A Daddy for Christmas 2: Baran by Brina Brady

Author:Brina Brady [Brady, Brina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2024-12-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Darien

Darien’s frustration mounted as he scanned the crowded room for Baran. The gala was in full swing, people milling about, lost in conversation or admiring the art, but Baran was nowhere to be found. He’d promised they’d stay together, but now, standing there amid all the noise, Darien couldn’t help but feel something was amiss. Where was he? Why wasn’t he answering his phone?

As he moved through the throng of people, Darien caught sight of Baran’s father, lingering in front of a painting. The older man’s gaze was focused on it intently, his posture stiff, as if the art held some answer he was trying to puzzle out. Darien didn’t hesitate. He approached quickly, feeling an edge of desperation.

“Mr. Aslan,” Darien said, his voice clipped, a sharpness creeping into his tone that he couldn’t quite mask.

The older man turned slowly; his expression was unreadable. Darien barely recognized the flicker of emotion passing through his eyes—something distant. “Darien,” Mr. Aslan greeted him, almost too casually. “Looking for Baran?”

Darien’s heart skipped, and his voice came out harder than he intended. “Where is he?”

Mr. Aslan’s lips curled into a faint, almost pitiful smile. “He doesn’t need you anymore,” he said flatly, his eyes narrowing as he spoke. “I told him everything you wanted me to say. Gave him back access to his accounts, and then he left.”

A cold knot of panic formed in Darien’s stomach, but he tried to mask it. “What else? Why is he upset? What happened?”

Mr. Aslan’s gaze flickered away for a moment before returning to Darien with that same inscrutable expression. “He’ll be fine. Just stay away from him, Darien.”

The words hit like a punch to the gut. Darien’s pulse quickened as anger boiled up inside him, hot and sudden. Stay away from him? It made little sense. He had every right to know what was going on.

“He’s not fine,” Darien said through gritted teeth, stepping forward. “What did you do to him? What did you tell him?”

Mr. Aslan didn’t flinch, but his eyes narrowed. “Enough, Darien. I’ve already done what I was supposed to do. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

Darien’s fists clenched. His entire body was taut with fury, but he forced himself to take a step back. He needed answers, and if Mr. Aslan would not give them, then he’d have to find them another way.

“He won’t be living with you anymore. He’ll be staying with me.”

Without another word, Darien turned on his heel and stalked off, his thoughts racing. He pulled out his phone, hands shaking slightly as he tried to call Baran again. No answer. He fired off a text, and then another. His fingers hovered over the screen as he waited for a response, but nothing came.

Each minute that passed without hearing from Baran felt like a weight settling heavily on his chest. Darien’s frustration turned to something darker, more consuming. He sent another message. Where are you?

Nothing.

Darien felt the sting of panic, but he didn’t allow it to take control.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.