by B. B. Hamel
We pass a few other doors and other staff members before finally stopping outside a pair of big double doors.
“Dad’s study,” she says. “You ready?”
I nod. “I’m ready. Are you?”
“Nope,” she says, and she pushes open the doors.
Hans Tillman, Sadie’s father, is a severe man. I don’t know any other way to describe him. He has thinning blond hair turning gray, which makes it look almost white. His light blue eyes turn instantly onto his daughter but no smile or any outward sign of recognition flashes across his face.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was looking at a stranger.
“Hello, Sadie,” he says. “I was hoping you’d come alone.”
“I needed Gavin to be here for this,” she says.
Tillman raises an eyebrow. “For this? I assumed you were just coming home to apologize for running off with that man.” He doesn’t even bother to look at me.
“Father, this is important. Is mother home?”
He shrugs. “She’s here somewhere.”
“Can you call her? It’s important.”
He looks at her for a second before pushing a button. “Thomas, bring Regina down here, please.”
We stand there in an awkward silence. Tillman turns back to whatever he was doing on his computer. I glance at Sadie and she rolls her eyes. She’s probably used to these stupid little power games.
Regina Tillman appears moments later. She sweeps into the room and instantly goes to stand next to her husband. Unlike Hans, Regina glares at me, openly hostile and not trying to hide it.
“Mother, father,” Sadie says. “I have something important to say.”
Regina glares at me. “Does he need to be here?”
“Apparently so,” Hans says. “Regina, please. Let the girl speak.”
Sadie clears her throat. “I don’t know how else to say it, so I’ll just say it. I’m pregnant, and Gavin is the father.”
A stunned silence falls across the room. Her father doesn’t react, but her mother’s face contorts into a mixture of agony and pure anger.
“How could you?” she hisses. “With this, this, low-class trash?” Her mother looks like she might pass out from rage.
“It just happened,” Sadie says. “And I’m keeping the baby. I just wanted you two to understand why I left.”
“I’m going to support her,” I say. “And the baby.”
Regina Tillman’s gaze falls upon me and I can tell she wants my head to explode. “Do not speak, you gutter rat,” she says.
I smirk at her. Hans puts a hand on his wife’s back. “Regina, please,” Hans says. “Calm yourself.” He turns back to Sadie. “Are you certain this is what you want?” he asks.
She nods once. “I’m sure.”
Hans sighs. “You stupid little girl,” he says.
I clench my fists. I can handle them insulting me, but I can’t take it when they talk to her that way.
“I’ve given you everything,” Hans continues. “I expected only a modicum of loyalty and some poise. Instead, you’re unwed and pregnant by some upstart rat nearly twice your age.” Hans shakes his head. “I am disappointed in you, Sadie. I always thought you were a pathetic little girl, but now I see that you’re stupid as well.”
“Don’t talk to her that way,” I say, unable to stop myself. “You pompous ass.”
His gaze turns to me and a smile spreads across his face. “How’s business, Gavin?”
I keep myself calm as Sadie looks at me, horrified. “Business is fine, Hans.”
“Good, good,” he says. “I wouldn’t want it to get bad for you.”
“Threats won’t work,” I say to him softly. “I’m respecting Sadie, something you’ve never done. This is her choice.”
“Her choice?” Hans barks a single laugh. “She’s a child, Gavin. She’s too stupid to know what’s best for her. I want her to marry someone appropriate who can take care of her and give her what she needs, someone with good breeding so that her children may also be quality people. But you? You’re just trash. And your child will be trash as well.”
The look on Sadie’s face tells me everything. It’s pure horror and loathing.
This was a mistake. I don’t know what I expected, maybe something like this. But her parents are nastier, more horrible than I ever could have imagined. Her father’s insane eugenics-like idea of breeding the rich with the rich is just shy of insane, and most certainly it’s sick.
I take Sadie’s hand in mine. “Come on,” I say softly to her. “Let’s go.”
“Oh no, you don’t,” Regina says, coming around the desk.
“Dear,” Hans says sharply. “Stop it. Let the girl go.”
Sadie lingers for a second. “Can I see Peter?”
Her father shakes his head. “If you want to go, then go. If you want to stay, you will do as I tell you. This is your choice.”
She pauses for a second, and I can see the pain so clear on her face. I wish I could protect her from this too, but I can’t.
Finally, she turns. We walk together back through the doors, her mother and her father disappearing behind us.
We go straight back out the front door, and she doesn’t cry until we get into the elevator.
22
Gavin
One Month Later
It’s late when I finally get to leave the office. I’m dealing with a tidal wave of shit that’s been slowly threatening to consume everything, mostly because of that Tillman fuck, but I can handle it.
I have to handle it. For Sadie and the baby.
I’ve never had someone live with me before. I always thought it would be pretty awful. But truth is, I love having Sadie around the house. The work stuff is bullshit and stressful and hard, but as soon as I get home every day, I’m reminded of why I’m doing this, and it’s all worthwhile.
