Her Billionaire Father Spoils Her Rotten novel · Chapter 21 of 24
Chapter 21: The Church Steps
She had been waiting a while.
There was a plastic cup of tea on the window ledge beside her, the bag still in it, gone cold.
She looked smaller.
She looked, for the first time in my life, like a woman who had not been to a hairdresser.
"Abigail," she said.
Jonas let go of the elevator door and came up beside me.
Dominic did not move.
"I'd like a word with my niece," Marla said to him. "Without your man standing over us. I'm not armed."
"You're going to say it in front of both of us," I said.
"Fine."
She drew a breath.
"You have your fourteen million. You've had your show. I've lost my husband's health and my daughter. I have a hearing Monday that I'll lose." Her voice did not shake. "I will withdraw it, and I will leave the whole thing alone, if you come to church on Sunday and say that you forgive me."
I stared at her.
"You want me to forgive you."
"In front of the congregation. They have been told terrible things."
"By who?"
"By you."
"By Brooke's ledger," I said. "By the treasurer, who was at the dinner."
"A word from you would put it right. They love you. They have always loved you."
It was the oldest trick she had.
It was the whole of her.
She made the terrible thing sound like a favor I would be doing, and herself like a woman on her knees.
I had said yes to it for thirteen years.
"I'll come on Sunday," I said.
Something in her face loosened.
"Thank you, Abby."
"I'll bring the book."
Her face stopped.
"What book?"
"Yours," I said. "The blue one. The one you kept in the sewing basket."
Keep reading free with an account. Start Her Billionaire Father Spoils Her Rotten from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.
← Chapter 20 · All chapters · Chapter 22 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend