Burning Ice - Chapter 9: Chapter 9

I sat on the edge of my bed, running my hand through my hair as I replayed the kiss over and over in my mind. What the hell had gotten into me? One minute I was standing there, telling myself I wasn't going to get involved, and the next, I was pulling her into a hallway, kissing her like my life depended on it.
I'd never been the type to lose control like that. Hell, I don't think I've ever kissed anyone with that kind of intensity. But when she looked at me, when she was right there in front of me something just snapped.
I couldn't deny that it felt good, though. It felt better than I expected, almost electric. The way she froze at first, then let herself melt into it. God, that kiss was raw, passionate like it had been building up for longer than just a few seconds.
I leaned back, closing my eyes, trying to ignore the way my brain kept pounding in my head. I didn't regret it. I couldn't. But I also knew I'd just made everything ten times more complicated.
The kiss had only made me want to know more about her. More than I'd ever wanted to know about anyone before. What was it about Billie that had me so... off balance?
I let out a frustrated breath, rubbing my face. Great. Now, I couldn't stop thinking about her.
Just then, my phone buzzed on the nightstand, breaking me out of my thoughts. I grabbed it, seeing Bennett's name on the screen.
"Yeah?" I answered, trying to push away the remnants of that kiss.
"You coming tomorrow night?" Bennett asked. His voice had that tone, the one that told me it was important.
I had nearly forgotten about the dinner my dad wanted to have. Of course, my dad didn't invite me personally but had Ben doing his dirty work.
"What's it about?" I asked, not sure I even wanted to know.
"Dad wants to have dinner with us. Says it's important."
I exhaled sharply, leaning back against the headboard. The last thing I wanted to do was spend time with him. I'd been avoiding it for months, trying to keep my head straight.
"I'll be there" I muttered. I knew I didn't have much of a choice.
"Alright, cool. See you then." Bennett hung up, and I stared at my phone for a second longer than necessary.
Great. Just what I needed. A dinner with my father.
I threw my phone aside, but the thought of Billie kept creeping back in. What the hell was I going to do now? The kiss had been impulsive, but I couldn't lie it had left me wanting more.
I didn't know what to do with myself now. The whole night felt like a blur. One minute, I'm trying to get my life back together, and the next, I'm kissing a woman I barely know.
The only thing I knew for sure was that I couldn't stop thinking about her.
The next night, I pulled up to the gates of my dad's villa, my stomach twisting into a knot the moment the iron gates opened in front of me. The sprawling property in eastern North Carolina looked exactly how it always had...massive, pristine, and cold. It was the kind of place that felt more like a fortress than a home, and every time I stepped foot here, it had that same suffocating energy.
I shut off the engine of my truck, sitting in the silence for a few moments longer than I probably should've. My gut was screaming at me that tonight wasn't going to go well. I didn't know how, but I could feel it. The air always felt thick in this house, like it was soaked with expectations and unspoken rules. Every time I walked in, I felt the weight of it, like I was always just a little too late to be the son my father wanted.
Stepping out of the truck, I glanced at the front door as I made my way toward it. The villa, perched on a high hill with views of the rolling trees that stretched for miles, looked more like a monument to my father's success than a place where people actually lived.
The only light coming from inside was the soft glow of a few lamps. There was no warmth to it, no inviting feeling. Just cold, sterile luxury. I half-expected to see my father standing there, waiting, giving me one of those sharp, appraising looks that always seemed to cut straight through me.
I knocked once before stepping inside. The door opened before I could even move my hand away from the handle, and there he was in one of his usual crisp, expensive suits. His expression was neutral, as always, but his eyes had that slight edge that made me instinctively want to brace myself for impact.
"Glad you could make it," he said, his voice low and deliberate.
"Yeah, I wasn't sure I had a choice." I gave a tight smile, doing my best to hide the tension in my shoulders.
