the dim lighting, and tried to get my body back under control.

Jesus Christ. The woman had just told me my son destroyed her life and I was getting aroused because she hugged me?

The silence was excruciating.

"I should—" Jane gestured vaguely toward the hallway. "It's really late and you probably have work and I'm keeping you up—"

"Jane."

She finally looked at me. There was still a trace of that awareness in her eyes. That moment between us that neither of us could quite pretend hadn't happened.

"We'll figure this out," I said firmly, pushing past the awkwardness. "Together. I meant what I said. Every word. We're going to make him pay."

She nodded slowly, twisting that handkerchief between her fingers. "Okay."

"Get some sleep. We'll talk in the morning."

She stood up, hovering there for a moment like she wanted to say something else. Finally she just whispered, "Goodnight, Julius, and thank you for everything."

"Goodnight, Jane."

I watched her walk down the hall, her shoulders still shaking slightly. The guest room door closed with a soft click.

I dropped my head back against the couch and exhaled slowly.

What the hell had just happened, and more importantly, what the hell was I doing?