Chapter 4

Richard rushed back into the reception hall, where the grand wedding march was playing. He snatched the microphone from the host, gave it a couple of taps, and announced, "Hello, can you all hear me? Hi, everyone. I'm Emily's father.

"I wasn't there for her when she was little, and I still feel terrible about it. I want to make it up to her."

As he was halfway through his emotional speech, I caught up and saw him putting on this dramatic, tear-filled act.

With that romantic background music, the whole thing looked so absurd that it was almost comical.

"Emily, no matter what you think, all I wanted today was to see you, to see how stunning you look in your wedding dress, and to walk my beautiful daughter down the aisle," Richard said, gazing at me with heartfelt emotion.

He added, "I need you to know that even if you won't recognize me, I'll always be your father. If you don't want anything to do with me, that's fine.

"I swear I won't drag you down. Even when my time comes, I'll make sure to disappear from your world."

Then Richard buried his face in his hands and started sobbing loudly. The whole place burst into whispers and gossip, with people glancing my way and reporters snapping photos as their careers depended on it.

I was so furious that I nearly marched straight up to yank Richard off the stage myself, but Lily caught me in time. Lucas gave me a quick look, quietly telling me to go back to the room.

I gave in, stopped struggling, and followed Lily out of there.

As soon as the door closed behind us, Lily fixed me with a look of exasperation and snapped, "Are you satisfied now?

"On the most important day of your life, you had to make a spectacle out of everything. He's your father. Shouldn't you at least acknowledge him?"

I didn't say a word. I dropped heavily onto the couch, glaring in silent protest.

Lily glanced at me, her voice softening a little as she added, "Emily, I'm marrying your father. From now on, you'll have a real home."

Seeing the disbelief in my eyes, she continued, "Richard had another reason for showing up today. His company hit a snag, and he wants Lucas to help out. We're all family, right? Talk to Lucas and ask him to do Richard this favor."

In that instant, I could feel my blood boiling over with rage.

Richard wasn't here out of any sense of guilt or fatherly love. He was scheming, pure and simple.

His company got itself into a mess on some out-of-town project, and people died. No regular lawyer could touch it, and big-shot attorneys like Lucas cost a fortune. Richard couldn't stand the thought of paying so much.

I'd already laid down the law with Lucas. He was not allowed to take Richard's case.

Once I got married, Lily couldn't stop bragging about it. As soon as Richard caught wind of it, he cooked up this whole "father-daughter reunion" act.

I scoffed, "Mom, I don't get you sometimes. He walked out on you once. How can you trust a single word he says? He's taking advantage of us."

"Why not? Richard said as soon as his company's mess is cleared up, he'll marry me again," Lily shot back. "Emily, say yes. Do it for me, for my happiness, okay?"

"No way," I replied, flat as ever.

"If you won't help, I'll kill myself right in front of you. Imagine what people would say about you then," Lily threatened.

"You're not going to do anything like that. He agreed to marry you, and you wouldn't dare throw that away now," I said coldly.

Lily had managed to squeeze out some tears, but my words stopped her.

I glared at her, memories of Oliver she'd sold off burning in my chest. My hatred was eating me alive, but all I could do was bite back my rage and choke it down.

Because I refused to acknowledge Richard or come to his rescue, he went and aired his sob story in an online interview, hoping to rally the internet and back me into a corner.

"Mr. Lynch, from what you've said, is your biggest wish for your daughter to take care of you?" The host asked in a gentle voice.

"Yes," Richard replied, his voice low.

"But you own a company, so you're not broke. Plus, you've got a son. So why, after all these years, do you want your daughter to be the one looking after you?" the host continued.

Richard gave a wistful, bitter smile and added, "Yeah, it's true. I have a company, and I'm not struggling for cash. What I want is to make up for all the mistakes I made, to reconnect with my daughter after all this lost time.

"I regret everything. When I say I hope she'll take care of me, I don't mean money. I want her to spend time with me, to maybe forgive me a little.

"If I could hear her call me father once more, that would be enough for me. I swear, if I got that, I could close my eyes for good and have no regrets."

Richard's eyes overflowed again, and before anyone knew it, he was sobbing on camera.

The moment that interview dropped, it blew up online overnight. I paid to boost the numbers myself to make sure it caught fire.

Suddenly, I was getting roasted online. I tried to stay quiet and let it pass, but that only made things spiral out of control. Some trolls weren't content with leaving nasty comments.

One morning when I headed out for work, a funeral was underway, candles burning everywhere, and people kept spamming my phone with insults, calling me heartless and worse than a beast.

Then one day, I received a box with a dead animal in it. That's when I realized that if I didn't back down now, things could get uglier.

I showed up at Richard's place, looking like I hadn't slept in days.

He put on that insincere, caring act and said, "Emily, what's wrong? Didn't sleep well last night? Come on in, sit down."

With that, he led me inside.

I slumped onto the couch, took a sip of water, and said, "Dad, I'm sorry. I was being too stubborn."

"Yeah, you're always so stubborn, but I still worry about you," he said, pretending to be all concerned and playing the doting father. "Seeing you get dragged and hated online, it breaks my heart."

I was so disgusted by his fake concern that I nearly gagged.

He was the one who planned the funeral and sent those boxes with dead animals to my doorstep.

I forced myself to hold back my disgust and said, "Thanks, Dad. I've already mentioned your company's issue to Lucas."

That was what Richard had been waiting for. He nearly leapt out of his chair, sounding all anxious. "When is he coming?" he asked.

"He'll swing by your company tomorrow to check things out," I reminded him, keeping my voice steady. "But Dad, whatever my husband asks, you have to come clean.

"Lying to a lawyer is begging for trouble. If you leave anything out and the other side exposes you in court, you're screwed. No one can save you then."

Richard stared at me, not fully convinced, but he gave a reluctant nod anyway.