The Hour He Never Gave Chapter 12
It was Pierce.
My heart slammed against my ribs, but I kept my face calm.
I turned to Ellie. “Don’t get out of the car. I’ll be right back.”
1 repeated it a few more times before walking to the front gate.
“What are you doing here?”
After months apart, Pierce had gotten a lot thinner.
He used to obsess over his appearance before leaving the apartment, making sure every strand of hair was in placé.
Now his suit hung off him.
Dark circles sat under his eyes. Even his beard looked neglected.
“Lucia, is Ellie in the car?” Pierce sounded frantic as he tried to push past me toward it. “I knew she was okay. Let me see her. How’s her recovery?”
I immediately locked the gate and stood behind it.
“Stay away from my daughter. If you don’t leave, I’m calling the cops.”
“Don’t call them.” Pierce grabbed the bars in panic and reached for me. “I’ve been looking for you forever. I know I was wrong. I’ve been through a lot. Thought about a lot too. I’m sorry. Just give me one chance to make it up to you.”
I stepped back before he could touch me.
“You already paid the ‘rent.’ What else is there to make up for? If you actually care about us, stay away.”
“No, Lucia, please don’t say that.” He clutched the gate, his voice desperate. “I’m your husband. Ellie’s my daughter. I failed both of you.
“But I never loved Daphne. We grew up together. She’d liked me for years. The night before our wedding, I got drunk and mistook her for you. That’s how it happened.
“She couldn’t go through with an abortion, so she married some random guy and let that man believe the baby was his. That man treated her horribly. Drank all the time. Beat her and the kid.
“After her husband drank himself to death, she told me the truth. I always felt responsible for what happened to her…”
He swallowed hard.
“But that doesn’t excuse how I treated you and Ellie. Please, for Ellie’s sake, give me another chance. She shouldn’t have to grow up without a father.”
I let out a cold laugh. “When I remarried you, that was your chance. And what did you do with it?
“When Ellie needed a follow-up appointment, you were at an amusement park with Daphne’s son. You handed our house over to them and made Ellie and me sleep in a storage room while you shared the master bedroom with Daphne.
“You dug up my mother’s grave just to bury Daphne’s dog. That little bastard scattered my mother’s ashes, and you sent me to the police station instead.
“And when Ellie finally got surgery, you pulled her doctor away. I almost lost her forever.”
I looked him dead in the eyes. “I will never let a murderer be my daughter’s father.”
Pierce looked like he was about to drop to his knees. “I’m sorry, Lucia. I didn’t know things would end up like that. I swear I didn’t mean for it to happen. Daphne manipulated me. She lied to me. Ellie’s my daughter. How could I ever want her dead?
“I’ve reflected on everything. I won’t make the same mistakes again. For everything we used to have, can’t we start over? There are still so many places we never went together, so many things we never did.
“Lucia, you loved me so much. You can’t really be over me, right? Can’t we just leave the past behind?”
Then he actually pulled up our old chat history, trying to use those messages to drag me back in.
I was done listening.
I grabbed the bag of fertilizer beside me, ready to dump it right in his face just to shut him up.
Then a voice called out behind me.
“Mister, you look familiar. Oh, wait. You’re Jared’s dad, right? What are you doing here?”