He didn't acknowledge my sarcasm. Of course, he wouldn't. My father had a way of making everything seem like it was all part of the grand plan, even when it wasn't. It was the same damn game he'd played with me my whole life.
"Dinner's waiting. Come on in."
I walked past him, the chill of the room only adding to the unease already sitting in the pit of my stomach. Something was off tonight. I could feel it.
As I sat down at the long, polished table, the familiar smell of steak and roasted vegetables filled the air, but it didn't comfort me the way it usually did. Nothing about this place comforted me anymore.
My dad didn't waste time with pleasantries. Once I was seated, he started talking about business, about the next big move he was making in real estate. My brother, Bennett, sat quietly beside me, looking just as detached as I felt. He glanced at me once, but there was no real connection between us. We had our own issues to deal with.
I could feel my father's gaze flicking to me between his sentences, as though he was waiting for something, maybe an acknowledgment, a reaction. But I wasn't going to give it to him. Not tonight. I couldn't.
When the conversation finally turned, as it always did, to family matters, I knew it was time. My dad was going to drop whatever bomb he had for me tonight. I didn't know what it was, but I could feel it in the air. Something was coming. And, for once, I wasn't sure I was ready for it.
My father finally set down his glass, his eyes steady and focused on me and Bennett, like he was assessing the situation. I had barely touched my food, but I didn't care. The tension in the air was suffocating, and I had a feeling this was going to be the moment my father had been gearing up for.
He looked at us both for a long moment before speaking, his voice eerily calm, even though the words he dropped on us were anything but.
"I've been diagnosed with advanced liver failure," he said, as if he were talking about the weather. "Doctors have given me maybe another year, two at most."
The room felt like it dropped a hundred degrees in an instant. I froze, fork halfway to my mouth. My thoughts slammed into each other, but none of them made any sense. Liver failure? My father? The man who had always seemed invincible, indestructible?
Bennett's face didn't shift. Not a muscle, not a flicker of emotion. He just sat there, his eyes never leaving his plate, as if the news didn't register at all.
I glanced at him, searching for something, anything, to tell me how I should feel about this. But there was nothing. His expression was as blank, his shoulders stiff and unyielding.
I turned back to my father, my throat tight. "What do you mean...advanced stages?"
He took another sip of his wine, unfazed by my shock. "My liver is deteriorating rapidly. The treatments haven't worked, and I've run out of options. I've come to terms with it. I'm not asking for your sympathy. Just wanted you both to know, in case you needed time to prepare."
I couldn't process the words. I kept staring at him, but the man in front of me felt like a stranger. My mind reeled, trying to make sense of it all. Did I feel angry? Sad? Relieved? Confused? The emotions jumbled together in a mess of nothing.
"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" I managed to ask, my voice strained.
He met my gaze, unfazed, as if this was all just a business deal to him. "It didn't matter until now. I've done everything I could, and now there's nothing left to do but wait."
His casual indifference made the weight of his words hit even harder. I looked at Bennett again, expecting him to show something, anything. But he was still a statue. No acknowledgment, no reaction. Just quiet.
I swallowed hard, feeling the tightness in my chest. This wasn't how I'd expected to hear something like this.
"Do you have a will?" I asked, barely hearing the words leave my mouth. It felt surreal, as though this conversation was happening to someone else.
He nodded. "Yes. Everything is in place. I'm not going to leave you two with a mess to clean up. Just... handle things when the time comes." He coughed.
I glanced at Bennett once more. This time, his eyes met mine, but his expression didn't soften. No, it was as empty as ever. And for the first time, I realized how much I wanted to feel something from him... something human, something real. But it wasn't there.
And as I sat there, absorbing what felt like an impossible blow, I realized I didn't know how to feel about any of it. The man who had spent his whole life controlling everything was out of control now. And I had no idea what the hell to do with that.
"It's all in your hands now. You two better get used to that."My dad's voice broke through my thoughts.
And just like that, the air seemed to grow colder, the weight of his words sinking deeper into my chest.