Forgiveness and bonding

Valeria

Octavian stared at me and I stared back at him, I felt self conscious, and I hated him for making me feel that way. I wasn't someone who cared about how others saw me, so suddenly caring about the way Octavian sees me was annoying.

"Stop staring at me like that!." I snapped. Octavian's eyes flashed.

"How am I staring at you?" He asked, sounding smug all of a sudden.

"You know," I waved my hand. "Like you're deciding how you're gonna unwrap me."

"Is that so?"

"Stop doing that!" I snapped again but Octavian just smirked.

"Doing what?"

I groaned, "you know what? I'm not going with you on a date again."

He scowled now, his eyes turning cold. "You can't take back your word."

"And I can't leave my father either."

"Leave him with your sister or half brother."

Something in me went warm, I had sisters and a big brother. But; it still didn't feel safe leaving him with them.

He must have took my reluctance as an answer. "You know, if he never spends time with them you guys won't move beyond where you are now."

"I know." I shrugged, "it's just that I don't want him to get hurt if they speak to him the way Tara did the last time."

"But you never know, it might turn out great or worse." He twisted his mouth. "But you can never know if you don't take the risk, or doesn't your father want to talk to them?."

"He does." I looked away from him to stare at the closes window before looking back, my mind made up.

"Sure." I sighed, I'll push him into talking to them."

"Great." He smiled, "now get ready, I don't want our reservation cancelled."

"I thought we aren't going out?"

"We aren't." His tone was curt and cold.

"Be ready." He fixed me with a cold stare his gaze sizing me up.

I flushed looking away.

He walked out.

I narrowed my eyes at the door, why was he blowing hot and cold?

Walking into the room assigned to my father I squinted, maybe my eyes were deceiving me or was I really seeing my father with Tara, they were actually smiling, my father's shoulders which had been glued to his neck was now tense free.

And Tara; she was actually giggling.

"What the fuck?" I couldn't find other words to express my surprise.

"Oh Valeria," my father gushed. "Jordan here was just telling me about how she started using her Katana."

"Oh." I said dumbly, he was now calling her Jordan. "since when are you guys talking." I asked him, my dad flushed.

"She approached me, and I'm so grateful." He hand reached up and caressed her cheek, Tara leaned into his touch and whimpered, she looked and sounded touch starved.

An unfamiliar emotion rushed through me, I thought I'd be jealous, feel spiteful with the eau he was behaving with her but all I felt was compassion and the need to hug Tara.

All my life I've had the love of my father, he touched me every single time, I wasn't touch starved.

Andrea and my dad more than made up for it.

And as if she could read my thoughts Tara stood up and came towards me, her hands fidgeted at her sides before she clenched it.

"I'm sorry for how I behaved, I don't like to feel, so I push everyone away, and I don't want to repeat the same thing with my mate." She flushed looking away, "I know it's not an excuse for how I behaved but I promise to do better." I knew she wanted to say something more, and I knew wherever she was going to say was going to be very hard to come out of her mouth, with how much her hands unclenched and unclenched.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry to, I shouldn't have acted out...can I hug you?"

She threw herself at me.