The Scorned Heiress: No More Mercy novel Chapter 704

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Tara demands, unable to shake the sudden chill creeping up her spine.

"Nothing," Charles replies softly, a weary smile touching his lips. "Just remember that your mother and brothers aren't inherently bad people. They were just too naive, too easily manipulated. And it's my own incompetence that allowed it. I failed to pull them back from the edge when I had the chance."

He speaks almost in a whisper, though Tara catches every word. Reaching across the table, Charles gently rests his hand on the top of her head, smoothing her hair in a tender, familiar motion.

"I just want you to be happy with Danny. Build your own family, and live a peaceful, quiet life."

With those final words, he rises from his seat and walks out of the private room, leaving Tara sitting in stunned silence.

It has been an eternity since he last touched her like that. When she was a little girl, every time he came home from work, he would affectionately ruffle her hair and whisper, 'There's my perfect girl. Dad missed you.' Those carefully locked-away childhood memories fracture the emotional walls she built around herself, making her chest ache unexpectedly.

A terrible sense of foreboding washes over her. His entire speech sounded dangerously like a final goodbye. She doesn't know what kind of endgame Charles is playing, or if this is just another intricate trap, but his words successfully pierce her armor. The cold indifference she usually feels toward him wavers, replaced by a turbulent storm of emotion.

She stares at the empty doorway for a long moment before shaking her head fiercely, forcing those useless sentiments back into the dark corners of her mind.

Twenty minutes later, Danny bursts into the restaurant.

"Tara, what's wrong? Are you okay?" he asks, his eyes scanning her face the second he reaches the table. The moment he heard the unusual, quiet strain in her voice over the phone, he dropped everything and sped across the city.

Before she can formulate a witty comeback, Danny tilts her chin up and presses a soft, lingering kiss to her cheek.

"Have you no shame?" Tara murmurs, her face flushing a deep, radiant crimson.

"You'll get used to it," he whispers against her skin, pressing another kiss just beside the corner of her mouth. "In fact, I'm already addicted."

He doesn't give her a chance to argue. His lips capture hers in a deep, consuming kiss. Since the day they faked their romantic relationship for the cameras, this is their first real, undeniable kiss. There is no romantic candlelight or atmospheric music, but the air between them crackles with an intoxicating sweetness.

Tara's heart hammers against her ribs. Her face burns with heat as her hands instinctively reach up, her fingers gripping the lapels of his jacket. Danny's kiss is infinitely tender yet overwhelmingly possessive, pouring every ounce of his hidden devotion into her.