Bianca hadn't had time to absorb the last of the words Kade spoke before Matt's eyes filled with a rage she'd never seen before. But as soon as he stalked toward her, Kade's voice boomed through the silence.

"I would focus your anger on me, rather than her, if I were you. If you put your hand on her, even to shake some sense into her, whatever hand you use will never fully regain its function."

Matt stopped in his tracks, ran his hands feverishly through his hair until it stuck out every which way, and kicked one of the dining room chairs. "I would never, in a million years, hurt my sister. I just want to know how this fucking happened."

Bianca opened her mouth to come up with some sort of simple explanation, but the words wouldn't form. There were no words or sentences she could string together that would allow this all to make sense to them.

"After the dramatic dinner last Saturday, I checked on Bianca. I hadn't gone there for any reason but to talk and see if she was okay. Things progressed, and we've seen each other every day since."

"Progressed?" Matt repeated. "In my fucking house?"

She watched as Kade shook his head. "I decided it was best to take her back to my place that night. She returned early the next morning."

"But you had no problem seducing my daughter in my house, did you?" Her dad asked.

Bianca could see his hand was a mere inch away from the steak knife placed beside his plate, and from the look on Kade's face, he'd noticed, too. Still, he kept his composure as he had since it all came out. "On Sunday night, yes. I assure you, that was the only time."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better about a man, older than me, for christ's sake, screwing my daughter under my roof while I was home?"

"Not better," Kade relented, "but hopefully not worse."

Her dad let out a sarcastic laugh before turning his attention to her. "How about you? Don't you have anything to say for yourself?"

Bianca wrapped her arms across her stomach is a lost effort of comfort. She could feel her body trembling beneath her arms, or maybe it was her arms that were trembling. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry that you screwed a man over twice your age? Sorry that you screwed your brother's father-in-law, your friend's father? What? What exactly are you sorry about, Bianca?"

Bianca looked over at Kade, who was staring back at her lovingly with a timid, closed-lipped smile. That was the only comfort she needed. "I'm sorry that me falling in love hurt people I care about, but I'm not sorry for that love."

Another laugh from her father as he shook his head. "Un-fucking-believable."

As she watched her father's finger twitch against the handle of the blade, Bianca stepped back. "Dad, can you please move that knife? You're seriously freaking me out right now."

His eyes glanced up at her, then down at the sharp object, before he picked it up and dropped it on Kade's plate. "There, you can use that to stab me in the back a second time."

"I never intended to stab you in the back, Michael, and I didn't intend to fall in love with your daughter. I never intended to fall in love at all. But it happened, and I wouldn't take it back for anything."

"Why the hell are you being so quiet?" Matt asked Kara. When all she did was shake her head in response, he seemed to catch on. "You knew about this, didn't you?"

"I set up this dinner, because they wanted to come clean about this as soon as possible, so I wouldn't have to lie to you."

"But you did lie, didn't you?" Michael asked.

Kade cut in. "Don't be angry with my daughter. This wasn't her secret to tell, and frankly, who I date and who Bianca dates might concern you, it isn't anyone's goddamn business."

"But it is my business," Michael chimed in. "And I can tell you right now that this shit isn't happening. Not while she's living with me, and not if she wants to remain in the family."

"Dad," Matt groaned out, only to be cut off.

"No. She can either have a relationship with me, or a relationship with this sexual degenerate." Her dad turned his attention to Kade. "As long as she's dating you, she will not be welcome in my home."

Right there. Right there was when Bianca felt every piece of her body crumble, leaving only pieces and ash across the floor beneath her feet.

"It isn't just your home," her mom reminded him. "And it isn't just your decision. You speak for yourself, and that's it. If I want to have my daughter over for dinner, you sure as hell will not stop me from doing that."

Her dad got up from his seat to face her mom. "Don't think for a second I haven't figured out you knew about this too. You're the one who caught him crawling out the window." Then he turned again to look Bianca right in the eye. "Your choice, Bianca. Do you want a relationship with him, or do you want a relationship with your father; a man who's stood by you your whole life."

She blinked back tears, her stomach clenching tight, nearly causing her to double over. But she didn't. Instead, Bianca stood tall. "Sometimes ultimatums are the last option. If one spouse is drinking themselves to death and destroying their family, or if someone is cheating. This? This isn't one of those times. I shouldn't have to choose between loving him and loving you."

It hurt to say, but it was a truth her father needed to hear. "So if you are going to give me an ultimatum here, then the times you've been there for me mean they were out of obligation, not out of love or respect. I'll get everything out of your house on Monday, and when you get your head out of your ass, you know where to find me."

Bianca walked away and grabbed her coat, feeling her tears spill onto her face as Kade walked silently behind her.

"You think this is love, Bianca, but you're under his spell, just like every other woman. Once he's done with you and breaks your heart, you'll have no one to blame but yourself, and I'll be waiting with a big, fat 'I told you so.'"

She turned to look at her father for the last time. "Maybe I will get my heart broken, but that's a chance we take no matter who we fall in love with. But a father who can't wait to rub it in their child's face has no business calling themselves a parent, nor less a man.

"And I change my mind. When you get your head out of your ass, you're no longer welcome to come looking for me."

Author's Note:

Please understand the family dynamic in this book reflects American culture. Many from oversees have had an issue with how the MC handles certain situations with her family, which have caused a strong dislike for the character. In the country I reside in, sharing blood only allows you to get away with so much. 

Also understand that I went through hell and back with my own father. Standing up to him like Bianca stood up to her own father took me years to do. Before that it was consistent bullying, attempt at control, toxic behavior, apologies that weren't genuine and only given as a way to remain in my life. 

Where my sister cut him off at age fourteen, only seeing him once after that at my high school graduation (she was in her mid-thirties at the time of his death), I felt stuck to continue a relationship, as he'd guilt trip me time and time again. 'If he didn't have me, he might as well kill himself'. 

Before he lost all custody rights and privileges, he'd take me to drug houses, put me in life threatening situations, and stole money. His roommate was a drug dealer who consistently had clients coming in and out of the house. I've witnessed stabbings, his arrest (more than once), and screaming matches.  

Once we did move away, I was still stuck in a long-distance situation that wrecked me emotionally. He'd threaten suicide any time I told him that him being in my life was causing me mental damage, which only resulted in further mental damage. 

I assure you, it started out small by trying to play at my sympathy, and forcing a level of control over my life, whispering bits and pieces of hate. Because I kept quiet for the first several years, it only escalated. 

So when you call this MC disrespectful, you are actually telling me that I should have continued to endure years of mental abuse because he was my father, and father's have a right to treat their children however they wish. 

Maybe her reactions are harsh to some, but when your father gives you an ultimatum, willing to completely cast you out of his life if you're unwilling to do what he says, he must work long and hard to regain his place in your life, even after an apology. He needs to show he is willing to change his behavior. 

Bianca's father is no where near the level of my own, but mental abuse is mental abuse.