“Where do you think she got the money?” he asked. “Iwas the one who worked every day—her little sewing projects earned peanuts. She stole it from our bank account. I should have hired a lawyer and fought for it when I found out about it, but I didn’t want to hurt you. I did that for you, Rubina. Because Iunderstandthe meaning of family.” He sounded so angry. Ruby hadn’t heard him sound like this since she was a little girl, back when she would hide in her closet so he couldn’t yell at her.
But Ruby wasn’t a little girl anymore. She could fight fire with fire, now. “Bullshit,” she said. A woman sitting at the nearest table turned and looked at her, but Ruby didn’t care. “You didn’t come after the money because you knew you’dlose.”
He shook his head. His anger seemed pathetic to Ruby now—not scary. He was a small, petty man. “You never called home, never visited for years,” he said. “Then out of the blue you ask for help to get the UK visa. I thought, I shouldn’t help her, she neglected her family for too long. I thought about saying I would only help for half the money. Not even all of it—just my share. But Pamela said no, I should help my daughter. Pamela is a good person, Rubina. She mademea better person. I thought if you saw us and saw how I’ve changed, you woulddo your duty and help your family. But you’re still a selfish, irresponsible girl.”
Ruby shook her head, anger heating her blood. “You arenotmy family.”
“I’m youronlyfamily. Yourfather, Rubina. Are you really going to let me lose my house? What about Pamela? What about your brother, Gavin?” He shook his head.
“Gavin is mystepbrother, and I’ve seen him only a handful of times. And Pamela is nothing to me. I’m truly sorry she’s unemployed, but I’m even more sorry she has to be married to you. I hope she has an escape fund hidden from you like Mom did.”
Her dad clenched his teeth. He looked like he wanted to hit her. Like hell he’d changed. Poor Pamela and Gavin. “I should have known you’d never help me. You don’t care about your family. Your own father might be homeless. You with your designer clothes and big inheritance. You are as materialistic and impulsive as always. And your mother was a thief. I can still hire a lawyer to get my money, you know.”
Ruby shook her head. “Don’t you dare talk about my mother. The wife who youleftwhile she was in cancer treatment. The one who had to move in with her sister’s family for the last months of her life.”
“Rubina, I left because shetoldme to leave.”
Ruby didn’t acknowledge his statement. They had an audience now; several people in the café were watching them. “And what about yourdaughter? I dropped out of college to take care of Mom after you left. And after she died, I was alone. I didn’t even have a degree to get a decent job. I started working at OldNavy and sleeping on friends’ couches in Montreal and worked my way up to Reid’s. So don’t youdaretalk to me about abandoning family.” Ruby stood. “Fuck you, Dad. Never come see me again. Never talk to me. Pretend you have no daughter. You did that for twelve years, so it shouldn’t be a problem now.”
Ruby was pretty sure she heard someone clapping, but she picked up her bag and left the café, leaving her coffee and her father behind.
Ruby was shaking as she walked away from the coffee shop without checking to see if her father was following her. It was cold out—and snowing hard. The tears running down her cheeks were probably turning to icicles. The sidewalk in front of her was blurry, but she didn’t stop walking. She didn’t even know where she was going.
What was she doing in this city? She wanted—needed—to get the fuck out of it. There were too many memories here, too many people she never wanted to see again. Ruby was used to taking off when bad things happened. After Mom died. After she found out she had the BRCA mutation. Thank goodness she would be out of Toronto soon. For good. This huge city—the biggest in the country—made her feel more alone than anywhere else.
But that wasn’t true anymore. For the first time that she could remember, Ruby had a real support system. Not only her cousin Marley, but she also had Reena and Nadim, and Shayne and Anderson. She had friends—realfriends—who caredabout what was happening to her. And for the first time in her life, Ruby wanted support. She wanted to lean on someone and tell them about the terrible thing that happened. She didn’t have to be alone when she was hurting anymore.
And she knew exactly who she wanted to talk to. Ironically, it was someone who also called her irresponsible. But now, after knowing him only a few weeks, it felt like there was no one in the city who understood Ruby better. She called Rashid.
“Hey, Red. What’s up?”
“Do you still think I’m selfish?”
“What? Are you okay? You don’t sound like yourself.”
Ruby sniffed. “My father was waiting for me when I left work. He wants my mother’s money because his wife lost her job, and they might lose their house. He said I was selfish and irresponsible when I said no. I told him to fuck off.” Her voice cracked.
“Where are you?” he asked.
Ruby looked at the intersection she’d wandered to. “King and Parliament.”
“Stay there, Red. I’m coming to get you.”
“No, it’s a snowstorm. You don’t have to—”
“I’m already out the door. Be there in five minutes.” He disconnected the call.
The Volvo pulled up eight minutes later. Ruby was frozen by then—she was not dressed for standing on a street corner in a blizzard. She got into the passenger side, and Rashid immediately gave her a supportive smile. “Your father did a number on you, didn’t he?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve always thought that you had the most enthusiastic eyes I’d ever seen. You always look so happy and excited to be doing whatever you’re doing—even if what you’re doing is yelling at me. You’ve lost that look.”
She shut her eyes a moment, then looked at Rashid. “I knew I shouldn’t have let my father back into my life.” She sighed. “I’m exhausted. It’s been a long couple of days.”
“Where do you want to go? I just finished cooking dinner at home. You’re welcome to join us.”
Ruby raised a brow. “You cook?”
