“What?” Karson gasped as Nate’s face went white. “He did what?”

“No,” Rachel whispered. “That can’t be true.”

“It is,” Grady and Lacey said together.

“My father paid off my ex-fiancé to date me, and when he realized that Ethan was going to take me away, he paid him off again to break it off with me.”

“You are disgusting,” Karson muttered, shaking his head. Anger flooded him. And while, yes, he was glad that Ethan was long gone, he would never want Lacey to go through hell, to hurt the way she did. To know that all the pain and heartache was caused by her father, it just hurt. How could he do that to his own daughter? His own flesh and blood.

“And I know you set Karson up. I know that you tried to use that to break us up,” she said, her eyes never leaving her father’s. Karson wanted to be satisfied that she had come around and knew the truth, but she was visibly shaking with anger. It didn’t matter how he felt, or that he was glad she knew the truth, because it hurt her, and he didn’t want her to hurt. He was madder than hell at that moment, and he wanted nothing more than to pound Nate Martin’s face in, but this wasn’t his moment, it was Lacey’s. She had to stand up to him.

“No, he didn’t,” Rachel said, and Karson hadn’t noticed that she’d started crying. Looking up at Nate, she asked, “Did you?”

Grady squeezed her shoulder, and Karson didn’t understand the relationship between Rachel and Nate, but it was obvious that her heart was breaking at the realization that he was a complete jackass.

Sucking in a deep breath, Nate looked away as he said, “Yes. I did all that, but it is because I love you.”

“How can you claim to love her when all you’ve done is hurt her over and over again?” Karson asked, shaking his head. “When you love someone, you lift them up, you support them, not try to wreck them. And you’ve been wrecking Lacey since the beginning!”

“You have no clue what I have done for my daughter, so keep your damn mouth shut,” he sneered, his face turning red with anger. Not a bit of remorse was in his face. Karson didn’t think Nate felt bad at all, and that pissed him the fuck off.

“Don’t talk to Karson like that,” Lacey snapped as the tears rolled down her cheeks, landing on her shirt. “And he’s right. You haven’t done anything but cause me pain, and I’m done.”

“You don’t mean that,” he said, shaking his head. “Yes, I’ve made some mistakes, but I did them with the intention of helping you.”

“How is keeping me all to yourself helping me? You isolated me from the world, completely shattered my confidence, and if it wasn’t for Karson, I would be a freaking mess. I would be nothing.”

“You don’t need him,” Nate demanded. “You need me.”

“No, I need my husband.”

“And that’s me,” Karson added just in case anyone forgot, but he didn’t think anyone was really listening to him.

“The thing is, if you would have apologized at least once, I may have been able to forgive you, but you’ve never once apologized for these mistakes, Dad. There have been no consequences for breaking my heart. I just brushed it under the rug and let it go, but I won’t do that anymore. I have to do what is best for me, for my husband, and that’s to let you go. It hurts,” she said as her voice broke, and it killed him to hear her crack like this. “It hurts so damn bad, but I can’t allow you to hurt me anymore.”

“Lacey,” Nate said, but she turned, her eyes meeting Karson’s. They said to get rid of him, and lucky for her, Karson had no problem doing that.

“No, you need to go,” he said, pushing her behind him. “She’s said what she needed to say, and you need to respect that.”

Nate’s eyes blazed with anger as he took a step toward him. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but you aren’t going to keep me from my daughter.”

“I will if that’s what she wants. She’s my wife, and I have to protect her from people like you.”

Oh, that pissed him off. His face went red, his breathing labored, and a vein popped out of his forehead as he spat, “You son of a bitch.” He then went to swing at Karson, but before his fist could connect with his jaw, Karson blocked his arm and then plowed his fist into Nate’s face, knocking him on his ass.

“Oh my God,” Rachel cried, covering her mouth, and he heard Lacey’s gasp, but he didn’t turn. His eyes were trained on Nate’s as he wiped the blood from his mouth.

“Get the fuck out,” Karson demanded. “You aren’t welcome here or even at our home in Nashville,” he said, shaking out his hand. Dude’s face was hard at hell.

“I will ruin you,” Nate promised but Karson laughed.

“Bring it, asshole, because you’ll never win. Never.”

Looking past him, Nate tried to look at Lacey but Karson blocked him. Ignoring Karson, he said, “Lacey, please, give me another chance. Let’s talk this over.”

But Lacey shook her head.

“Not a snowball’s chance in hell. I won’t allow you to hurt her any longer. I have to eliminate the bad, and you are the bad. So, goodbye,” Karson said, slowly backing him out the door.

“Shut up, you piece of junk. I’m talking to my daughter!”

“He’s right,” Lacey cried behind him. “You are my father and I love you, but you don’t know how to love me. I’m better without you.”