The Gang Leader's Princess

|five|

"If you have been brutally broken, but still have the courage to be gentle to others then you deserve a love deeper than the ocean itself."

♛

His words swam through my head, playing on repeat. Everything I thought I knew was a lie.
I sat there processing the truth for what felt like an eternity.

My father sighed, "All or this might be hard to accept, but you have to know it's the truth. As difficult and hurtful as it is , I would never lie to you." He leaned forward on the couch, before continuing.

"After your mother and I were married, things were as perfect as could be. She knew about my line of work - and was okay with it. One day, your mother came home with wonderful news. She was pregnant with your brother, Josh. It was one of the happiest days of my life.

"When she was 17 weeks pregnant, we went to an ultrasound appointment to reveal the gender. When the doctor told us we were having a little boy , your mother seemed upset. I constantly asked her what was wrong, but she always pushed it aside.

"A few weeks after Josh was born, I got home early from work. There was about 7 cop cars and an ambulance in our yard. Your mother was the one to tell me the news, she told me that Josh had suffocated in his sleep. For the first time in my life, I cried. I can still remember the feeling of my heart breaking in that very moment. Two years later, my little angel, you, were born. When you were six years old, I received news that shattered my world.

"Your mother never had a problem with my line of work, but when she found out we were having a boy , she decided to take action. You see, only a boy can take over for me, and your brother would have been first in line.

"So your mother, faked his death. She paid off the cops to go along with all of it . She took him away from me, and lied to me for years. She had given him up to an adoption center a few towns down.
So I left. I packed up my things, and left to go find him.

"Your mother succeeded though, she faked his death so he couldn't take over for me. So I had to chose another child to inhabit my position one day. You have to understand, I never wanted to leave you. Once I found Josh, I tried to be apart of your life again. But once I came home , all of your things were gone. Your mother had packed up and moved the both of you far away from me.

"I know this is all very hard to believe, but I have the document of your mother giving Josh up for adoption. Her signature is on the bottom, proving it was her. I'm truly sorry, angel, I wish everything could've happened differently."

My mom had lied to me about everything. She had faked the death of her own son and lied about it all. For years, she told me that my father had left us. For years, she let me believe I wasn't good enough, that he left because he didn't love me.

I looked over at my father, and saw him looking at me with sympathy in his eyes. He reached over and placed his hand on my knee, in a comforting matter.

"As horrible as things she did were, you have to believe that she loved you. Because she did. She adored you with every piece of her being." He said, softly.

"I believe you." I whispered, "I'm sorry for hating you all of these years."

Tears began to form in my eyes, I spent eleven years of my life hating a man for reasons that weren't even true.

"Can I talk to Josh?" I asked, wanting to make things right.

My father gave me his approval, and I quickly made my way to his room. I raised my fist, about to knock, but halted when I heard heated voices coming from inside. It sounded like Josh , and another man, whose voice I didn't recognize, were in the middle of an argument.

I couldn't make out much of what they were saying, but I swear I heard Josh say, "Stay away from her Ryder, she doesn't need to be apart of this."

I heard footsteps approaching the door, so I frantically tried to find a place to hide. However, the door opened before I could succeed. I looked over to the doorway, and saw the most gorgeous man I've ever seen.

He had jet black hair, that looked like he had just woke up. It suited him though, and I had to stop myself from reaching my hands up and running my fingers through it . Why am I such a creep?

His jawline was chiseled to perfection, and could seriously cut a bitch if close enough. His body, was built like a god. You could see his muscles bulge through his shirt, he radiated 'power'.

After staring at his biceps for what felt like hours, I trailed my gaze up to his eyes. They were a beautiful, bright blue with a hint of green in them. He had plump, pink, lips that screamed 'kiss me'.

His lips curved into a devious smirk, "Like what you see, Princess?" His voice was deep and husky, but yet smooth and velvet like. It sent shivers down my spine, and goosebumps to my skin.

"Uh - I . I mean-" I started stuttering, like an idiot.

He cut me off with a deep chuckle, and stalked towards me, like he was a predator and I was the prey. He stopped once our bodies were practically touching.

He pressed his lips to my ear, and ever so lightly whispered, "I know I do."

He slowly looked me up and down , leaving my body burning under his deep gaze. And without another word, he walked off. Leaving me standing there with my nerves making me shake, like a fish out of water.

Who was this man?

♛