Chapter 0223
| blush a little, embarrassed that it’s been that obvious.
“You don’t get it, dad,” | say, tracing a finger along the wood of the bench before | look up into his eyes. “Daniel and |...we’re
dedicated to one another.”
“Dedication makes a better match than passion,” he says, considering.
| blush again to think of my father thinking of me and Ivan in terms of passion.
“But Fay,” he continues, “I have...other reasons for wishing you’d turn your head in a new direction. Not to Ivan, if that’s not what
you want. But...elsewhere.”
“What?” | ask, curious. “What reasons?”
“Fay,” he says, shaking his head. “We have...not been to each other, what a father and a daughter should be. That was your
mother’s choice — not mine. | would have kept you, if she had let me, raised you to the life you should have had. | hope that you
would let me give it to you now. Let me help you make the choice that will make you happy.”
“But...” | slow down here, wanting to get this right, wanting to...
| take a deep breath, thinking about what Kent would do in this situation, and realize that he probably wouldn''t say much at all
and, instead, let the other person weave enough rope to hang themselves with.
“Dad,” | say, reaching out and taking his hand, doing my best to make my face look worried. “What do you mean?”
“| mean | wish for you to be happy,” my father says, mming up a little and leaning back against the arm of the bench, studying
me.
| decide to push it and press my eyes shut, making myself think as many horrible things as | can in just a few seconds —
imagining everyone | love dying, my horse getting hurt, Daniel in a terrible car crash —
And when | look up at my father again, my face is red with emotion, my eyes a just a little wet. “Please,” | say, shaking my head.
“I don’t know what to do.”
Something breaks in my father — | watch it happen. And he leans forward towards me, true concern in his eyes. “Fay,” he
whispers, tsking again and reaching for me, pulling me close. “I would keep you safe, my darling,” he murmurs against my hair.
“Does that mean,” | sniff, allowing myself to get worked up, to actually worry now. “That...that you don’t think Daniel...”
“No, Fay,” he says, “I don’t think your Daniel can protect you, no matter your fondness for him.”
“Ivan said...” | continue, hesitating. “That he could? And I...1 do like him...”
“He can,” my father says, “with my help, he can.”
“But Natalia...” | say, mentally crossing my fingers and hoping that I’m not pushing it too far. “She said...”
“What did that bitch say,” my father snaps, and | can almost feel the sneer on his face.
| push away from him then, pretending that he scared me a little, but wanting to see his face. “Nothing — I’m sorry —*
“No,” he says, his tempering rising a little as he grabs my arm. | let my eyes go wide and look at his hand, taking a sharp breath
in.
“I''m sorry, Fay,” he says, releasing me and shaking his head. “My temper — | am not good —*
“She said that you were...the weakest...” | breathe. “Can you protect me?”
And my father —
I''m shocked, but heughs. Laughs.
“Your Lippert’s Natalia,” he says,
shaking his head, “she has nai
what she ang sheahe Alessi
Have abe tied to the Lippert
family for too long. They only
know...one side.” Please read the
original content at NovelDrama.Org.
| don’t know what to do with myself
then — and | certainly don’t w. ee him
to seem face rColGUR myself
Fak ans him as if | needfort
— and honestly, maybe | do. Please
read the original content at
NovelDrama.Org.
“You don''t have to make any big
decisions today, Fay,” my father sans,
wrapping.a agmaratattine and
dedinghhy Read “There is plenty of
time. We will make you a good
match.” Please read the original
content at NovelDrama.Org.
And my father doesn’t say anything else on the subject, but his point is quite clear: his idea of a good match?Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.
It''s not Daniel. Not because he doesn’t have the right lineage, but because my father, like Ivan, is convinced that the Lippert
family are the ones going down.