Chapter Two — The Truth He Never Told
1433 Words
For several seconds, Amelia couldn't move.
The sound of the door closing behind her seemed to echo through the entire estate.
She stared at Daniel.
Seven years had passed, yet one look at him was enough to awaken memories she had spent years trying to bury.
He was taller than she remembered, or perhaps it was simply the way he carried himself now. His dark hair was slightly longer, his features sharper, and a faint scar disappeared beneath the collar of his black shirt.
But his eyes hadn't changed.
Those eyes had once looked at her as though she were the only person in the world.
Now they looked guarded.
Almost cold.
“What truth?” Amelia asked again.
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
His gaze shifted toward the house.
“Not here.”
“Then where?”
“Your father wants to speak to you first.”
Amelia shook her head.
“No. You don't get to appear after seven years, tell me there's a truth I've been denied, and then walk away.”
Something flickered across Daniel's face.
Pain.
It disappeared almost instantly.
“I didn't walk away, Amelia.”
She laughed bitterly.
“You disappeared.”
“So did you.”
“I left because you told me to.”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“I never told you to leave.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“You stood in that driveway and told me you didn't love me anymore.”
“And you believed me.”
The words struck her like a slap.
Amelia stepped closer.
“You made sure I did.”
Daniel looked away.
For the first time, she noticed the exhaustion beneath his eyes.
He looked as though he hadn't slept.
“Your father is waiting,” he said quietly.
Then he walked past her.
Amelia turned.
“Daniel.”
He stopped.
She wanted to ask a hundred questions.
Why had he come back?
Why had he allowed her to hate him?
What had her father done?
And why had Daniel looked at her as though seeing her again was both the best and worst thing that had ever happened to him?
But only one question escaped her lips.
“Did you ever love me?”
Daniel's shoulders stiffened.
He remained silent for several seconds.
Then he turned his head slightly.
“I never stopped.”
Before Amelia could respond, he walked away.
Her heart shattered all over again.
---
Her father's study looked exactly as it had seven years ago.
The dark wooden shelves.
The enormous fireplace.
The leather chair beside the window.
Even the old grandfather clock still stood in the corner, ticking steadily as if time had never moved forward.
Amelia's father sat behind his desk.
He looked smaller than she remembered.
Older.
Fragile.
The sight of him made every anger she had carried for years suddenly feel insignificant.
“Dad.”
His eyes lifted.
“Amelia.”
She hurried across the room and embraced him.
He held her tightly.
“I thought I was going to lose you,” she whispered.
“You haven't lost me yet.”
She pulled away.
“Don't say things like that.”
He smiled faintly.
“I've missed you.”
“I've missed you too.”
For a moment, they simply looked at each other.
Then Amelia noticed the hesitation in his expression.
“You called Daniel.”
Her father's smile disappeared.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He looked down at his hands.
“Because there are things you deserve to know.”
“About Daniel?”
“About everything.”
Amelia sat across from him.
“I've waited seven years for answers.”
“I know.”
“Then give them to me.”
Her father took a slow breath.
“Seven years ago, I made Daniel believe that leaving you was the only way to protect you.”
Amelia stared at him.
“What are you talking about?”
“I threatened him.”
Her blood ran cold.
“You... what?”
“I told him that if he stayed with you, I would destroy his family.”
Amelia stood abruptly.
“Why?”
“Because I believed he wasn't good enough for you.”
“That doesn't explain anything.”
“I was wrong.”
Her father looked away.
“I thought I was protecting you from a life I believed would ruin you.”
Amelia's voice trembled.
“So you destroyed us instead?”
“I know.”
“You let me believe Daniel abandoned me.”
“I did.”
“Why?”
Her father didn't answer.
Amelia felt anger rising inside her.
“Dad!”
He finally looked at her.
“Because someone was threatening our family.”
Silence filled the room.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“You don't know?”
“I received letters. Phone calls. Warnings.”
“About what?”
“Money. Business. Things I'd done years ago.”
Amelia's expression hardened.
“And Daniel?”
“He found out.”
“What did he find out?”
Her father hesitated.
“That the person behind the threats had been watching you.”
Amelia's breath caught.
“What?”
“He knew where you worked. Where you went. Who your friends were.”
Her mind raced.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“For me?”
“For all of us.”
Amelia sank back into the chair.
Seven years of anger suddenly felt like a fragile illusion.
“Why bring Daniel back now?”
Her father's expression changed.
“Because the person who threatened us is back.”
The room seemed to grow colder.
“What?”
“The first warning came three weeks ago.”
Amelia stared at him.
“And you waited until now to tell me?”
“I didn't want you involved.”
“You brought Daniel here.”
“He came because I asked him to.”
“Why would he agree?”
Her father looked toward the window.
“Because he has been trying to find the truth too.”
Amelia's heart skipped.
“He never stopped investigating?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Her father looked directly at her.
“Because he believed you deserved the truth.”
A tear slipped down Amelia's cheek before she could stop it.
She wiped it away angrily.
“If he cared so much, why didn't he come to me?”
Her father remained silent.
“Dad?”
His expression was filled with regret.
“Because I made him promise.”
“What promise?”
“That he would stay away from you.”
Amelia closed her eyes.
“And he agreed?”
“He thought it was the only way to keep you safe.”
A bitter laugh escaped her.
“You both decided my life for me.”
“I know.”
She stood.
“I need air.”
“Amelia—”
But she was already walking toward the door.
She needed to breathe.
Needed to think.
Needed to understand how the man she had hated for seven years could have been carrying the same pain she had.
She stepped into the hallway.
Daniel stood near the staircase.
He had obviously been waiting.
Their eyes met.
“You heard everything,” she said.
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I promised your father.”
“You always keep your promises, don't you?”
His eyes darkened.
“Not all of them.”
Amelia stepped closer.
“Which one did you break?”
Daniel looked at her for a long moment.
“The one where I promised myself I would stop loving you.”
Her breath caught.
Neither moved.
Then Daniel's phone rang.
He answered.
“Hello?”
His expression changed almost immediately.
“What?”
Amelia watched the color drain from his face.
“Where?”
He listened.
Then his eyes slowly lifted toward her.
“What happened?” she whispered.
Daniel ended the call.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then he stepped toward her.
“Amelia, you need to come with me.”
“Why?”
“Because someone just broke into your apartment in London.”
She froze.
“What?”
Daniel's voice dropped.
“They left one thing behind.”
“What?”
He stared into her eyes.
“A photograph of you.”
He paused.
“And written across the back were the same six words from your old photograph.”
Amelia's heart stopped.
Forever starts with us, Amelia.
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