Like Father, Like Daughter : The Story of the Prime Minister and His Daughter

Chapter 7

Carlton jolted awake from the sounds of pounding on his door. "Oh, bloody hell," he grumbled as he got up from bed. He wiped the sleep from his eyes, then grabbed his robe. The pounding kept coming and coming, he was getting annoyed. 

"Fucking hell, I'm coming!" He shouted. He rushed downstairs, then harshly opened up the door. "Dani?" He asked, as she pushed past him. "I hate him!" She shouted, making a b-line to the liquor cabinet.

Carlton was momentarily confused, but shut the door and followed her. "Dan...Jesus, it's three o'clock in the morning," he said. He watched as she opened one of the bottles and drank straight from it. 

"What happened?" He asked. Dani huffed and told him, "Three years. Three years of planning a wedding that's next week and he...he says he has to travel for work. Are you fucking kidding me?"

Ben shook his head and said, "Wait. What? There's no way he would do that, love. Did he say anything before? Was there a fight?" She sniffled and nodded, so he brought her over to the kitchen island and sat her down. 

"Would you like a glass for that?" He gestured to the bottle in her hands. She shook her head, making him say, "Just like your old man. Alright, so what happened?" He let out a yawn, then sat back and crossed his arms. 

She took another swig of the bottle, then said, "Well, he was supposed to be home at nine, but came in just an hour ago. When I asked him where he had been, he told me work, but I didn't believe him because I could smell the alcohol. I knew he had been out with the guys, but he kept denying it! So we argued about that and I thought I would be the bigger person and tell him we shouldn't be fighting the week before our wedding. That's when he said what he did. I gave him a chance to tell me he was lying and just trying to get on my nerves, but he never did."

She started to get emotional again, so Carlton moved himself next to her and put his arm over her shoulders. "Not that I'm trying to defend him," he told her, "but he was drunk. I've been there plenty of times, being drunk and saying things I later regret. Darling, he loves you and if he wasn't drinking, I'm sure things might have been different."

He noticed that didn't make her feel any better. "Then again," he continued, "he did hurt my baby girl and I have every urge to kick his arse." She let out a light laugh and leaned into him. "Thanks, daddy," she said. He pressed a kiss to her head and told her, "Anything for my girl. Why don't you go get some sleep? I left your room the same."

Dani smiled and said, "Of course you did." Carlton was able to pry the alcohol from her hands and led her upstairs. "Get some sleep, then go home and talk to him," he told her. "Everything will be fine, Pumpkin." 

After bidding her goodnight, he got back into his own bed. As soon as he pulled up the covers...there was pounding on the door. He grunted, threw off the covers and stormed downstairs. "This better be good," he grumbled. 

He opened the door to see Ryan standing there. Carlton sighed, but gestured for him to come in. "Thanks, Ben," he mumbled as he walked in. "Hey, do you have any alcohol?" Carlton gave him a stern look and said, "You and I both know you do not need anything more to drink."

Ryan looked down and sighed. "Is she here?" He asked. Carlton nodded and told him, "She's sleeping. She's also very upset by the fact you're thinking of cancelling the wedding for work?" Ryan shook his head and told him, "That was stupid of me to say. Look, I got a promotion earlier today and I went out to go celebrate with the guys. They were telling me how I would need to start next week, but I obviously told them I couldn't because of the wedding and the honeymoon. When Dan and I got into that fight, I just didn't think and told her that. I'm sorry."

Carlton crossed his arms and said, "I'm not the one you need to be apologizing to. You lied that you hadn't been drinking and you broke her heart. That's my daughter, Ryan." He was starting to get himself worked up now.