Today is no exception. I unlock the door and step inside, and there’s Sadie. She grins at me a little bit as I shut the door behind me and turn to face her.
She’s wearing only a thin white t-shirt, practically see-through, and her nipples are hard.
“Tough day?” she asks. She walks over to me and lifts her arms up to wrap them around my neck, and I can’t help but notice she’s not wearing any panties.
I smile a little. “No worse than any other day.”
“Good.” She kisses me softly. “You sounded stressed earlier.”
“You know. Just the usual shit.”
“My father still giving you a hard time?”
“Still trying to destroy me,” I confirm.
She pouts a little bit. “Poor Gavin. What can I do to make it better?”
I smirk at her and put my hands on her hips. “I don’t know.”
She kisses my neck then drops down to her knees. I watch as she unbuckles my belt and my cock is hard as fuck by the time she has my boxer briefs down around my ankles.
She strokes my thick cock and looks up at me.
“I could get used to this,” I say to her.
“I’m sure you can,” she says. “You’re stressed. I thought maybe I could help with that by doing what I do best.”
“You mean by sucking my cock?”
“That’s right, Daddy.”
I groan as she takes my cock in her mouth. She’s gotten so fucking good at that as she slowly slides it deep down into her throat. I lace my fingers through her hair as she begins to suck my tip, sliding her hand along the shaft.
She’s so fucking sexy. This is my life now. She doesn’t always suck me off after work, but it’s something new every day. Whether I’m tying her up in the bedroom, or fucking her tight little asshole, or pressing her breasts against the windows as I fuck her over the city, she’s insatiable.
I wasn’t sure if the pregnancy would change anything, but she’s handling it so well. In fact, she once told me that she feels better than she ever has, like she has a purpose now, and it’s growing inside of her every single day.
/> “Fuck, Sadie girl,” I groan as she takes me deep into her throat again. I press her head down, holding her there, fucking moaning as my cock fills her little throat.
She pulls back, saliva covering my cock, and jerks me fast. “I want to make you feel good, Daddy,” she says, pouting up at me. “Does it feel good?”
“It feels fucking incredible,” I say, practically a growl. “Suck that cock, girl. Fucking choke on it.”
She moans and takes me back into her mouth again, sliding up and down, sucking me faster. I press her down then let her back up, alternating between sucking my tip and deep-throating my whole cock.
As she sucks me, every single thing goes away. All of my stress disappears. I feel so fucking good as she works me, sucking her Daddy’s cock, my pregnant Sadie girl. She sucks me faster and faster and I can feel the glow growing.
“Swallow my fucking come,” I say to her.
“Yes, Daddy,” she says, sucking me even faster.
I come hard in her mouth, and she doesn’t even hesitate to swallow every drop. She cleans it up with her tongue when I’m finished.
“Fucking hell,” I say.
She stands up, smiling. “All better?”
“All better,” I say, grabbing her and kissing her deeply.
She laughs when I’m done and I head inside. I drop the mail on the counter along with my briefcase, then I head back into the bedroom.
“What do you want for dinner?” I call out to her. “I was thinking about ordering some Indian food.” I pull on some clean boxers and jeans. “Or we can go out somewhere. Or I can cook. Whatever you want.” Once I’m dressed, I head back out into the kitchen.
Sadie is standing at the counter, staring at a piece of paper. A torn open envelope is on the counter in front of her.
“Sadie?” I ask. “What’s wrong?”
Her face is stuck in a mask of horror, fear, and disbelief. She looks up at me slowly.
“It’s a letter,” she says.
“What does it say?” I ask gently.
She hesitates a second. “Here, take it.” She thrusts the piece of paper at me.
I take it from her hands, frowning. The letterhead is from a major law firm in the city, one of the best, if not the best. The name at the bottom is hand signed, and it’s one of the names of the founding partners.
I know what this is without even having to read it. I skim through the legal jargon and read enough just to get a sense of what the letter means.
I put it down on the counter with a sigh and pull her against me. “You’re going to be okay,” I say to her.
“I didn’t expect this so soon.”
“I know. But we’ll get through it.”
“Why are they like this?” she asks me, her voice barely a whisper.
“I don’t know.”
“I mean, I get being angry. And upset. I hoped maybe they’d come around. But they want to kick me out of the family, Gavin, and not just informally. They want to make it legal. They want to bury me.”
I nod and hold her tightly. The letter basically said that her father wishes to set up a meeting to go over her status as a member of the family. It goes on to say a bunch of other legalistic jargon, but if you read between the lines, she’s pretty much right. Her family wants to get rid of her, and they want to do it for real.
That surprises even me. I know her family is a bunch of bloodsucking assholes that only care about their name and their fortune. They don’t give a shit about Sadie at all. But part of me thought they’d at least wait until the baby was born to disown her.
But no, apparently they gave her one month, and now she’s done.
I think I understand why she’s upset. It’s not about the money, although of course part of her is angry about that. Her two brothers will get even more from the estate now because she’s been written out. And even Peter hasn’t reached out to her, which I know is tearing her up inside.
