“That’s because you didn’t raise me!” I yell back.
My hands tremble as I feel myself losing control. I’ve never talked back to my mother like this, butfuckdoes it feel good. Greyson grabs my hand underneath the table and caresses the pulse point along my wrist with his thumb, soothing me.
“There you go being ridiculous again.” My mother sighs. “When will you stop acting like a child who needs attention? Jesus, Emma. You’re twenty-seven. First you quit your job, and then you leave a perfectly good man. And now you’re playing dress-up nanny,” she scoffs. “No man will want you as a wife with the way you are now. You really think Tommy will take you back now that you’re spending your time with a boy who plays with sticks for a living?” She scrunches up her face with pure disgust aimed at Greyson.
“All right, that’s it!” Greyson takes his cloth napkin off his lap, balls it up, and throws it in the middle of the table. “You willnotspeak to her that way. I don’t give afuckwho you are, you willnotdisrespect or degrade her like that in front of me.”Oh, shit...normally I'd chide him for swearing in front of his daughter, but I think tonight calls for an exception.
“EXCUSE ME?”My mother goes to stand, wanting to show dominance. But what she doesn’t realize is that she’s fighting against a true Alpha.She won’t win this one.
“Sit your ass down! You’re gonna sit there with your mouth shut and listen to everything I have to tell you. I tried being nice and polite, tolerating whatever pretentious bullshit you wanted to show off. But now I’m done.” His tone is harsh and commanding.
My mother shakes with anger as she sits back down and looks at my father, who just leans back in his chair with wide, impressed eyes directed at Greyson. My dad is a good guy, truly he is, but he rarely reacts or puts my mother in her place.
Greyson makes himself comfortable in his chair, making them wait on purpose. He looks from my father to my mother before speaking again in a calm voice. It’s almost scarier than the one before.
“Did you know that your daughter believes she’s unworthy? Unworthy of being someone’s first choice? First love? That she always needs to put others before herself? That people always have someone better waiting around, something better to do?”
Well, what the fuck? Out of everything he could have said… I was not expecting that.
“It took me three weeks of watching her to figure it out. Why she hides behind this joyful persona, why she acts like nothing bothers her. Because she thinks that acting this way will stop her from getting hurt. That if she expects people to put her second, she’ll see it coming and can stop the pain of rejection before it happens.”
He scoffs, picks up his spoon, and digs into his soup, as if he didn’t just reveal my biggest secret.One I never even admit tomyself.When I dare glance around the room, my father looks pensive while my mother rolls her eyes.Typical.
“Which, if you ask me, is absolutely ridiculous. Because Emma is one of the most beautiful and amazing people that I’ve ever had the honor of knowing. Anyone would be lucky to have her in their life.”
Greyson takes one final spoonful and sets it down. Then he grabs my cloth napkin from over my lap, wipes his mouth, and throws it on the table as well, joining his. He sighs loudly, looking into my eyes with tenderness. “But still, she believes that everyone in her life will always put her second. That includes you”—he looks at my dad—“but mostly stems from you.” He turns to my mother with revulsion oozing from his pores before focusing on my father again.
“Because you see, while you were off building your career and providing for your family, you made your daughter a second choice. As a father, I do understand your position, but that also means that you put your business first before her.” Greyson shakes his head in disapproval. “You left her in the hands of a mother that should have loved and cherished her like she was her world. But that wasn’t the case, was it?” he asks with venom in his voice as he directs the question to my selfish mother, who looks ready to blow.
“No. It wasn’t. Instead, you put your social life and standards ahead of her. You focused on what would look good in the eyes of the world, rather than what looked good in the eyes of your own daughter. You put her needs aside and forced her to act a certain way, to love certain things, and to dress in a way that was acceptable foryoursocial class.” He snorts and shakes his head again.
“When in reality, it’s not even close to what she actually likes. But here’s the real problem, you continue to treat her that way. Just now, you're telling her she should put her own morals andopinions aside and go back to a cheating asshole who treats her like an animal. Because it would ‘look good’in your social circle.” He air quotes as he says,‘look good’.
“And thatI’m notgood enough for her, because I’m just a boy who plays with sticks for a living.” He throws his head back and bellows with laughter. “Which is highly absurd, because I make millions compared to your precious Tommy.”
He stops laughing and clears his throat while resting his elbows on the table, clasping his hands together as he becomes serious once more, only focusing on my mother. “So, you know what that tells me about you? That you have no respect for your daughter and her well-being. And you know what I think about mothers like that? I think they're unworthy of being called one. And I’m fucking glad my daughter won’teverhave to deal with shit like that.”
The room falls completely silent except for Gracie’s gurgling as she plays with her plastic spoon. My mouth hangs wide open as I stare at Greyson.I can’t believe he said that. He’s right, but holy shit. No one has ever talked to my mother that way.
It’s kind of hot…
My mother is red from head to toe, her pulse line throbbing in her neck, and a vein has popped out on her forehead. And my father—I can’t tell what he’s thinking. He simply looks pensive as he lets Little Tulip grab his finger.
“Get out.” It’s a whisper at first but quickly turns to a yell as my mom loses her hold on her anger. “GET OUT! You come in here, uninvited, and think you can disrespectme?! Get out of my house, you lowlife, and don’t ever come back here!” she screams so loud that her shrill voice makes Gracie wail out in fear.
“MOTHER!” I shout at the same time as my father yells, “ELAINE!”
Greyson stands from the table. “Gladly. I don’t want my daughter around such egocentric, small-minded people anylonger than necessary.” He puts his hand out for me to take. “Come on, Bunny. We’re done here.”
I grab his hand and stand without hesitation. He lets go once I’m up and lifts Gracie from her chair. “Lance, I’m sorry the evening didn’t turn out as expected. Still, it was a pleasure meeting you, and know that you’re always welcome in our home.” He offers my father an apologetic smile. “But I hope you understand that Emma will no longer be attending your weekly dinners or Christmas for that matter. At least not until thatwomanapologizes for the way she’s treated her daughter and learns from her mistakes. I’m sorry, but there is no way I can let Emma be around such toxicity.”
He holds his hand out to my father, waiting to see if he’ll take it. My dad observes him for a moment but finally nods and stands from his chair, shaking Greyson’s hand firmly. Grey steps aside with Gracie and stands by the entrance to the dining room, leaving me to face my father. I wrap my arms around him and pull him close.
“I’m sorry about your mother's behavior. I think it’s time she and I had a good chat. I’ll call you soon, Sunflower.” He kisses my temple and takes my face between his hands. “He’s a good man, much better than Tommy. I know you’ll be in good hands with him.”
My eyes widen slightly as I peek over to Greyson, who stares at me, then back to my dad. “It’s not like that between us,” I whisper to him, looking down as I feel my cheeks heating.
Jesus, I really have no idea what’s going on with me and all this blushing nonsense. I’m turning into Aubrey. She must be contagious.
