Boisterous chatter and lively music permeated the atmosphere of the vineyard, but the only sound I could hear was my pulse hammering in my ears as Hunter and I approached my father and Carly.
Carly was gaping up at my father lustfully as we approached, the two of them seeming to be in their own little world amongst the crowd, though her affectionate gaze quickly dimmed as her eyes fell on me and Hunter.
Yeah, this wasn't pleasurable for me either.
My father hadn't noticed us approaching yet, and I took the time to study him, not having seen him in person for quite some time.
Most of his features remained the same - azure eyes and chocolate brown hair like Ariana, though his had taken on some notes of gray, and a tall, lean frame that filled his crisp, black suit.
The only discernable difference was the gleam in my father's eyes, an unquestionable spark of elation that I had never seen before.
Maybe I should have felt happy for him, or even contended, at the fact that he was so joyful, but the gleam in his eyes only made my heart pang with sadness.
To me, that gleam signified that he had no qualms about his betrayal.
And although I had already known that, it stung to see it right in front of my face.
Hunter squeezed my hand softly as we reached them before letting go, a silent reminder that he was here, but I could do this on my own.
"Hi, Dad," I voiced, straining to keep my tone level as I stood before the bitches of honor.
Shifting his gaze from Carly, who had pretended she hadn't seen us, my father beamed when he noted my presence.
"Layla! I'm so glad you made it," he exclaimed, drawing me in for a hug that caught me off guard. I tensed in his arms before pulling back, not having embraced him since I was a child.
Sending him a timid smile, I turned to Carly, who flashed a picture-perfect smile in my direction, though her eyes glinted with maliciousness.
"We missed you at the ceremony," my father claimed. "You would have loved it."
God, how removed from reality he was.
Carly nodded, feigning concern as she placed a manicured hand against her chest.
Restraining to roll my eyes, I shifted to the side and placed my hand on Hunter's arm to introduce him.
With a nervous smile, I announced, "Dad, Carly, this is Hunter. My boyfriend."
My father stiffened at the last word, clearly not expecting that.
Yeah, asshole. You didn't completely fuck up my ability to love.
My father's gaze shifted to Hunter, raking over his broad, intense form.
Clearing his throat, Hunter stepped forward and firmly shook my father's hand. "Nice to meet you," he declared, his demeanor completely changing from when he met Ariana.
Now, Hunter was all business, shifting from my charming boyfriend to a kingpin in an instant.
Releasing his grip, my father sent Hunter a tight-lipped smile, but I didn't miss the way he looked him up and down disapprovingly, especially when he noted the ink adorning his arms.
As if he was in any position to have an opinion on character.
As Hunter stepped back, he greeted Carly with a firm nod in her direction. She certainly didn't have the same reaction as my father as she gazed at Hunter, her eyes slowly trailing over his figure in a way that made me tick.
"So, Hunter," Carly voiced, drawing out his name in a sultry lilt that caused my blood to boil. "What is it you do for a living?"
Straight to the point. As if she was trying to deem if he was rich enough to be of any interest to her.
His tone uniform, Hunter declared vaguely, "I work in the business field."
I ran my hand across my mouth to hide my smile at his dubious response, knowing he was referring to the fact that he quite literally took care of business.
Catching my reaction out of the corner of his eye, Hunter's lips curved in amusement.
Carly flashed him a ditzy smile, twirling her fake blonde locks in her finger as she eyed him up and down. "You look rather young for that."
Could she be more fucking obvious? The woman couldn't even manage fidelity at her own damn wedding.
Looking at her with pure disinterest, Hunter said dryly, "I get that a lot from older women."
The look on Carly's face as she turned red with embarrassment too much to handle, and I fought to keep a snicker from bubbling out of my throat at Hunter's retort.
God, I loved my man.
My father stirred stiffly, clearly displeased. His eyes fell once more to Hunter's tattoos, and he grimaced as he studied the ink.
"I'm surprised they let you go into the office like that," my father revealed, motioning to Hunter's inked arms with an offended glance. "Guess business standards have changed since I started."
Was he fucking serious?
Anger swelled deep inside of me at his complete lack of respect towards Hunter, and I opened my mouth to tell him off, but Hunter grasped my hand before I could, squeezing it tightly.
Hunter smiled at my father, his expression pure scorn. "Seeing as I'm the boss, I would say I satisfy my own business standards. But I understand how that could be hard to comprehend when you've only ever worked under others."
Pride rang through me at Hunter's seamless defense, and I reveled in the way my father tensed with humiliation as he looked away, clearly defeated.
Clearing his throat, my father turned to me to shift the conversation.
Good idea.
"So, Layla," he started, "You still doing that internship?"
Relieved at the change in subject, I nodded, replying, "Yeah, it's going really well. I actually think I might be getting promoted pretty soon."
My relief was short-lived as my father ruined the lift in mood, shaking his head in dissatisfaction. Not even acknowledging my possible promotion, he protested, "I just don't get why you're still bothering with that low-paying crap. You know you can just come work for me and earn triple what you're getting at that internship."
