Forgiveness
OPAL
I'm still thinking about what Bruce said to me when I woke up in the morning. I leave him sleeping and venture downstairs to hunt for coffee. I haven't slept well at all, even though we were both spent by the time we climaxed.
As soon as I reach the bottom of the stairs, I hear my father's voice and this rips me right out of my thoughts.
He's here again?
I abandon my pursuit of caffeine and walk around, trying to find him. He's right by the front door, giving a group of men from our pack orders. I remember these men. They were always around the house.
One of them is his Beta.
"That's all."
They scatter right after he says this and he's alone. I take this as an opportunity to approach him. As soon as he sees me, he raises a hand and says, "Not now, Opal. I have a lot to do."
I'm speechless as I watch him head outside. Then, I scoff when I'm all alone in the parlor. What the hell was that about? Genuinely?
This is how he's ignoring me now?
I don't know why, but I find myself heading toward the bedroom. I wish Bruce would put a stop to it, and I can't help but ask myself if this is happening because of me. Maybe Bruce doesn't want to hurt my feelings by treating my father a certain way.
The real answer might be different, but right now, that’s what I think.
When I reach our room, I’m more than surprised to see the door open. I peep through the crack and see Megan and Bruce talking.
She notices me right away and opens the door wider. The tension in the room is so thick that it can be cut with a knife.
“Is everything alright?” I ask.
Bruce nods, but Megan’s answer is different. “It’s your father we’re discussing, Opal. I’m sorry.”
My heart sinks but I try not to show how sad and disappointed I feel that he’s causing all this. “Right. Of course.”
“I’ll deal with it,” Bruce proclaims curtly. “Until then, I don’t want anyone getting in his way. Do you understand me, Megan?”
She glances at me, nods, and walks out of the room. As soon as the door closes, Bruce extends his hand. I take it. He tells me, “You didn’t look shocked when she told you.”
“Yeah. I saw him downstairs. I tried talking to him but he ignored me.”
“I don’t want you anywhere near him again, Opal,” Bruce declares. “The man’s unstable and I don’t trust him around you.”
“Bruce, it’s alright. He won’t hurt me. He’s my father.”
Bruce looks almost haunted by my answer. I say again to reassure him, “It’s alright. It really is. He won’t hurt me. I know what it might look like to you, but he’s always been like this. Kind of.”
I can’t stop thinking of his warning, though, and it makes me upset because I realize that something has to change. How did things between us get so bad that my husband thinks he’s a threat to me?
I have to get to the bottom of this and try to find out where it all went terribly wrong between us. Why has he suddenly started treating me like a piece of shit?
What have I done?
I tell Bruce that I’m heading downstairs to get breakfast but in actuality, I’m going to look for my father. I saw him heading outside earlier, so I step outside, too, and look around in hopes of spotting him.
I find him near the gate. He’s giving a group of men in the same uniform I saw earlier instructions. I stand not too far away from him and wait for him to finish. I see him glance at me, so if he walks away, he’ll be doing it on purpose.
Letting him get away with treating me like this is not something I’m interested in doing anymore, though. This ends right now.
To my surprise, he turns around and says my name. I approach him with my arms still folded.
“Opal. Is there something you’d like to say?”
“Yes. I don’t understand why you’re treating me this way. I want it to end now.”
He surprises me by chuckling. “I don’t understand what you mean there, Opal.”
I scoff. “How can you not? Things have been different between us since I married Bruce!”
“Because you changed, not me. You let this all get to your head.”
I frown. “No. I didn’t. That’s just not true!”
He raises a hand. “I don’t want to argue with you. It won’t lead to anything. Besides, I’m not angry at you. Not anymore.”
“What reason did you have to be mad at me in the first place?”
My father looks at me intently, then smiles. “Lots of reasons. But that’s beside the point.” He steps even closer to me and pinches my cheek between his fingers softly. “You’ve done a whole lot of good for this country, Opal. I’m proud of you for that.”
I genuinely don’t understand what he’s talking about.
“You’ve saved us all,” he adds.
“How?” I can’t help but ask. “I haven’t done anything significant. I…”
He watches me continue to struggle to get the words out, but I fail. Besides, I’m confused by how he’s suddenly being nice to me. His touch is tender. His words are affectionate.
Is he talking about the time I saved Megan? Why would that be me ‘saving the world’?
Quinton approaches and my father’s hand drops to his side. I look over my shoulder and see that my brother-in-law is frowning and practically glaring at my father.
“Quinton,” my father says. “Is there something you’d like to say to me?”
“To you, never,” he replies rudely. “And it’s Alpha Prince to you.”
My father bows his head. “Of course.”
He leaves us, and I once again lose the chance to get some real answers from him. I don’t even know where we stand anymore. I face Quinton, though, and ask him, “Is everything okay?”
Before answering me, he looks from side to side, then grabs my arm and pulls me toward a more secluded area. We walk all the way around the house, to where the garden is.
“Quinton?”
At last, he stops, and I rub the sore spot in my arm while watching him warily. He runs his fingers through his hair and blurts, “I can’t take this anymore. I fucking can’t!”
“What is it?”
I’m so concerned that I can’t even breathe properly anymore. What’s going on? I have never seen him like this.
Quinton shakes his head before answering me, and even curses. “It's not safe here. For you, I mean. It never was. And I’m sorry I kept this from you for so long, but goddess knows I wanted to tell you. I was being fooled, too, and I only realized it yesterday.”
“I don’t…get what you mean. What are you talking about?”
Quinton’s eyes are wide as they meet mine. “I need to tell you something. But before telling you, I’ll beg for your forgiveness first. Please, forgive me.”
What the hell is going on?