No, it’s really just about her family. She always thought she was a member of their tribe, a part of their family, an important person in their lives. She’s a daughter and a sister to them, and yet now they’re formally kicking her out. Family is supposed to be something you’re stuck with no matter what, even if you hate your family, they’re still family. That never changes.
But apparently that’s not the case with the Tillmans. Apparently, if you make a mistake, and then you go against their wishes, they just kick you out.
“What am I going to do?” she asks me.
I gently let her go and sit her down at the counter
“I don’t know what we’re going to do,” I say finally. “I have a lawyer and I can get him involved if you want.”
“No,” she says quickly. “God, no. I don’t want to get into that.”
“Sadie,” I say softly. “They want to take everything from you.”
“I know,” she says, a little angry. “And not just the money. They want to take my identity away. They want to erase me.”
I nod and cross my arms. “Which is why maybe we should fight them.”
“To what end?” she asks me, her eyes wide. “What can we possibly achieve by going up against my family?”
“I don’t know,” I admit slowly. “I really don’t know.”
“And I know they’re bleeding you dry, too,” I say. “Maybe if I do this, they’ll leave you alone.”
“We can’t be sure of that. And if you do walk away, you’ll be giving it all up. Forever. There’s no going back.”
“I know.” She stares at the counter. “Peter still hasn’t called me, you know. Of everyone, I thought he’d call.”
“Why not try calling him?” I ask a little hesitantly.
“And say what? ‘Oh hello Peter, it’s me, your disgraced sister Sadie. How’s it going?’ I don’t think so.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad to me.” I give her a little grin.
She just shakes her head. “I can’t do it. They’ve basically thrown me out already, haven’t they? Now they just want to make it official.”
“Sadie.” I walk around the counter and sit down next to her. “I support whatever decision you make. But don’t you just… don’t you want to make the fuckers bleed, just a little bit?”
She shakes her head. “No. They’re still my family.”
“Fuck,” I say, sighing. “After all this, you still want to hold back? Let me hire a lawyer. Let me go after them, drag them through the fucking mud. Who knows? Maybe they’re afraid of a fight, and we’ll win.”
“I don’t want to win,” she says. “I don’t want to fight them. I just want to be done with them. I want to get away from them. They want to suck me back in, but I can’t do it.”
I nod slowly. I guess I understand that. If it were me, I’d fight them just out of spite, just to make them squirm. I’m not entirely convinced that I’m not going to do just that. I think I could make Tillman’s fucking life miserable in court. I may be hurting right now, but I’m still fucking rich, and I can still wield considerable funds against him. And I know he won’t like that shit.
But Sadie doesn’t want it. I wish it were different, but she’s special. She’s a better person than I’ll ever be, that’s for sure.
“So what now?” I ask her.
She shrugs. “I don’t know. I guess we go to this meeting.”
“They want to hold it at your father’s apartment,” I say, pointedly not calling it her home.
She shrugs. “It doesn’t matter where.”
“Okay then.” I pause, then take her hand and look deep into her eyes. “Listen to me, Sadie. I need you to know something.”
She looks at me, and I can see the sadness deep inside of her. She’s losing everything for this, for our baby and for me. Everything she’s known and loved is being torn away by her spiteful and angry parents. What’s she left with?
Hopefully, freedom. And happiness.
“What?” she asks softly.
“I know you feel like you’re lo
sing your family. But I’m your family now. Me, you, and our baby. We’ll be a family.”
She smiles slightly. “Really?”
“Really,” I say. “I’ll take care of both of you. Always. We won’t be Tillmans, but we’ll be our own thing. We can be happy.”
“Yeah,” she says.
“You can do whatever you want. Go to school, paint, start a charity, I don’t care. I’ll support whatever you want.” I kiss her softly on the lips. “You can be free with me.”
“Yeah,” she says again, and this time she seems more sure of herself. “I was never going to be free back home. I was going to be Milo’s wife.” She laughs a little ruefully.
“You dodged a bullet.” I can’t help but grin.
“Come here,” she says, pulling me in for another kiss.
I return her kiss, although inwardly I don’t know how this is going to shape out. We have one more meeting with her family. Last time, it went pretty fucking awful, but this time might be different.
Or it’ll be terrible again, but we’ll survive it. We’ll survive this and be together, because I wasn’t lying when I said that we’re a family now. I’ll take care of her always, and I’ll try to make damn sure that she’s happy, no matter what.
23
Sadie
Even after a month has passed, I can still remember that afternoon in my old apartment when we told my parents that I’m pregnant.
I keep reliving that moment. My mother’s scorn was palpable, and I could feel my father’s disappointment in my bones. I wish I could go back and say something, anything, that would make them understand that this isn’t just some stupid childish fling. I wish I could make them really see how I feel about Gavin.
But I can’t and I won’t. Not after what they said to me. And not after that letter.
I look over at Gavin and force myself to smile. We’re on the elevator up to the apartment again, though this time we’re only meeting with my father. I doubt my mother even knows we’re coming, Gavin smiles back and squeezes my hand, just like before.
