All Chapters of Even If It Hurts, Daddy: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The morning light in the dining made Richard’s head ache. He taken some extra time to sooth himself and his erection before coming down for breakfast. He sat at the head of the table, his hot cup cooling in front of him. Amelia entered, carrying a plate of food. She set it down quietly."Where is Giselle?" Richard asked, his voice gravelly."Mrs. Hemingway said she won't be joining you for breakfast, sir," Amelia replied, smoothing her apron. "She said she isn't hungry."Richard’s brow furrowed. He set his spoon down with a soft clink. "Why? Is she unwell? That’s not even the question because I saw her about thirty minutes ago""She didn't say, sir. She just seemed... distant. She told me not to disturb her.""Distant," Richard repeated. A knot of anxiety tightened in his gut. He thought back to the things he said in the room; the way he had turned her down. On a casual day, he would pass it off as one of those occasions where a woman couldn’t handle rejection, but Giselle wasn’t just

It was past eleven o’çlock in the night, the atmosphere in the sitting room was stagnant, intense with the scent of Richard’s scotch and the biting tension of a man pushed to his limit of alcohol.Richard stood by the fireplace, his shadow stretched long across the floor. When the front door slammed and Chase’s footsteps echoed in the foyer, Richard didn't turn. He waited until chase drew close enough.Chase strolled in, tossing his car keys onto a side table. He looked ruffled, his shirt unbuttoned at the collar, smelling of a club and a woman’s perfume that definitely didn't belong to Giselle. He stopped dead when he saw his father."Still up, Dad? It’s late for a lecture," Chase said, reaching for the decanter."Did you find her?" Richard’s voice descended into a low, dangerous rumble.Chase paused, a glass halfway to his lips. He let out a dry, mocking laugh. "Wait—you were actually serious about that? You really expected me to spend my day playing hide-and-seek with Giselle?"Ric

Someone needed to explain to Richard why he was out when the sun was barely peeking over the horizon, casting long, bruised shadows across the pavement of the Heights, looking for Giselle like she was missing rib.The longer time slipped by,the more worried he became. Richard hadn't slept; his eyes were rimmed with red, his jaw covered in a fine silver stubble that made him look less his usual self and more like he looked scruffy. He sat in the back of his black car, parked a block away from Serayah’s apartment, watching the main entrance through the windows. "Target on the move," his lead security detail, Miller, whispered from the front seat. Richard’s gaze hasted. It wasn't Giselle. It was the friend—he quickly connected the dots and recalled he had seen that one from the bar. It was want solidified his belief that he was in the right place, the person he had seen step out was Lawrose. He was dressed in an oversized designer hoodie and sunglasses, carrying a reusable shopping bag

Richard sat in the center of the darkness, a glass of neat bourbon forgotten in his hand, he had been inside the library, amid the computers, for hours. He wasn't looking at stock tickers or merger agreements. He was watching the loop—the morning footage from the morning Giselle vanished.He watched her walk to the gate. He watched the way the wind caught her hair in waves. He watched the tremor in her hands as she hailed a car.A knock at the door broke his trance. Chase stepped in, looking far too confident for a man whose life was unraveling. Behind him stood Monica, dressed in a red dress that was three sizes too small for the occasion."Dad, you’ve been cooped up in here for three days," Chase said, his voice echoing off walls of the library. "The board is calling to know about your wellbeinh. That’s one would wonder if you suffered a stroke because you missed the Sterling briefing. I told them you were just...."Richard didn't turn around. "Leave here, Chase.""I brought Moni

Richard sat in the back of his Bentley, the engine idling with a low vibrating sound outside a modest real estate office in the Heights. Earlier that day he had decided he would do anything to force Giselle to see him and this was one of his whims. He was staring at a folder containing the deed information for Serayah’s apartment complex."Mr. Aris is ready for you, sir," Miller said, opening the car door.Richard stepped out, adjusting his cufflinks. He didn't do "requests." He did acquisitions. He walked into the cramped, wood-panneled office where an elderly man in a corduroy jacket sat behind a desk piled high with paper."Mr. Hemingway," the man said, standing up. "I must say, I was shocked to get a call from your office. What could a man like you want with a twelve-unit walk-up in this neighborhood?""I’m a man of sentiment, Mr. Aris," Richard said, sitting down without being invited. He placed a check on the desk. It was blank, save for his signature. "I want to buy the buildin