Impossible To Resist (BWWM Romance Book 1)(104)

She shook her head and narrowed her eyes. “You’re going to help me? What about your wife? Don’t you think she might object to you having a baby with another woman and helping to raise it?”

Connor shook his head. “It isn’t like that!” he told her, and Harold grew furious, stepping toward Connor as he swung his fist behind him.

“You’re wife? You have a wife? You’re married and you went after my innocent little girl? You rotten piece of filth! What the hell is the matter with you!” he shouted at the top of his lungs, launching his rock hard fist in Connor’s direction. Connor ducked and Harold narrowly missed him and then almost fell over when he lost his balance.

Catalina ran at her father, reaching for his arm and calling out, “Daddy, no!! Daddy, please don’t hurt him!”

Harold turned on his daughter and fired his anger in her direction, yelling at her. “You stay out of this, you’ve done enough damage already! Look at the mess that you’ve made!” he snapped angrily at her before turning his hateful glare back to Connor.

Connor looked at Catalina and waved his hands in the air. “Cat, I’m not married! I’m not married, and I’m not engaged! Deborah lied to you! She was trying to blackmail me to get me to marry her. She told me that if I married her, she would save my job, but if I didn’t, then she would make sure I got fired and that I wouldn’t be able to work as a teacher at any other colleges ever again!”

Catalina’s mouth fell open once more as surprise spread through her. “You… you aren’t engaged? You’re not getting married?” She blinked in wonder. She had spent hours upon hours agonizing over the knowledge that he was getting married, and as she stood there before him, realizing that he wasn’t getting married, her whole universe seemed to shift and she tried to comprehend it.

“Cat, I want you! I couldn’t marry her, not even as a business arrangement. She’s a horrible woman!” he told Catalina.

Reggie shook his head with wide eyes. “She’s a mean cold hearted bitch. That’s what she is.”

Connor glanced at him and nodded. “Yes, she is.” Then he looked back at Cat. “She was trying to force me into a marriage by blackmailing me using my job. What she didn’t know is that I applied at another college and got accepted, so I’m leaving for another college across town. I’m going to be making twice the money there, too, so I’ll have plenty of support for you and the baby!” he told her desperately.

Harold shook his head. “She is not having that baby! She is going to get an abortion and she is going to focus on her education and graduate and that is final!” he insisted fiercely.

Catalina looked at her father in desperation. “Daddy, please! I don’t want to abort the baby! I want to keep it!”

He pointed his finger sharply at her. “You are not keeping that bastard baby. You are going to get rid of it!”

She shook her head. “NO! Daddy, I want to keep it!”

Connor started to walk toward her and Harold moved swiftly in between them. “You stay away from my daughter, do you hear me? You’ve done enough damage! I can’t even believe you’re still standing in my house! Get the hell out of here!” he shouted at Connor, but Connor looked over at Catalina, who was standing just behind her father, looking over his shoulder at Connor.

“Catalina, I love you! I love you with all of my heart, and I just cannot keep living without you. It’s like torture for me! I need you. I need you with me for the rest of my life. I want you to marry me and be my wife. Let me take care of you and the baby and I promise you that everything is going to be alright!” he called to her and she stared at him as her heart felt like it stopped in her chest.

Harold had finally had all that he was going to take. He launched himself at Connor and Connor dodged out of the way, moving behind him and grabbing Catalina’s hand in his, pulling her into his arms.

Harold hit the floor instead of hitting Connor and he swore as he landed hard where Connor had been standing a moment before. Reggie moved to help him up, but Harold waved him away and got up on his own, turning to face his daughter and Connor.

“You get your damn hands off of my daughter!” Harold yelled at Connor, but Connor turned and looked down at Catalina.

“Marry me, say yes. Right now, just say yes and we will walk out of that door this minute and you can come be with me. We’ll go to my home and you can live there with me. You can finish school and graduate, and I will marry you and we will raise our family together. Say yes… now!” he pleaded with her.

She looked from him over to her father who was back on his feet and storming toward them furiously. “You get your hands off of my baby girl, you son of a bitch!” he demanded and Catalina stepped in between her father and Connor, and her father suddenly stopped short, unwilling to touch Catalina.

“Daddy, no! Please stop! It doesn’t have to be this way!” she begged him, but he looked down at her and shook his head.

“I told you what you could do, and that’s the only way that this is going to work! Do you understand me? I told you that you owe your loyalty to this family and to me, and you need to remember that! Now you get away from him! You are not going to have anything to do with him or his kid! You have a responsibility to me and to your mother for all that we did to put you through school, and you have a duty to yourself to make the best life that you can! Now you let go of that fool you’re guarding and you get your butt back in your room. I’m going to kick this jackass out of my house!” he yelled.