The Tyrant's Wife

Chapter 353: Way too late

"Are you ready?" Liam asked as he poked his head into the bedroom. He had finished getting ready much earlier than her and had brewed her a cup of coffee, which he held out to her when he saw how anxious she was.

She took it with a grateful smile and took a sip, sighing. "You’d think I’m on my way to the guillotine but no, I’m just meeting up with my father."

He inched closer and wrapped his arms around her, which quickly proved to be the wrong move because she was barely clothed. Her perfect, near-naked ass was pressed against him, making his cock twitch in his pants.

"Our parents aren’t always our best friends." He said to distract himself. "Sometimes we have to put up with each other and if we can sink into a peaceful relationship, that’s good enough."

"You’re right." She tore herself away from him to put on her skirt. She had considered wearing jeans for this meeting but figured she shouldn’t have to make herself uncomfortable when she wasn’tthe one who failed at parenting—not that jeans made her any less comfortable, but her style of dressing was taking a huge turn and she shouldn’t have to hide that from her father.

Once she was done dressing up, she finished her coffee. It did help her calm down a little. It was time to meet up with him.

After thinking about it, she had decided they should meet up two towns away from Humville. It was a long cab drive from their current residence but the last thing she wanted was to have to move away just because her new location had been discovered.

Reginald was already there by the time they arrived and when the hostess showed them to his table, he looked relieved to see them.

"I’m glad you came." He smiled, standing to pull out a chair for her. Liam beat him to it.

She smiled awkwardly and decided to sit on the chair Liam pulled, which would put her on the opposite side of Reginald.

"I didn’t know you were coming too." He raised a brow at Liam. "Your parents have been worried about you."

Ximena furrowed her brows. "If you are here to rope my boyfriend into going back home..."

"It’s nothing of that sort." Reginald raised his hands dramatically. "Let’s start over, shall we? How have you been?"

"Great." She snapped, efficiently ending the conversation and paving way for the most awkward silence to seep in. It was a relief when the waiter came by and handed them the drink menus.

"Ladies first." Liam winked, trying to ease the tension.

"I’ll have red wine. Whatever you have open is fine."

"I’ll have whatever she’s having," Liam seconded, then glanced over at Reginald."

"I’ll have whatever they’re having."

"Let’s not drag this out unnecessarily." Ximena cleared her throat, planting her palms on the edge of her table so she was looking right into her father’s eyes. "What exactly did you want to talk about, father?"

He snuck a glance at Liam.

"Don’t worry. Whatever you have to say, you can say it in his presence"

Reginald nodded. Stalling wasn’t helping anymore.

"You didn’t deserve to have shitty parents, Ximena. You were such a lovely child." He reached to take her hand, which she slid out of his reach.

"Elaborate."

It would have been shocking how much hate she had for him if he didn’t know he deserved it.

"I made mistakes in the past." He snuck yet another glance at Liam. Although Ximena had said he could say anything in Liam’s presence, it was still awkward to talk about this kind of topic in the presence of his daughter’s boyfriend.

Catching his subtle glance, Liam excused himself. "I need to use the bathroom."

Ximena frowned and glared at Reginald, who cleared his throat.

"You may have heard stories about how long we tried to get a child before we finally had you." He started.

She nodded. "Yes. And that’s exactly why I don’t understand your hatred for me. Did you want a son and get stuck with me?" She was just trying to be sarcastic but if that was his reason, she was going to walk out and never contact him again.

Except, his reason was much worse.

"No. We didn’t want any specific gender. We were happy to have a baby, that’s all. Except...well, we had a surrogate."

Already knowing the route it was taking, she facepalmed.

"She was my close friend. You know how you and Zaria would do anything for each other? That was us. When I found out she was going to donate her eggs, I asked her to help Melinda and me become parents. It was a lot to ask. I hoped I wouldn’t have to ask for anything else. Alas, it turned out, it wasn’t just Melinda’s eggs—her body wouldn’t be able to handle pregnancy even if she tried. So I offered my friend a deal to be our surrogate. What I did for her in return is not my tale to tell but..."

"Let me guess," Ximena cut him off with a twitch of her lips. "You wanted her to concieve the natural way?"

"Jesus, Ximena. Of course not!" He looked alarmed for a moment, then he conceded. "I have not given you any reason to not think the worst of me, I deserve that. However, it was a normal surrogacy contract."

"Then what went wrong?" She pried.

"Everything. First, the fact that she was my close friend despite being a woman. She was a divorcee with no interest in remarriage but that didn’t stop Melinda from being constantly insecure. I had to cut off ties with her until you were born. Then you came into the world and she met you before we did. She fell in love with you—I mean, who wouldn’t? You were quite the charmer since birth. She tried to take you away from us.

I finally got you back but our friendship was ruined forever. Melinda hated you since the moment she laid her eyes on you. She thought I might get back together with our surrogate and leave her even though we were never together in the first place."

He looked at her, both their eyes glistening. "I tried to be there for you, Xim. It wasn’t easy. I also wanted my wife back. I didn’t want to give either of you up even when it became obvious that it was the only way out. I selfishly wanted to reconcile with her while still being with my daughter. I hoped she would warm up to you somehow."

She shook her head. "That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard all my life."

Though it made perfect sense. Why her parents were still glued together all these years despite the constant tension between them, why her father appeared to like her a little while her mother never had a shred of emotion for her, why she bore no resemblance to her mother and why she had no siblings.

"I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me." He said.

She was relieved when Liam returned and their wine was brought. It stopped her from saying something she might regret. Instead she said, "I’m not going to pretend it’s okay. It’s not—it never will be. I came here for closure. I wanted to hear your side of the story even while knowing nothing could ever excuse being a present deadbeat."

She took a few deep breaths. "I also wanted you to know that I don’t want to be in contact with you. If you’re truly as sorry as you say you are, this is the only favor you can do me. This, and staying away from Zaria and her family."

When the food menu arrived, she was already on her feet, having downed her wine in a few gulps. "I’m sorry but we won’t eat lunch after all. Mr. Morel will proceed on his own." She grabbed Liam’s hand to leave.

"Wait." Reginald called, then he placed a card in her palm "If you ever want to keep in touch, don’t hesitate."