Sat there looking like my fucking older double was my father. Oscar Ackley. The man I hated almost as much as Stuart Carver himself.
Scarlett put her other hand on my arm when she saw him as if she couldn’t believe her eyes. Of course, she remembered him, but it would be pretty fucking impossible not to notice we were related. Oscar might have greying hair at his temples, but his indigo eyes and dark hair mirrored mine. If he stood up, we’d be matched evenly in height. I hated it, but you didn’t get to choose who you got your genes from.
“You came,” Fletcher said, getting up and walking around to me. “It’s nice to see you again, Scarlett. I’m glad he brought you.”
The way he leered at her had me gritting my teeth. I’d already warned him about the way he’d been staring at my woman before. Now, I was plain fucking pissed off. At him. At my father. At the whole fucking situation.
“What is he doing here?” I asked, keeping my voice low.
Making a scene in a restaurant was not my style. And yet, the rage building in my gut needed an outlet. By fuck did I want to smack that smug smile off Fletcher’s face.
“I told him you didn’t want to see him, but he insisted.”
I stepped closer to him, staring down at the man with no small amount of hatred.
“You know what, I don’t have a good reason not to walk out of this place.”
“Drake.”
Scarlett’s voice cut through the tension between me and Fletcher. My head whipped to her. She was giving my father a rather venomous look as if she couldn’t believe he had the audacity to turn up here. I had told her what kind of man he really was.
“We don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.” She looked up at me then. “You don’t have to hear either of them out. You don’t owe them anything.”
I could have kissed her in the middle of the busy restaurant right then. Everything inside me screamed at me to do so. The gnawing urge grew stronger until I was unable to resist pulling her closer. She understood. She knew. And she wasn’t going to force me into speaking to my father.
My hand curled around her face, tipping up towards me.
“My little wisp,” I whispered, leaning closer. “Love of my life.”
Then I kissed her in full view of everyone, not caring in the slightest about the level of PDA as my tongue slid into her waiting mouth. She gripped the lapels of my jacket, letting out a small mewl of pleasure as if she couldn’t help herself.
When I let her go, her cheeks were flushed and her pupils dilated. I smiled, knowing I’d done that to her. Made her fucking weak at the knees. Well, she affected me in the same way, but I wasn’t about to show it. She knew the power she had over me. How she could make me do what she wanted with her words and her body. I’d followed this woman down the rabbit hole willingly and I was never coming back out.
I swiped my thumb over her mouth before releasing her. Then I walked over to my father, who hadn’t risen to his feet. He stared at me like he’d never seen me before. I was a changed man now I had the woman I loved and my three best friends who’d all promised me forever.
“I remember telling you I never wanted to see you again, Oscar,” I said, keeping my voice fairly calm and even.
“Drake—”
I held a hand up.
“I don’t care if you’re sorry. In fact, I couldn’t fucking care less what you have to say to me. I don’t think I made myself clear enough before, so allow me to remedy that.”
I leant closer and lowered my voice.
“You are not welcome in my life. I have a family and it doesn’t include you. If you wish to keep your life, then I suggest you stay away. Next time, I won’t be so nice.”
I put my hand on the table, getting even closer.
“You don’t know a single thing about me, and that’s probably a good thing. If you did, trust me, it would make your blood run cold to know what type of man I’ve become. What type of man you brought into the world. They don’t call me and the others the Four Horsemen for no reason. Just think about which one your son is next time you think it’s a good idea to darken my door, hmm? Maybe it will make you think twice.”
I didn’t let him speak. In fact, I didn’t look at him as I pulled back, turned around and walked away. My hand slid into Scarlett’s as she followed me. The reaper and his little wisp made their way out of the restaurant without a backwards glance. And I felt a lot lighter for it. I was done with my father for good.
I sucked in a breath of air when we got outside and realised for the first time my burdens were no longer hanging over me. I wasn’t alone.
Scarlett tugged on my arm. I looked down at her and smiled when I saw her eyes were full of pride.
“Let’s go see my mother.”
I pulled her away to the tube station nearby without letting her say a word. Fuck knows what had come over me. All I wanted was to re-introduce my mother to the woman I would spend forever with.
It took us thirty minutes to get across the city. Scarlett hadn’t asked any questions or even brought up my father on the journey. Instead, we talked about our childhood. The little things that made us happy. I told her about all the music I’d written for her, including the song I’d played her on the rooftop when she’d first found me up there. She wanted to hear more, to know everything. I promised her when all of this was over, I’d give it all to her. I’d play each and every song, explain to her why I wrote them and what they made me feel.
I rang the doorbell and fidgeted, suddenly wary of turning up at my mother’s house without telling her. She would be home as it was her day off. She was a nurse at the hospital nearby. The one we’d all been born at.
The door was pulled open, revealing the woman who’d given me life. May Ackley was short, with dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a stern expression on her face. When she saw it was me, she broke into a smile. I was still pissed she’d decided not to change her name after the divorce but right now, I was riding on a high. Nothing would get me down. I had my girl. The rest didn’t matter.
“Now, to what do I owe this pleasure?”
Then her eyes fell on Scarlett and widened almost comically.
“Hello, Mum. You asked to meet my girlfriend, so I brought her around for you.”
Mum was momentarily disarmed by my words and seeing the girl who had disappeared ten years ago on my arm.
“Hello, May,” Scarlett said. “It’s lovely to see you again.”
Mum cleared her throat, gave me a look, then smiled at Scarlett.
“Well, this is quite the surprise. Come in, come in, it’s chilly outside and you’re letting the draught in.”
I kept a straight face as Mum stood back to allow the two of us in. This was the house I’d grown up in. Oscar had moved out, leaving it to her.
Mum led us through into the kitchen, waving at the table for us to sit down.
“Now, have you two eaten? I was just about to make some tea, but I can whip something up for you.”