“What I need is to be with her every single day.” The implacable determination carved out in his features told her he wouldn’t change his mind. “I need to make up for what was taken away from me. And you will marry me, Sydney. One way or another.”
“You have no right,” she breathed in horror.
“Oh, but I do. You lost all your rights the moment you played God and kept me from making my own choice.” A flick of temper leaked through the armor, but it was quickly brought under control. “You don’t get to say no to this.”
“And if I do?”
He poured his cup of coffee, lifted it to his lips, and took a lingering sip. “I take Becca from you. I hire the best legal team imaginable and make your life a living hell. I let the court decide who’ll be the better parent. How does that sound?”
Her teeth rattled together like a poor imitation of a skeleton. If she hadn’t been sitting, she would’ve sunk to the floor, boneless with fear. He wasn’t making idle threats. Tristan never did. No, he was ruthless when he came to a decision, whether it be leaving for New York, walking away from a deal, or doling out punishment to those who wronged him. This was a man who trusted with his whole soul, but once betrayed, he locked the door and threw away the key.
She’d lost him forever.
The pain of such a loss was still secondary to the idea Becca could be dragged through a custody suit. Nothing was worth that.
Not even living in a sham of a marriage with a man she still loved.
“You would do that?” she asked quietly. “Even if it would tear Becca apart?”
His jaw clenched. His eyes were flat and devoid of all emotion.
“Yes.”
She shuddered, wrapping her arms tight around her body. He’d do it. He wouldn’t want to hurt Becca, but he was desperate. Betrayed. Savage. The worst was the empty vastness between them, reminding her the man she’d fallen for was no longer here. The one who’d taken his place was ruthless. “Don’t do this to us,” she whispered. “You’ll destroy everything.”
“You already did.” He set his coffee down. “I want to hear you say the words. Say you agree.”
“If you do this, you’ll be giving up the opportunity to marry for love. Do you really want to wake up one day and feel trapped by your decision? Feel as if you missed out on an unknown future because of responsibility? You don’t need to do this. We can work it out some other way if you give it a chance.”
Her final plea lay between them. A part deep inside of her fantasized he’d admit he did love her. If he gave her the tiniest indication there was a real chance for them, she’d marry him without question. But to be trapped with someone who’d never love you back? It would be the worst nightmare imaginable.
His gaze flicked over her with dismissive ease. “Love is overrated. I think a marriage based on shared commitment to the greater good is what this world is lacking. There will be no regrets on my part.”
“And me? You’re blackmailing me as punishment. How can our relationship stand a chance with such a start? Don’t you want more for us?”
His words were as robotic as his tone. “No. This is all we have left.”
Her heart fragmented into tiny pieces. She rocked back and forth, searching for any loophole or offer she could beg him to accept. And came back to the same shattering conclusion.
She was going to have to marry him and forfeit her very soul.
“Say you agree,” he said again.
No. She wouldn’t do it. Wouldn’t hold both of them and Becca hostage in a marriage that could never be real, at least on his end. She grabbed on to her own frustration and anger, confronting him with clenched fists. “How dare you think you control this relationship or my daughter?” she ripped out, keeping her voice low. “Deny it all you want—you couldn’t have handled the truth back then. You left without speaking to me for three months, then showed up expecting me to drop everything because you decided you missed me? And when you heard about the baby, you never once wondered at the timing? How dare you judge me? You barely looked at us for two years, and I was supposed to tell you about her?”
“Yes! Because I’m her real father!” he shouted. “Becca is mine!”
“You’re my dad?”
Sydney gasped and whipped around. Her daughter stood framed in the doorway, dressed in pink Hello Kitty pajamas, hair springing wildly around her head, those sleepy eyes huge as she stared at both of them, blinking furiously. Sydney clapped a hand over her mouth, swallowing her cry.
A shocked silence filled the kitchen. The room spun, tilted, then steadied. Dear God, how much had she overheard? What had they done?”
Sydney walked over, dropping to her knees and grasping Becca’s hands in a tight grip. “Baby, I’m so sorry we were yelling. What did you hear?”
“Just what Tristan said. That he’s my dad. Is it true?”
Her body shook as if feverish. Her lungs barely squeezed breath out, throwing her into a panic. She realized this was a moment she’d planned for Becca’s whole life. Yet this wasn’t the way she wanted her daughter to find out the truth. Fear choked her, but she pushed it aside and swore she’d do whatever possible to make it right. To make sure Becca wasn’t scarred from finding out this way. “Becca, look at me.”
Her daughter gazed into her eyes.
“I love you. I love you more than you’ll ever imagine. Do you believe me?”
“Of course. Mommies always love their children more than anything else.”
She blinked back the sting of tears. “That’s right. You may get mad at me for not telling you the truth sooner about your dad. And the reason I didn’t want to tell you was because you were too little to really understand. There was a lot of grown-up stuff going on.”
She paused, glancing at Tristan to make sure he was ready. That he’d support what she was about to tell her daughter.
His face. Oh, God, his face was full of the divine as he stared at Becca, drinking in her presence as if she were water to his parched soul. Eyes lit with gentleness and pure love, as if he still couldn’t believe she was part of him.
And then she knew it had to be done. Tristan deserved to be a father to Becca. She’d taken that from him, and it was time to reunite them, no matter how difficult it was going to be. She couldn’t lie to her daughter to buy more time.
“Grown-up stuff about my dad?” Becca asked.
“Yes, baby. There’s something you didn’t know because I didn’t tell you. You actually have two dads. Your first dad was here for a little while. He married Mama, but then he had to go far away for work.”
“I know. That’s why I never see him.”
“That’s right. But you have a second dad. Your real dad. And the only reason he didn’t come back to see you is Mommy never told him he was your real dad.”
Becca frowned. “What do you mean? Why wouldn’t you tell him he was my dad?”
Sydney gathered up her courage and took the leap. “Because we had a big fight before you were born, and I didn’t think he wanted to be a dad. But I was wrong, Becca. He did want to be your dad, and I made a mistake.”