Prologue

Daddy Issues

Ella

"Ella!"

Her name echoed up the marbled staircase of her seven-bedroom house and floated along the ivory corridor to her room.

"Ella!" Her mother's next yell was even shriller, the sound drawing Ella's attention from the phone in her hands.

"What?" she muttered, irritated to have been disturbed.

Hadn't she already told her mum, Susie, that she was busy? What was so important that she was hollering for Ella?

If she and Lizzie didn't nail down the arrangements for Ella's birthday party's guest list, how could she ensure Tommy Willingham would attend? It was like she'd told Lizzie last week. If Tommy wasn't there, then neither would Ella be.

"What is it?"

Ella's voice was louder, although her stare stubbornly refused to leave the screen. It was only the quiet tap at her door that finally forced her phone to her lap.

"Miss Bennett?" Holly, their maid, hovered in the doorway, her fingers balling into her hands.

"What is it, Holly?" Ella snapped.

Frankly, someone with Holly's poor style should know better than to disturb her at all, but no doubt her mum had sent the mouse-like brunette up to find her.

"Ms. Anders asked for you to join her downstairs, Miss." Holly's voice was quieter as she leaned closer. "There's a man here to see you."

A man?

She straightened at the idea, her pulse racing as she typed a quick reply to Lizzie before sliding her latest iPhone into her pocket. Tommy's invite would have to wait.

"What man?"

"It's not my place to say, Miss." Holly's gaze lowered as Ella paced to the bedroom door. "But I think he might be your father."

My father?

Despite taking his name, Ella had never even met the man. Her mother had told her about her intention to reach out to him, though. Apparently, the already luxurious lifestyle they led was due to for an upgrade, and Susie thought Daddy should pay.

It's the least he owes me.

Striding past Holly, her gaze fixed on the top of the staircase. If the maid's guess was correct, then the man who'd denied paternity and insisted she and her mother provide the proof was now waiting for her downstairs.

What a scumbag.

Defiance resounded in her chest, covering up the sting of rejection her father had inflicted. Pulling in a sharp breath, she gripped the golden hand rail and started her descent, the words her mother had told her when she was younger ringing in her ears.

‘No man has the right to make you feel less than yourself.'Ella recalled the advice clearly. ‘Don't give him that power over you.'

Reaching the bottom step, her gaze landed on the stranger standing in their vast hallway. The cut of his suit said he had money—the sort she was used to—but his red-face and thinning hairline revealed a man who was easily in his forties. He turned at her approach, his weight shifting from one foot to the other.

Her focus flitted to her mum, whose stance suggested she was enjoying the disheveled state of her ex-lover.

What made you choose him?

Ella wondered if Susie could read her expression as she gracefully tackled the final step.

"So, this is my dad?" She took the bull by the horns, her gaze sliding from one parent to the other as she absorbed the awkward atmosphere.

Susie had demanded Alexander's attendance in Ella's life—a fact she'd supported if it allowed her an even greater allowance—but neither she nor her mother looked pleased by the outcome.

"Yes, Ella." Susie sighed wearily. "This is your father, Alexander."

"Ella." His lips twitched as though he was trying the name for size. "Good to meet you." He thrust his palm in her direction as though she was a business acquaintance.

"Right." She eyed his hand warily, wanting to snort at his lackluster introduction. "Nice of you to finally acknowledge me."

"Yeah." Withdrawing his offer of a handshake, he glanced sheepishly at Susie. "I didn't realize I had a daughter until recently."

"That's bull," Susie scoffed. "You knew I was pregnant more than fifteen years ago."

"I wasn't the only one you dated, Susie." Alexander's tone was wry.

"Dated?" She laughed, the sound hollow. "Is that what you called the way you treated me?"

"As I recall, you did very well out of it." His attention rose to the high ceilings of their home. "Very well, indeed."

"You didn't pay for any of this." Susie's chin rose as she took a step toward him.

"I realize," he replied, meeting her glare. "I guess you bled some other poor smuck dry instead, huh?"

"Classy." Ella rolled her eyes. If bickering and sniping were what having two parents in her life was like, then maybe she and Susie had made a miscalculation by inviting Alexander into theirs. "Why have you come, Alexander?"

"You can call me Dad." He offered what she guessed was designed to be a reassuring smile as he turned her way, but all she could see was a middle-aged man with a burgeoning waistline who was obviously out of his depth.

"I'm all right with Alexander for now, thanks, and you didn't answer my question."

"Well." He blew out a breath. "Since your mother hit me with a bill for child maintenance, I thought I'd like to meet you." His gaze narrowed as it darted to Susie.

"Well, here I am." Ella waved her arms around. "Disappointed?"

"Of course not." Alexander's face said otherwise. No doubt he'd have preferred a son to chase skirt with or no child at all. "I'd just like to get to know you. Shall we go out for a drink?"

"Alexander, she's a child…" Susie's voice oozed disdain.

"I meant a coffee," he hissed back in her mother's direction before his focus returned to Ella. "It's your birthday coming up, isn't it? You can advise me on the appropriate gift."

"Sure." Shaking her head, Ella agreed just to put some space between the two alleged adults.

Thank God I didn't grow up living with them.

"We have coffee here." Susie gestured toward the kitchen.

"It's fine." Reaching for her mum, Ella squeezed Susie's hand. "I'll be fine."

"Okay." Susie managed a smile. "Call me if you need me."

"I will," Ella reassured, her free hand grasping for her phone reflexively.

"It's only coffee." Alexander sighed. "I know a great little place not far from here. I'm not going to kidnap her!"

"You'd better not." Susie's stare drilled into him, the intensity of her loathing surprising even Ella.

If you hate him this much, why bother with the paternity test at all?

But then, Ella knew why. Susie's public relations company had done well, but in recent years, her contracts had dried up, and she needed a new income stream. She'd moved in on ‘Daddy' to provide one, and Ella didn't blame her one iota. The man who stood before her had done nothing to contribute to her life beyond ejaculation. The very least he could offer was money.

"Don't worry, Mum." Ella smiled as she turned back to the man who'd fathered her. "I'm a big girl. No one's going to take me without a fight."