“I told you three weeks, love. Time is up.”

“Don’t call me that,” I snap.

“You can be mad at me all you want, but you’re still my love.” Tears fill my eyes.

“You promised.” My voice cracks, my emotions getting the better of me.

“Baby.” He walks over, cupping my face in his hands. “I was wrong. Truthfully, I was scared.”

“Scared?”

He nods his head. His eyes close for a moment, his face going to my neck. He sucks in a deep breath. His mouth grazes my neck. I bite my lip so that I don’t whimper. I’ve missed him so much.

“I don’t know how much Grace or my dad told you, but let me fill you in. Millions of dollars have gone missing along with some credit cards. All of them were under your mom's name.”

“She would never!” I hiss, starting to get mad again.

“I know, I know.” Asher lifts his head.

“Clearly you didn’t.” I put my hands on his chest. I want to push him away, but I don’t.

“When I first heard about it, I didn’t believe it. I swear. I said I wanted more information, but they weren’t coming up with shit, so I freaked out. I thought the worst. I’ll admit that. My mom fucked with my head. It’s why I’ve never been with a woman before you.” I suck in a deep breath, shocked by his confession. “Honestly, I didn’t care anymore if Grace was after money or not. I’d give it to her as long as she stayed. And as long as she didn’t take you from me.”

Tears slide down my cheeks. That’s oddly sweet. Part of me wants to be mad at him, but another part of me understands. He definitely could have handled things better, but he was put in a shitty situation.

“I’ve been waiting for you to up and leave me. It’s why I so easily pushed you away and didn’t want to hear what you had to say. One day people are there, and the next they're not.”

“Your father.” He swipes a tear from my cheek. “I’m not going anywhere. I went to Japan to wrap things up. If I need to go back, you’re coming with me.”

“I haven’t said I forgive you. Do you still think my mom—”

“No, it was Heidi.”

“Your mom?” I gasp.

“Once again she tried to ruin this family.” I listen as he tells me everything that has happened and what is about to happen.

When he’s done, I wrap my arms around him and hug him. “I’m so sorry.”

“You’re sorry? I’m the one who fucked up.”