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Author: Lindsay
last update Last Updated: 2024-10-29 19:42:56

“Listen.” I hold my hands up, palms facing outward, as I work to remind myself who I’m looking at. This is her father. She loves him. She wouldn't want this. “I have nothing against you personally. Even when I knew you were knocking yourself out trying to pin a charge on me, I said, I get it. The man has a job to do. I even respect it. And the only reason I could, was because I knew you'd never be able to make a charge stick. I'm too fucking smart for that. Still, I didn't rub it in your face. Nevertheless, here you are, driving up to my house, writing checks you can’t hope to cash. Are you sure this is how you want it to be?”

A tear escapes his eye and rolls down his cheek, sparkling in the sunshine. “You ruined my daughter!” he bellows.

Ruined her? “If she wants to be with me, she can be. She's a grown woman who can make her own goddamn decisions. She doesn't need her daddy telling her what to do anymore.”

When his face falls, and he takes a staggering step back as if I’ve hit him,
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