Chapter 63: Chapter Sixty-two

Mirabella stared at him long. “I didn’t run from home,” she said, her tone tight and defensive. “I simply ran away from you. From your control.”

Hunter’s jaw flexed. He shifted a little on the couch. He looks composed unlike her. “I see what you’re doing,” he said quietly. “You don’t want to acknowledge it’s home. You don’t want to seem vulnerable.”

Her heart thumped fast in her chest. “It’s not my home, Hunter,” she said. “You literally kidnapped me and took me to your mansion. It’s not my home. It’s yours.”

Hunter took a slow step forward, his eyes fixed on her. “It’s not a home anymore,” he murmured. “Not without you. We’ve done so many things there together. I thought you were getting used to it — to me. Even Ashley and everyone at the club thought so.”

Mirabella folded her arms, holding herself as though his voice carried weight enough to shake her. “I was good and loved the club before you came into the picture. You came and turned everything upside down. You took control of my life — absolute control. And it’s scary, Hunter.”

His eyes darkened at that. “You can’t possibly tell me that you didn’t know I’ve been in the picture since day one,” he said, his voice deepening. “I told you I would come back for you. I warned you. It’s not my fault you didn’t believe me — or decided to brush it off.”

She hated the smug look that flickered on his face. “You’re sure proud of threatening a fifteen-year-old,” she said bitterly.

He didn’t flinch. He just looked at her, silent for a few seconds, and then said evenly, “You hid my daughter from me. You denied me the right to be in her life. For three whole years, Mirabella. I didn’t know you were pregnant. I looked for you everywhere. Every city. Every lead. Every shadow. For three years.” His voice cracked faintly. “Do you know how I felt when I found you and found out that you were pregnant then? I felt like shit. Like a complete loser. You sure did hide your trail very well.”

Mirabella’s throat tightened. There was a pull deep in her stomach; it was guilt, heavy and sharp. His voice didn’t sound like the man she used to know when he said that. It sounded like someone broken, someone who had so much regret and pain. But she couldn’t allow herself to fall for that.

“You didn’t want kids,” she said, her voice low but firm, a defense she clung to.

Hunter’s eyes softened with pain. “I made a statement once, Bella. Just once. And you used it against me.” He shifted slowly again. “What happens to dialogue? To reasoning? You just assumed.”

“There was no reasoning with you!” she snapped. “You know that. What if I had told you I was pregnant and you lived up to your promise of ‘fucking it out of me’? You said you didn’t want any weakness. You said attachment made people soft. I couldn’t take that chance.”

Hunter stared at her for a long moment. His silence felt heavier than shouting. “So you decided to leave,” he said finally. “To disappear. But you knew I’d find you.” His tone was quiet, but hard. “Wasn’t that too much trouble on your path?”

Mirabella rubbed her hands together, her fingers trembling. “I won’t let you have your way,” she said. “You won’t take me or my child away. We’re happy here.”

Hunter’s expression broke for a second, like something inside him cracked open. “I’m not happy without you, Mirabella,” he said softly. “And I will definitely take you both back. You’re my family...”

She blinked in disbelief. “Whoa… Family? Do you want to rephrase that?” she asked, half-angry and half-stuned.

“I know what I’m saying,” he said. “You and Rena are my home now. And that’s why you have to come back with me.”

Mirabella took a step back, her voice rising. “Do you have selective hearing? I said we’re not going. We’re fine where we are.”

Hunter exhaled long and slow. He ran a hand over his face, as if trying to calm himself. He stared at her and shook his head and then he sighed.

“You know the only reason we are all still here? It's because I promised to go easy on you, I promised not to loss my shit, I promised I wouldn't bundle you up and just take you back if you refused me, I promised not to come here and fuck you senseless the way I have wanted since the day you left me… Why? Because I don't want you feeling trapped. So, I'd advise you not to taste my patience much. Personally, I feel I have tried on my part. I have tried by staying calm and collected around you, but I'm only hanging by a very very thin thread. Don't push it.”

She gaped at him wide-eyed the whole time. He sure does look like he was hanging by a thin tread. His posture even as he looked at her now was unstable and his eyes intense. He looked like someone who would jump on her any moment. Her pulse pounded in her ears. She could see his chest rising and falling faster with every passing minute, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. So, she did the best thing she thought she should at that moment.

She stood up from the couch and stood some distance from him. His eyes followed her like that of a predator. Unmoving.

Seeing as his eyes followed her, his posture alert, she swallowed hard, held her hands out and raised a brow in uncertainty. “You are not planning to pounce on me, are you? You need to reduce the intensity of your stare. It's scary.”

He was taken aback by her question and immediately, he relaxed and breathed out a long calming breath. But he said nothing more and just stared at her for a while.

“I’m not trying to scare you,” he said, voice hoarse. “I just… you don’t understand what it’s been like without you. I searched everywhere. I barely slept. You took everything from me and you had no right to keep her from me.”

“She’s my daughter,” Mirabella said, shaking her head. “I raised her. I did everything alone. You don’t get to show up now and claim you’ve suffered.”

Hunter’s voice deepened. “She’s our daughter who you kept from me. Fuck Mirabella, I never knew of her existence. And whose fault is that?”

Silence hung between them, sharp and heavy. They stared at each other — both stubborn, both wounded in different ways.

Finally, Mirabella sighed and rubbed her forehead. “This isn’t helping. You can’t just appear and expect things to start going your way again.”

Hunter stared at her for a long moment. Then he said quietly, “This is no longer about control and you know it. You think I don’t see it? You’re tired, Bella. You’re doing it all alone, pretending you don’t need anyone. But you do. And whether you like it or not, I’m still her father and I have every right to be in her life and in yours too."

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You are doing it yet again," she said suddenly.

He frowned, "doing what?”

"Being dangerous and intimidating. Trying to scare me to do what you want.”

He just stared at her not knowing what to say to her stubborn brain anymore.

Using that as her cue to scram, she started to back away and in no time she was in her room breathing hard.

“Jesus… that was close. Phew….” she breathed, leaning on the bedroom door.

Hunter threw his head back on the couch and stared at the ceiling. It's just a matter of time and they would be united, he thought to himself.