Who was the man in front of me? The dad I grew up around would never sink this low.
“I’m sorry, Daddy, but I can’t help you.”
“What? I told you I would give it back. All this should be cleared up shortly.”
Again I shook my head. My chest tightened. “I don’t have fifty thousand dollars to give you, Daddy. My accounts and credit cards connected to you are all frozen. I can’t even touch my trust fund from Granddad! And I?—”
“Your husband is worth millions, Xylina, don’t feed me that shit!”
I was taken back by his tone. My mouth twisted upside down. “Yeah, but we never combined our accounts and we have a prenup, one thatyoumade sure to present. I have nothing to my name right now and you won’t even explain to me why!”
His face grew red and his eyes turned so cold that a chill shot through my body. “I knew you were fucking useless!” he hissed, veins popping out of his neck. “Your whole life, all you did was spendmyhard earned money. You and your mother never did shit beneficial to me but swiped your cards like your life depended on it. When I gave you to Yosiah, I expected you to learn something beneficial, but I see you’re still the airheaded little girl you’ve always been. He was supposed to take that burden off my plate, yet here I was, still dishing out money like it grew on trees for you.”
My mouth dropped. Each word he spoke felt like daggers forced into my chest.
“Your mother might be a whore, but her money hungry ass always kept money somewhere,” he mumbled, looking off to the side then glaring at me again. “I don’t care what you do, you need to find a way to get in with Yosiah and get access to his accounts! I financed your whole life for twenty-four years, now it’s time to repay that debt and be useful to me.”
Tears threatened to form in my eyes. My throat became restricted. “How can you talk to me like that? I’m your daughter!”
“You’re a fucking burden who needs to now carry her weight! My plan was to cut you off financially once you got married because you were no longer my problem, but since I’m a nice guy I continued to finance you. You need to show some gratitude and help me out. I looked up your husband’s net worth; he’s on track to being a billionaire, fifty thousand dollars is nothing to him.”
Honestly, I was lost for words as I sat there listening to the cruel words my dad spilled out of his mouth toward me. He liftedhis arm to check his watch and muttered something I couldn’t make out.
“Call the number I texted you from when you have the money and we’ll meet again.” He pushed away from the table and stood. His eyes cast on me coldly. “Don’t disappoint me, Xylina.”
Like he hadn’t just crushed his only daughter, my dad walked away swiftly, as if he had no cares in the world. By now my hand was covered in my iced coffee from the cup collapsing and the lid popping off from how tightly I squeezed it.
All my life, I’d wanted my parents’ attention and love, but at the moment, I’d never felt more abandoned and disregarded by them. It felt like I’d just met with a stranger and not the man who was supposed to love and protect me. My mom was nowhere to be found either, which was another slap in the face. I’d never felt as alone as I did now. I couldn’t get the money my dad asked for. Even if me and Yosiah were closer, I would never help someone who disrespected me like that. For years I had blinders on when it came to my parents and sadly they were finally starting to lift.
This was never supposed to be my life. How did things get this fucked up?
My thoughts shifted to my marriage. The thought of Yosiah leaving me sent a wave of panic through me. I couldn’t give him up. It became harder to breathe as heat covered my body and my airway struggled to function properly. Tears clouded my eyes and I was sure my heart was about to beat out of my chest. Squeezing my eyes shut, I attempted to breathe through the smothering feeling overtaking me.
Nothing made sense to me anymore. It seemed like things were going from bad to worse and I had no idea how to fix it.
CHAPTER 10
Yosiah
When I pulled into my driveway, Xylina’s car was at the top of the circle still running. I was finishing a call when I got out my truck and realized she had made no attempt to do the same. I figured she must have either been on live gossiping with her followers like she often did or scrolling social media.
Bypassing her car, I headed for the front door, unlocking it and stepping inside. It was a little after five in the afternoon. I had just left from meeting with my lawyers and some investors for this new project. Everything was working out as planned and the next addition to Blue Shield Innovative was expected to be announced by the end of the year.
“Mr. Bedford, I’m glad you’re here. I was just about to call you.” Mrs. Rose, the main housekeeper, met me at the door with Princess behind her. The squeak from the toy she was chewing on filled my ears before I focused back on Mrs. Rose.
“Did something happen?” I questioned, loosening my tie and undoing the arms of my suit jacket.
“It’s Mrs. Bedford.” She looked around me toward the door. “Since I got back an hour ago she’s been in her car. I tried to ask her if everything was okay but she shooed me away. I’m startingto get worried.” Again, Mrs. Rose glanced at the door, this time with a concerned expression. Mrs. Rose was a widow who gave off grandmother vibes. She’d lost her husband around the time I hired her. She was looking for something to keep her mind off grieving and get her out of the house. Normally she minded her business, did her job, and went about her day. So for her to speak up caused lights to go off in my head.
With my lips pinched and brows furrowed, I assured her I’d check it out before turning and heading back out the door. Xylina more than likely had gotten caught up on her phone and lost track of time.
Once at her driver side door, I reached for the handle but it was locked when I pulled it. My mouth turned upside down when I attempted to open it again. Xylina had tinted windows, but I could faintly see the outline of her body inside. It looked as if she was slumped over. Panic flashed through my chest.
“Xylina!” I knocked on her window. When she didn’t immediately respond, I tapped on it with a bit more urgency. “Xylina, open the door!”
Panic sank in when she didn’t budge. I attempted to pull the door open again. Regardless of our relationship, I didn’t wish harm on Xylina. Her not responding and Mrs. Rose’s words caused dread to swarm the pit of my stomach.
Just when I was about to grab something to break the car window, the faint sound of the lock caught my attention. Soon the door crept open and a liquor bottle collided with the ground. I stared at the clear empty bottle before slowly lifting my eyes to Xylina. Her forehead rested on the steering wheel, her eyes barely open as they settled on me.