Page 99 of Shattered Throne
Hawaii. The word landed like a slap.
"How did you know where I was?" The words came out sharp. Dangerous.
"I have my sources." He shrugged, that easy charm sliding into place. "It wasn't hard to find your address either. You're still listed at the same place from when we?—"
"What do you want, Cole?"
He took a step closer. His eyes were soft, pleading—the same eyes that had made me believe he loved me once. The same eyes that had looked at me with disgust when I told him about Zoe.
"I just want to apologize," he said. "Properly. I know I handled things badly. I was young and scared and I made mistakes?—"
"Mistakes." The word tasted like poison.
"I want to make it right." His gaze dropped to Zoe, who was half-hidden behind my legs, watching him with wide eyes. "I want to know her. I want to be in her life. In your life, if you'll let me."
He reached down, his hand extending toward Zoe's face.
I moved before I could think. My hand shot out, smacking his wrist away with enough force to make him stumble backward.
Nobody touched my daughter. Nobody.
"Don't you dare." My voice was ice. Fire. Everything I'd kept bottled up for six years. "You don't get to touch her. You don't get to know her. You lost that right when you told me to get rid of her."
"Kim—"
"Tell me what you want. The real reason you're here. Because it's not her. You never wanted her."
Cole's expression flickered. Just for a moment, something ugly passed behind his eyes before the mask slipped back into place.
"I want to make amends," he said smoothly. "Just tell me what you want from me. I'll do it. Money, support, whatever you need?—"
“I don't need anything from you.” I kicked the nearest pile of gifts. Boxes tumbled. A vase shattered against the wall. I didn't care. “Get your crap and get out of my building. Now.”
I turned to my door, fumbling for my keys. Zoe pressed against my side, trembling.
"Kim, please—" Cole's hand landed on my shoulder.
I shrugged him off. "Don't touch me."
"Just let me explain—" He pushed forward as I opened the door, trying to follow me inside.
A hand grabbed his shoulder and yanked him backward.
Cole stumbled, spinning around just in time to catch Xavier's fist with his face.
The crack of knuckles against bone echoed through the hallway. Cole staggered, clutching his jaw, and Xavier hit him again—a solid punch to the mouth that split his lip open.
"That's for what you did, you slimy asshole." Xavier's voice was deadly calm. "And that's for what you did to Kim."
Cole wiped blood from his lip, and something shifted in his expression. The mask dropped entirely. What remained was cold. Calculating. The real man beneath the charm.
"You can have her," he said, smirking despite the blood running down his chin. "I never wanted her anyway. Couldn't care less about her freak of a daughter."
Zoe made a small, wounded sound. I pulled her against me, covering her ears, but it was too late.
"Thought I could use her to get to you," Cole continued, straightening his jacket. "But I guess there's no point now. See you at the board meeting next week, Dubois."
He walked toward the elevator, leaving a trail of blood drops on the carpet. The doors opened, and he stepped inside, that horrible smirk still fixed on his face.
