“You will never be able to measure up to her,” he continued. “Not in class, not in heart, not in purpose. Everything about you is shallow, and everything about her is worth protecting. She is the mother of my son. She is the mother of my unborn child. She is who I want.”
Sydney’s nostrils flared. The mask was beginning to crack.
“Victor—”
He slashed his hand in the air and cut her off. He wasn’t done with her yet. She’d come to his house uninvited, then he was going to let her have everything that was on his mind.
“You think this is a game? I’ve told you over and over to keep her name out of your mouth, to respect Kian’s mother, but you don’t listen. You think I’m the ticket out of whatever you’re drowning in? I know exactly why you want to marry me. I know why you are so damn desperate.”
“You don’t know anything.” Her spine went rigid as her eyes narrowed on him.
“I know your family has debt deep enough to sink every one of your father’s business interests.”
The color slowly faded from her face. Her eyes grew wider.
“And marrying into money is your only chance at staying afloat. You’re not fooling anyone—me—anymore.”
Hmmm…she hadn’t thought he would find out.
It had taken only a few callsafter he’d got off the phone with his mother to look into Sydney’s family and their financial affairs. What he’d found explained everything.
She stood abruptly, the chair scraping backward a few inches. No longer was she the woman who was picture-perfect and in control. This woman looked as if she’d just lost everything she had banked on.
“You wanted access. You wanted power and you thought I was stupid enough to give it to you because we were together.” He snorted. “And you had the nerve to label her a gold digger.”
“If you say one word about my family to anyone…” She clenched her jaw.
“I’m going to say plenty if you keep poking around into my life.” He let his voice drop low and cold with an unspoken promise. “Stay away from my family or else.”
“Or else what?” she snapped. Her eyes blazed with fury. The mask was gone, and this was the real woman standing before him.
“I’ll ruin you.” He stepped forward and stood toe to toe with her. “I’ll drown you so deep and let the media do what they do best. You want to be in the limelight so bad, I’ll make sure you are front and center.”
“You can’t threaten me,” she spat.
“I just did.”
Their eyes locked in a battle of wills, then without another word, Sydney spun on her heel and stormed to thedoor. She ripped it open with such force it banged against the wall.
A few seconds later, another slam echoed through the house.
Vic exhaled slowly. He walked to the entrance of his office and stood in the doorway. He gripped the doorknob to steady himself. He needed to calm down before he joined Tachina and Kian. He didn’t want his son to see him angry.
He went and checked to make sure the front door was locked, then he went into the family room. He found Kian on the floor with his blankie watching one of his favorite shows while Tachina sat on the couch.
“Dad! Is it movie time now?” Kian perked up when he saw Vic.
“It is, but it’s getting late. We may not be able to watch all of it. You have school tomorrow.” Vic forced a smile.
Kian nodded and grabbed the remote. It always amazed Vic how his son knew how to work all the electronic stuff in the house at such a young age.
Vic crossed the room and sank onto the couch next to Tachina. Her eyes were shadowed with worry. He didn’t give her a chance to ask anything. He pulled her gently to him and wrapped an arm around her. He pressed a kiss on her hairline.
“She won’t be bothering us anymore,” he murmured.
The relief in her gaze nearly brought him to his knees. Had she been worried that something was going on betweenhim and Sydney? She nodded slowly with nothing but trust in her eyes.
The movie started with animated music filling the room. Kian giggled at the opening sequence, but Vic didn’t see a single part of the movie. His mind wasn’t on the television right now.