Chapter 70: Father’s return...
Rhett
Alpha Terry Thatcher filled the doorway with his presence—tall, broad-shouldered, with the kind of commanding aura that made everyone in a room automatically defer to him. His red hair was just like mine, and the only thing of his that I had was perfectly styled despite what must have been a long journey, and his expensive suit showed no signs of travel wear.
I sat frozen on the bed, overwhelmed by emotions—joy, fear, hope, resentment, and desperate love all crashing together in my chest. It really was him. After nine months of silence, of unanswered calls and rejected visits, he was here.
My father entered the room and nodded curtly to Dr. Maxwell and Sarah. "Doctor. Sarah. If you could give us some privacy."
Both of them immediately filed out, closing the door behind them. The room fell into heavy silence, broken only by the soft beeping of my monitors.
We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. He looked older than I remembered, with new lines around his eyes and a weariness in his posture that hadn’t been there before. But his gaze was the same—assessing, never missing anything.
"How are you, Rhett?" he asked quietly.
The simple question, spoken in that familiar deep voice, broke something inside me. Tears gathered in my eyes despite my desperate attempts to brush them aside. I was supposed to be stronger than this, supposed to be the heir he could be proud of, but seeing him here after so long made me feel like a child again.
My father crossed the room to my bed and sighed, a fond smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Do all your women know you cry this easily?"
Unable to hold myself together anymore, I reached for him, pulling him into a fierce hug. I buried my face in his shoulder and sobbed like I hadn’t since I was small.