The Innkeeper's Secret: His Daughter

er to my side. I felt a primal urge to shield her, to make mys

a, a desperate hunger in them. "Your daughter?" he

nd your wife is waiting, Mr. Roth. I suggest you attend to her." My gaze

hands on a towel. He saw Dax, saw the tension, and his easy sm

e low and steady. His eyes, warm and reassuring

opher. "Who are you?" he dema

extending a hand that Dax ignored. "Co-own

protective circle we formed around Emma. He saw my wedding ring, a simple silver band Cristop

nally turning to Charley. "Let

a second too long. A shiver ran down my spine. The ghost of our pa

es, I found myself tracing the faint scar on my wrist. It was a reminder, a phys

h titan, the rags-to-riches story the media adored. But his rags were a carefully crafte

eet brawl near my father's construction site in a grittier part of New York. I, a naive so

ess. He looked at me then, his eyes burning with a mix of fury and som

apped. His story, delivered with a quiet intensity, tugged at something deep inside me. He spoke of a deceased mother, a woman with strikin

is eyes, the hunger to prove himself. I saw a project, a soul to save. My father, a real est

Dad," I'd pleaded. "H

in Dax's ambition. He offered Dax a scholarship to a prestigious university, a chance t

r, impressed, took Dax under his wing after graduation, teaching him the ropes of business, introducing him to his network. Dax was like a sponge,

his intelligence, the way he looked at me like I was the only person who truly understood him. I convinced my

ther, distraught, tried to fulfill her last wish – a specific kind of rare orchid she loved. He d

car. He died instantly, a vibrant orchid crus

, I lost both my paren

– the funeral arrangements, the legalities, shielding me from the vultures cir

ith emotion, "let me take care of you. Let me be your family. Your father gave me everything. I swear, I will spend my life making sure you never

eft. I said yes. He promised me a new beginning, a lifetime of

. It was the ache of a naive heart, mistaking gratitude for love, desperatio

st, my family's legacy. He had taken it all

s now. Dax was here. And his gaze on Emma,