Billionaire's Feisty Redhead

20| I'll knock the door down myself

SETH

The truth hurt. Wasn't that what people said? But in real sense, it was not the truth that hurt, it was the lies covering up the truth that hurt. It was the fact that people close to you dared to lie to you that hurt.

Come the next morning after that night, Tessa had looked him in the eye and said 'it was the best night of my life babe'. He had been pretty stoned to remember anything but deep down he blamed himself for not remembering.

He blamed himself for everything that happened to Jessica.

Tessa and I might have been the real villains but you were just as guilty, Seth.

She lapsed into depression after Viv's death.

She hated you because you knew she loved you and you took advantage of that to humiliate her and make her life a living hell.

I never understood what she saw in you.

Why after so many years, she still idolizes you

Noah Brownstone nearly raped...

Jabari's words flogged his mind, eating away his soul bit by bit. He had been by her apartment last night and the conversation didn't go so well. It was no surprise things didn't go well given the fact that like a bull, he had charged right into it blaming her for Viv's death.

Jesus, he had been a dick. He had hurt her which was no surprise why at eleven am in the morning, he was staring at a restraining order on top of his desk. If he thought she hated him then he was wrong because now, Jessica Davis might have wished he was six feet under.

He loosened his cuff links standing up with untold rage.

He had a daughter. A daughter he never got to see. A daughter he never got to hold in his arms and wonder about how the Almighty worked in mysterious ways.

His eyes roamed his office wondering how old Viv would have been. Nine? Eight? Would she have been thrilled by the paintings hung around in his office? Would she have loved swinging in the pure white plush chairs while watching daddy work?

Would she have stained his glass mirror walls with peanut butter while gazing at the beautiful world outside? Would she have sat on his lap asking him to draw with her? So many questions ran through his mind...and at the end of the day, Jessica was right.

Viv being dead was his fault. Her hatred for him was justified.

To think, he was a father. He would have been a father to a sweet little girl. The fact that Jessica hid his daughter's existence from him cut him deeply but he didn't hate her. He didn't hate Jessica for what she did, on the contrary, he admired her.

She was brave. She had tackled everything by herself. Gone through the pain all by herself and no woman he knew was that strong.

His eyes stared intently at the billboard next to David and Shirtloff's building. Jessica's face had been replaced by an ad about toilet paper and new toiletries and at that very moment, he wished it was her on that billboard.

He wished that she was standing in front of him and he would get the chance to apologize for everything. To look her in the eyes and say 'had I known about Viv, I would have accepted you, no questions asked. I would have accepted both of you. I would have married you.'

He didn't realize his eyes had been filled up with unshed tears until Ryan barged right into his office like he always did.

"Sorry, Sir if this is a bad time, I can--"

"No it's okay", Seth dismissed walking to his chair.

"Sir Roman is here"

The last thing he wanted was to see his father. He appreciated his father's company but not now. At the moment, he wanted to be alone. To be alone with his thoughts, with his guilt, and to wallow in self-loathing.