Melissa looked up, surprised.
He rubbed his face tiredly. "Evelyn is our only child, our little girl and suddenly I felt like I was losing control over everything, especially her future and when Benjamin insulted her—" He closed his eyes and sighed, "Something snapped inside me."
His voice trembled for the first time in years.
"I only wanted to protect her and I went about it terribly."
Melissa's eyes softened but she remained quiet, letting him speak.
Gregory took her hands and held them between his palms.
"When Margaret told me about the shares Evelyn was entitled to once she married into the Reid family, it felt like a shield, a weapon. Something that would give our daughter power in a house where I was afraid she might be looked down upon."
He looked at Melissa with raw honesty.
"I wasn't thinking about manipulation or greed. I was thinking 'finally, something that ensures my child will never be treated as less.'"
Melissa's throat tightened.