Frustration brewed within me at the criticism he loved to make clear every damn time he saw me.
It was never congratulations, or keep it up! Just the same weight of disappointment.
"We've been over this, dad," I explained slowly. "I'm not going to take a free pass."
I glanced at Carly, my expression insinuating that all she had ever done was taken free passes. She had basically squeezed every possible drop of money from my father and thrived off of doing it.
Carly noted the look, a bitter appearance crossing her face before she substituted it with pretend innocence. Nodding in agreement with my father, her lips pouted with mock sympathy. "I would never want to succumb myself to working a job that barely pays."
Hunter tensed at that, clearly picking up on the venom laced in her supposedly innocuous comment. He didn't like it one bit.
Tilting my head, I sent Carly a sweet smile. "Well, it's a good thing you've never worked a day in your life, Carly."
Hunter choked on a hoarse laugh, running a hand over his jaw to stifle his amusement.
Pure rage lined my father's face as he looked down at me, pulling Carly to his side. "Watch your mouth, Layla," he spewed. "Don't you forget your place. You're the child. We're the adults. You will treat us accordingly."
Hunter's eyes darkened, not liking his tone. Mirroring my father, Hunter grasped me by the waist and pulled me to his side, and I accepted the warmth of his hold.
Just like that, my dad was back to being the authoritative dick I knew him to be. He had never truly changed, and I could see it from a mile away.
Unable to help it, I chuckled at my father's ironic words. "Seems the roles are a bit reversed, no?"
He and Carly acted more like children than I ever did.
My father sent me a warning glare. He didn't know I was too far removed to give a shit.
Running a clawed hand along my father's shoulder, Carly made a pretentious show of relaxing him. "It's okay, Dean," she murmured, calling him by his name. "I'm sure Layla didn't mean it. You know how she can be...touchy sometimes."
Oh, that was it.
With a bitter grin, I countered, "The only thing touchy here is your lack of control, Carly. Tell me, do you plan on staying faithful to my father for one month, or one year, before you go ahead and fuck all of his co-workers."
Based on the way her face blanched and my father's face transformed into a look of rage I had never seen before, I knew I was in for it.
Seeming like he had lost all sense of control, my father took an abrupt step towards me, his arm raised, to do what, I didn't know.
Grab me, slap me, berate me? I was familiar with all of the above throughout my blissful years as his daughter.
Before he could get close to me, though, Hunter charged in front of me, his body shielding mine. He was all broad shoulders and tense arms, his fists curled at his side and white with restraint.
I couldn't see Hunter's face, but based on the way my father faltered back, I had a feeling it was the kind of look he addressed the cartel's drug runners with - right before he killed them.
Hunter's voice was steady but bound with a threatening promise as he spoke. "I would be very careful, Dean. Violence towards women, especially towards the woman behind me, is something I will not tolerate."
My hands shook slightly as I took in the scene before me, not knowing how my father would react.
My father tried to feign annoyance as he scoffed, but I didn't miss the wavering in his eyes as he took in Hunter's menacing demeanor.
"Boy," my father spewed, frustration brimming his eyes. "You have no idea what you're talking about."
Hunter took another step forward, not enough to be in my father's face, but enough to suggest he could be in an instant.
"Try me," he bit out slowly, his words holding every ounce of his warning.
My father's gaze narrowed at Hunter, but he must have seen the dangerous glint in his eyes because he took a step back, chuckling nervously as he raised his arms.
"Now, now. Let's all calm down," he started, winding an arm around Carly's waist, who seemed moments from passing out. "No need for all this seriousness. It's a wedding after all."
I stifled the bitter laughter that crawled up my throat.
In the end, the man was nothing more than a spineless coward.
Hunter moved back to my side, his body still rigid with strife as he gazed down at me, his eyes running over my face to make sure I was okay.
I glanced up at him with sheer admiration, unable to convey what his unbridled support and protection meant to me. He must have read my gratitude through my gaze, because his eyes flickered with warmth as he pulled me to his side.
I didn't miss the way my father's eyes narrowed at Hunter's inked arm resting on my hip.
He could disapprove all he wanted. My father didn't deserve to have an opinion on my life.
Sending a biting smile in my father's direction, Hunter murmured, "Glad we could agree."
My father simply looked away, distraught but not wanting to press the matter after Hunter's warning.
Carly resembled a deer in headlights as she stood beside my father, evidently alarmed by the whole encounter. The woman had probably never had to deal with an ounce of conflict in her sugarcoated life.
Not wanting to spend one more second in their volatile presence, I announced, "It was nice seeing you, Dad. Carly, always a pleasure."
Her face soured at my sarcasm.
"If you need Hunter or me, we'll be at the bar," I concluded, not even waiting to see their reaction before I grasped Hunter's hand in mine and headed off, ready to drown myself in free alcohol.
Hunter's eyes flickered with a mixture of residing anger towards my father, and slight amusement towards my reaction as he followed suit, trying to understand the chaos that just occurred.
"And I thought cartels were intense," he mumbled under his breath.