“Not yet,” said Fen. “But—”
Her father interrupted her to address Carter. “Did Fenella tell you she has ADHD?”
"No, she didn't.” Carter heard his own voice rise, but he didn’t try to modulate it. He was too angry. “She told me what you told her: that she was careless and lazy. That's what you made her believe. Who treats their child like that?"
Her father glared at him, and his voice rose as well. "Who are you to tell me how I can talk to my own daughter?"
"I'm the man who loves her," said Carter.
Chapter 21
Fen had been using allthe self-control she could muster to not burst into childish tears in front of her parents and Carter. She couldn’t even speak for fear that her voice would reveal how upset she was—how weak she was—how her parents still had the power to make her feel like a child again.
But her biggest fear of all was that once Carter saw her in this environment, he’d see her the way her parents saw her; the way she really was, down deep. Lazy. Careless. An imposter pretending to be a competent businesswoman when she depended on an excellent assistant and an enormous amount of workarounds to cover for her absent-mindedness and lack of interest.
But he hadn't. He'd defended her. He'd gotten angry on her behalf. He hadn't despised her for failing to stand up to her parents, let alone agreed with them. He'd stood up for her.
Right now, he was holding her hand tight.
Carter turned to her. "Fen, do you want to leave?"
It had never occurred to her that she could get up and walk out. They were her parents. Family was important. She'd always believed that.
But family wasn’t only about genetic relationship. Family was supposed to mean love. And the only person in this room who loved her was the man holding her hand.
"Yes," said Fen. Carter squeezed her hand, and his rock-steady support lent her strength. "I don't need to spend a dinner getting sneered at, and neither do you. Let's go."
Her father gave her a scornful look. "Let me tell you something about the world, Fenella. People will say things you don’t like hearing. You can't just run away every time that happens."
“What iswrongwith you?” Carter burst out, rounding on her father like he wanted to punch him in the face. “Both of you! Where are your photos of Fen? Why aren’t you proud of her?”
“Of course we’re proud of her,” her father said stiffly.
“You have a funny way of showing it,” said Carter.
Fen was so full of love for him that she could hardly bear it. There he was, squaring off against her parents for her. There he was, making a socially unacceptable scene for her. There he was, declaring his love and trust in her.
If he could stand up for her, she could stand up for herself.
She took a deep breath and addressed her parents. “Remember when Carter said I had ADHD and you asked me if I had a diagnosis? You know what? The diagnosis doesn’t matter. Even if I was careless and lazy, you still shouldn't have treated me like that. I was a little girl! You should have encouraged me, not called me names. And you shouldn't call me names now. Are you going to stop talking to me like this, or should I stop talking to you at all?”
Fen had never before threatened to stop talking to them. She expected a shocked silence. But her parents didn’t miss a beat.
"I just call it like I see it," said her father.
"You can't dictate how I speak," said her mother.
Once again, Carter squeezed her hand hard. His love and encouragement flowed from him to her, just through their skin to skin contact. He was going to support her, no matter what, and that gave her confidence.
"Don't you threaten us, Fenella," said her father. "If you're not going to speak to us unless we do what you say, then we’ll have to think hard about your inheritance. Right, Edwina?"
To her own astonishment, Fen laughed. "My inheritance? I make more money than you do! Lazy, careless Fen Kim and herlittlecompany can support herself. Go ahead and disinherit me. You can leave your money to the Foundation for Truly Terrible People."
She knew a good closing line when she heard one. Fen stood up. “Come on, Carter. Let's go.”
Her parents were shouting behind them, but Fen wasn't listening to the words they said. All she needed to hear was the tone, and it was a tone she never wanted to hear again.
Carter slowed, subtly nudging her with his elbow. He gave a jerk of his chin toward the expensive sound system, then casually brushed his fingers against it as they passed by. There was a soft pop from the speakers, and a tiny wisp of smoke rose up.
