The Man My Father Trusted Me Not To Love

Vanessa’s pov "You're back." Ryan stopped near the doorway of my parents' living room. For one stupid second, I forgot every word I had prepared to welcome him back into our house. Gosh! I said to myself. My eyes moved over him before I tried stopping them. He stood there with one hand on his suitcase, waiting for the usual hug l always gave him. But this time he looked older and more handsome, with the same easy smile that made me feel safe in his hands when I was still a kid. The shirt he wore stretched across his broad chest, and I noticed it faster than I wanted to admit. He looked at me, from my face down to my toes, before he finally spoke. "Hey, Vee." He used the old nickname, the only one he ever used. "Were you going to stand there staring at me like that?" Heat crept up my neck. I looked away, hoping he hadn't noticed how long I'd been staring. "I was only surprised. Mr. Daniel..." "By what?" "That you're actually here. After all these years." A short laugh escaped him as he pulled his black suitcase toward the corridor. "I told your father I'd make it this time." "He didn't tell me anything. I only overheard him telling Mummy." "Maybe he wanted to surprise you." I folded my arms. "Well, it worked." His smile grew. Great. That smile touched something in me. It had no business touching. I looked straight at him. "So how long are you staying?" Mr. Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Depends on how things go." "On what?" "Your father." My face tightened. "Why does my father have anything to do with how long you stay in our house?" He looked at my face for a second. "You ask a lot of questions now, little Vanessa." "Maybe you just forgot me." Something shifted in his face, and I caught it right away. "I didn't forget you." I dropped my gaze and pressed my fingers together before he could read too much meaning into my next word. "Good." Ryan stepped closer and stopped right in front of me. "You've really grown, Vee." I gave him a look. "Of course, Da . . ., Mr. Daniel. The name escaped my mouth. I was only sixteen the last time you saw me." "Yes. You're right." I wanted him to understand that the girl standing in front of him wasn't the little Vanessa he knew before. I was nineteen now and no longer the girl who used to follow him everywhere, asking endless questions. For the past years, I had kept one secret buried so deep in my heart I'd almost convinced myself it was gone, but when I set my eyes on "Ryan Daniel" again, pretending stopped being an option. Before I opened my mouth to say anything else, he pulled me toward him and wrapped me in a hug tighter than I expected, the one that froze my whole body for a second. "Look at you," he said. I laughed against his shoulder, mostly to cover how fast my heart was going. "You sound surprised." "Honestly, I am." He let go and turned toward my parents. My father smiled. "Good to have you back, Ryan Daniel." My mother stepped forward and hugged him too. "It's been too long, Mr. Daniel." They exchanged a few words about his trip while I stood beside my mother, nodding at the right moments and watching all three of them without really understanding much of what they said. Then my father looked at me. "Vanessa, we don't have much time. Your mother and I need to discuss something with you right now." I looked from my father to my mother. My mother's fingers tightened around mine. "What . . . did something happen, Dad?" "Nothing bad happened," my father said. "But we need to leave tonight." I blinked. "Tonight?" My mother nodded. "There's an urgent matter with the company. We were supposed to have more time, but they needed us there within three days." "So you're leaving tonight." "Yes." A total silence. I pulled my hand from my mother's. "Then what am I supposed to do?" "We've already made arrangements." My eyes went to my father. "What arrangements?" "You'll stay here with Mr. Daniel." "With Mr. Who?" My voice came out smaller than I wanted. "Here in the house? Or somewhere else?" "At his place," my father said, his voice low. I looked at Mr Daniel. He hadn't said a word since the conversation started, but now his eyes caught mine and held there. My jaw tightened. "Why can't I just stay alone?" My father shook his head. "Vanessa, you're nineteen. We can't leave you here by yourself for a long time." "Fine. I can stay with Diana." "No." "Then Aunt Isabella should come over." My mother shook her head. "We don't know how long we'll stay there, and we don't want you to be moving from one place to another." I glanced at Mr. Daniel again. He was busy pressing his phone this time. "You have all decided this?" My father sighed. "Yes." "So no one thought to ask what I wanted?" "We knew you'd object to it." "Exactly. That's what I kept saying." My voice cracked. I am no longer a baby in this house. My father raised his voice. "Vanessa." I crossed my arms, then blinked my eyes repeatedly. Ryan finally spoke. "Your father trusted me with you." I looked at him. "I'm not something he handed over." His expression stayed calm. "I know that, Vee." He reached for my hand. "I want nothing but your safety. Your parents won't be in this town . . . except me." That answer stopped me for a second. My father nodded. "And Ryan's already agreed." So this wasn't a discussion at all. It was a decision already made about my life. My mother reached for my hand again. "Vanessa, please. It's only until we settle things." I dropped my gaze before either of them could continue. "It's fine, Mum." My father let out a breath. "Thank you." I didn't answer. My mother stood. "We need to finish packing our things." And my father turned to Ryan. "We'll start bringing the bags down." There was sudden movement in the house within some minutes; bags were carried from upstairs to downstairs, drawers were opened and closed, and my mother's voice was heard in the background listing off things she didn't want to forget. I stood in the middle of the sitting room, watching what felt like a nightmare unfolding in fast motion. Tonight, everything was changing, and somehow, Ryan stood right in the middle of it. My father carried one of the travel bags toward the door while my mother checked the last room one final time. Ryan grabbed my two bags. I stopped him. "I can handle it." He looked at me for a long moment. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. He took two steps toward the door, then turned his head. "Drag the suitcase behind you," he said. I followed him, dragging the red suitcase with both hands, not caring about the mark it left on the tiles. My parents waited outside beside a rented car, their bags already loaded into the trunk. The driver sat behind the wheel, humming something under his breath. My mother pulled me into a tight hug. "I hope you have everything you ever wanted, Vee." Then my father walked over; he hugged and kissed my forehead. He turned and shook Ryan's hand before getting into the car. "We'll call you when we land . . ." And then the car moved away. I watched it go far before turning back to Ryan. I walked to the back of his car to check the suitcase handle, trying to set it properly. "I can put it in myself," I said. Ryan's hand stayed on the handle, and my fingers touched his. We both stopped what we were doing. He looked down at our hands, up to my face, and breathed out. I pulled back my hand without wasting time, then he opened the passenger door. "Are you ready, Vanessa?"