Lahat ng Kabanata ng Your Dad's Perfect: Kabanata 251 - Kabanata 260

IzzyWalking down the hall, I follow the faint sound of clinking dishes to the kitchen. The house has a simple, serene feel, with soft, natural light filtering in through tall windows, illuminating wooden floors and walls lined with shelves of books and framed sketches. In the kitchen, the scent of fresh coffee fills the air. The man who took care of me leans casually against the counter, holding a coffee mug.“You slept through the entire morning,” he says with a faint smile. He looks older, with graying hair at his temples and gentle eyes, probably around fifty. He has an easy warmth about him that puts me at ease.I look at him in confusion, pieces of last night’s foggy memories coming back in bits and pieces. I was with a cleo. We were dancing, and I was talking to a guy but I don’t remember much after that.“You looked like you were having a rough night,” he says, nodding sympathetically. “A guy you were with sat you down, said your phone was in your bag, then left. Your bag, by

Zade POVThe tension is overwhelming as we pull up, and I push past Grayson, heading straight for the door. I don’t knock, don’t wait—I storm inside, shouting her name.“Izzy!” My voice echoes through the quiet rooms, but there’s no sign of her. “Where is she?” I demand, shoving Jamie back as he stares at me, confused and unhelpful.Grayson holds out his phone and shoes him a picture of her.He raises his hands defensively. “I don’t know where she is! I left her in the Oceana Bar. She was wasted. I didn’t even know who she was.”Rage flares up in me, fists tightening. Grayson sees it and shoves me back. “If you’re looking for someone to blame, start with yourself!” he snaps.I grit my teeth, swallowing the urge to punch something, and storm out, ignoring the rest of them. I need answers, and fast. Oceana Bar’s my best shot, so I hop on my bike, my mind racing as I speed toward it, the cold wind hitting me like a slap.When I get there, it’s closed up, but I don’t care. I bang on the w

Grayson sighs and pulls me into another hug, his grip warm and protective. “You’re safe now, and that’s all that matters. But don’t scare us like this again, okay?” He pulls back, his eyes hardening. “I’ve made sure Zade knows to stay away from you.”The thought of Zade out of my life forever hits me like a punch to the chest. “No, Grayson, I caused this. You can’t tell him to stay away from me. He has every right to be hurt, but I don’t want him gone,” I say, my voice wavering as I meet his gaze.Grayson clenches his jaw. “Izzy, look at everything that’s already happened. It’s a sign that this isn’t right.”I shake my head, more resolute than ever. “He’s not the one causing these problems. Please, Gray. Don’t push him away.”He sighs, exasperation clear in his posture. “Fine, but we’re setting some damn rules,” he insists, his voice brooking no argument.I can’t help a small laugh escaping. “Rules? Really, Gray?”“Yes, rules!” he grumbles. “This whole mess proves we need them. Now ge

ZadeEverything feels slow and distant, like I’m wrapped in thick, suffocating layers, and each layer presses down on me with a weight I can barely fight. I don’t know where I am; there was only darkness before, and I had welcomed it. Now, somehow, I’m hovering at the edge of something, voices trickling in, soft and muffled, like they’re coming from the other side of a wall. Hands press against me—steady, warm, firm—and some part of me wants to push them off, but I can’t. My body is too heavy, too unresponsive.The voices get clearer, closer. It’s Grayson, tense, clipped, talking about hours passing. Sammi’s voice cuts through, sharp and panicked, demanding answers. I want to tell them to go away, to leave me to the silence. This should have been it. The darkness should have swallowed me whole, but here I am, dragged back again. Back to the torment, the mistakes, the endless ache I tried to escape.And then, just as I sink deeper, I hear her. Izzy. The sound pulls me, a faint lifeline

IzzyOnce we’re dressed and dried off, I sit on the best in front of Zade, watching him, waiting for him to turn his attention from his phone. He’s completely fixated on it, likely checking messages, probably for work, but to me, it feels like a shield—a way to avoid dealing with what just happened, with what he almost lost. Does he always do this? Fall apart, act recklessly, and then pretend nothing happened? Because it’s far from fine. He could have died, and from the looks of it, I’m not even sure he realizes how close he came.“Zade,” I say, keeping my voice calm, though I feel like screaming, “can you put down your phone, please?”He pauses, glancing at me before letting out a sigh and slipping his phone into his pocket. His eyes are on me now, but there’s still a wall, something he’s holding back. I know this will be hard to talk about, but he needs to hear it all. He needs to know that he’s not alone in this—and that I’m here for him, even if he keeps pushing me out.“There’s a