From Best Friend To Fiancé (Savannah and Roman) novel Chapter 173

**TITLE: Dreams Folding Into Broken Time**
**Chapter 106: Daddy’s Dirty Jobs**

**Roman**

**Flashback**

With a firm grip, I had his head ensnared in my gloved fingers, the greasy strands of his hair twisting beneath my hold. I pulled back, forcing his neck into an uncomfortable arch, his eyes rolling upward like a trapped rat frantically searching for a way out. The stench of his breath assaulted my senses, hot and rancid against my wrist. I leaned in closer, my voice a low murmur, steady, and measured, each word deliberate as I demanded, “What dealings do you have with my father?”

A smirk danced across his lips, even as I applied pressure to his scalp. Spittle collected at the corners of his mouth, glistening in the dim light. “Why don’t you ask him yourself? Since you’re so eager to do daddy’s dirty jobs, why not inquire about what this one is for?”

Before I could fully process his taunt, my fist flew towards him, the sharp crack of bone meeting bone reverberating through the room, a sound as jarring as breaking glass. His head snapped to the side, and my heart raced, a thunderous drum in my chest. What in the depths of hell could my father possibly want with a scum like him? Out of the billions of men on this planet, why would my father even entertain the idea of associating with filth such as this?

“I don’t give a damn about whatever business you had with him,” I asserted, shoving his head forward until our eyes locked, my intensity burning through the tension. “I’m not here for my father. I’m not here on his behalf.”

His expression morphed into a mask of confusion, as if my words had shattered the carefully constructed puzzle of his mind. “Then who sent you after me?”

I leaned in closer, our faces mere inches apart, allowing him to see the fury and determination etched in my eyes. “I’m here because of Savannah Hart.”

The mention of her name struck him like a bucket of ice water thrown over a sleeping drunk. His entire body jerked in surprise, and then, inexplicably, he began to laugh—a raw, hacking sound that shook his shoulders, reverberating through the silence of the room. My men exchanged uneasy glances, unsure whether he had lost his mind completely or if there was something deeper at play.

“What’s so funny?” I demanded, my voice laced with steel, the tension in the air thickening.

He wheezed out his response between fits of laughter. “Did Julius finally grow warm to the little girl he’s always despised? Why’d he send you, huh? He was the one who never cared that I had eyes for her. He knew I was sleeping with her and didn’t mind. Why is he sending you after me now?”

“Who the hell is her father?!” I shouted, my voice rising in fury, the question bursting forth like a dam breaking.

“Why don’t you ask Julius yourself!” His voice shot up an octave, the glee in his tone unmistakable. “He sent you after me, didn’t he? That piece of trash played you!”

I fought to keep my breathing steady, every muscle in my body screaming to unleash my fury upon him right then and there. “I’m not here on Julius’s behalf. I’m here because you raped my fiancée. You thought you could hurt her, scar her, and live out your old days in peace. I came to put an end to this.”

The laughter vanished from his face, replaced by wide eyes and a pallor that suggested I had pulled the rug out from under his grip on reality. “What? Savannah got engaged?” His voice cracked with disbelief, as if that revelation was more shocking than the brass buckles I intended to use against him.

“You sound surprised,” I replied flatly, my tone icy.

He shook his head, muttering to himself in disbelief. “Julius fought so hard to split her from that Archer kid, only to let her get engaged to the general’s son. It doesn’t make sense.” Then he looked up at me again, a chuckle escaping his lips, tinged with a twisted sense of irony. “And here I thought he hated her.”