Claimed By My Boyfriend’s Daddy

Chapter 7: Hotter than Fire

Emily’s POV

The room immediately tilted.

I couldn’t breathe, damn I couldn’t even blink, as Austin’s voice echoed deep in my head..

“Father.”

The word struck me hard like a sword, it tore through every fragile piece of calm I’d built since I discovered he was cheating on me.

My gaze snapped between the two men.. Austin’s familiar sneer, Dario’s unreadable eyes.

Father. How? My mind refused to fit the pieces together, refused to believe the man who had kissed me, claimed me, touched me, was the same man who raised Austin.. the boy who shattered me.

A laugh broke through Austin’s mouth, it sounded.. Bitter yet triumphant. “She didn’t know, did she?” His gaze burned into me, daring me to deny it. “You had no idea who he was when you let him touch and marry you.. and I thought I was the cheap one.”

My stomach lurched. I wanted to scream, to demand answers, but my voice caught in my throat. All I could manage was a dry rasp. “You.. both of you.. knew?”

Austin’s grin widened. “Of course he knew. He knows everything. He just didn’t tell you, because why would he? It’s easier to trap a naive little dove.. I mean literally we had a little issue and you ran to my dad?.”

Heat crawled up my neck, shame mixed with my fury. My hands curled into fists at my sides. I could feel Dario’s stare on me, heavy, deliberate, but he didn’t speak.

He just stood there as though he was enjoying the show unraveling in front of him.

Austin took a step closer, his smile sharpening. “Do you know why I cheated, Emily?” His tone dripped with tenderness, but his eyes were cold, and cruel.

“It wasn’t because of you. Not really. It was because I needed more. You were too calm, too reserved. You never fought me, never lit up for me. You were ice in my hands. And I… I needed fire.”

The words sliced deep, but I refused to flinch.

“You needed fire? Okay Zuko the fire bender..” My voice was steadier now, though my chest burned. “So you decided it was best to set yourself on flames with my best friend? And you have the mouth to brag in my face? ”

His jaw twitched. For a moment, the mask slipped. Then he shrugged, trying to feign nonchalance. “She gave me what you couldn’t. She made me feel alive. And don’t pretend you don’t know what I mean.”

Alive. The word tasted like poison. My breath hitched, not from pain this time, but from disgust.

So this was the foolish cuckoo I had given my time and love to..

“You betrayed me,” I whispered, my voice low and dangerous as a smirk slowly formed on my face. “You looked me in the eyes and lied, Austin. And now you stand here, trying to twist it into my fault? You disgusting brat”

He didn’t stop. He leaned in, lowering his voice, as though the intimacy of his cruelty would break me. “No.. You were supposed to be mine, Emily. Do you hear me? Mine. No matter what happened, no matter who I touched.. you were always going to come back to me. And now…” His gaze flicked to Dario, then back to me, burning with hate and something darker. “Now you’re in his bed? My father’s? You are the disgusting one.. .”

The words should have shattered me. But instead, a strange calm settled over me, steady and unshakable. My hands loosened. My back straightened. And when I looked at him again, I didn’t see the boy I once loved. I saw a stupid coward clawing for control.

“You lost me the night you touched her,” I said, my voice quiet but razor-sharp. “And it’s quite a shame on your part.. you’ll never have me again.”

Austin’s eyes widened, just for a moment, then narrowed into slits. He opened his mouth to speak again, but the words caught when Dario finally moved.

He stepped forward and his presence filled the space around us like smoke. His hand brushed my back, it felt firm and grounding, and I realized he had been waiting.. watching.. to see if I would crumble.

I didn’t.

Austin’s chest heaved, fury radiating from him in waves. “You think you’re safe with him?” he spat. “You think he cares about you? He’ll chew you up and spit you out, just like he does with everything else. And when he does, don’t come running back to me. Because I won’t be there.”

I almost laughed.. Almost.

“You were never there,” I simply replied.

Silence stretched, thick and suffocating. Austin’s jaw worked as though he was chewing on words he couldn’t swallow. Dario’s hand lingered against my back, steady, unyielding.

And me?? I stood tall in the middle of them, the pieces of my broken heart hardening into something sharper, stronger.

“You think standing there with him makes you powerful? You think pretending not to care makes you free? Emily, you’ve always been weak. You hide behind silence, behind calm eyes, but I know you. I made you. And without me, you’re nothing.” Austin spat.

My chest tightened, but not from his words. From the way he believed them. The way he wielded them like weapons, expecting them to pierce straight through me as they once had.

But they didn’t. Not anymore.

I lifted my chin, refusing to look away. “You didn’t make me, Austin. You broke me. And you thought I’d stay broken. That’s the only thing you’ll ever be right about.”

His jaw twitched, fury rippled through him. He took a step forward, only to be met with Dario’s presence shifting beside me. He didn’t speak.. he didn’t need to. His gaze was colder than ice, as though daring Austin to try him.

Austin’s fists clenched at his sides. His eyes burned into mine. “So this is it? You’ll betray me for him? For my father?”

My breath caught. Betrayal? This word again.. it scraped something raw in me. A thousand memories clawed up at once.. his lips on hers, the lies, the excuses, the night I caught them tangled together while my world collapsed.

And now he dared to call me a traitor?

“You betrayed me first,” I whispered, my voice trembling, but not with fear.. with fury.

He flinched. Just barely. Then he sneered, like a child caught in his own game. “You were too calm, Emily. Too quiet. Too… cold. I needed more. Can you blame me for wanting fire?”

The words slammed into me, sharp as knives, but instead of cutting me down, they lit something inside me. Fire. He wanted fire? He thought I was too cold, too restrained, too easy to leave?

Fine… I’ll show him fire..

I turned to Dario.

He was watching me with that unreadable gaze. My heart thundered in my chest as I stepped closer to him, so close that Austin’s sharp intake of breath sliced through the silence.

“Emily.. Don’t you dare!,” Austin warned, his voice cracking.

But I didn’t stop.

I tilted my head back, lifted onto my toes, and pressed my lips to Dario’s.

The world went still.

Dario’s lips were cool at first, but the moment I pressed harder, the moment I made the choice clear, his hand curved against my jaw, anchoring me.. no!.. Answering me.

Our kiss deepened, slow and deliberate, possession slipped into every brush of his mouth against mine.

And I kissed him back.. Without hesitation.

When I finally broke the kiss, I looked breathless and my face was as red as a tomato, I turned my head just enough to meet Austin’s horrified stare.

“This,” I said, my voice low but steady, “is fire.”

Austin staggered back like I had struck him. His face twisted.. rage, betrayal, desperation all warring for control. He looked between us, shaking his head as though the sight itself was unbearable.

“You’ll regret this,” he hissed, voice breaking. “I swear it.”

His words echoed through the living room, but they didn’t touch me. Not anymore.

Because for the first time, I wasn’t standing in the ruins of what he’d done to me. I was standing in the fire I chose.

And it was all mine