“He’s someone you’re using to get back at me for some reason. I told you to return with Edward, so now you’re acting up. This is late teenage angst, your puerile way to rebel. And frankly, I find it ridiculous. God knows you’ve had a solid serve of it already. But it was expected when you were a teenager. It isn’t acceptable anymore.”
I’m so lost and confused that I don’t know what to say. I always knew Jake might be a problem for my parents, but the past couple of hours gave me hope that I was wrong. Turns out I was just terribly naive.
“I thought—I thought things were going great. You and Father didn’t—”
“The only reason we didn’t cause a scene was to not ruin these celebrations—even though you took care of that yourself by bringing that man into it.”
“He’s a great person, talented, and sweet, and funny, and clever. I’ve never met anyone who treats me like he does, like a queen, like—”
“Oh, please. Of the many problematic things you are, Genevieve, stupid isn’t one of them. You can’t possibly believe that you and that man can have any kind of future together.”
She could have slapped me and it would have hurt less than this awful stabbing sensation in my chest.
“Edward told me, you know,” she adds, filled with disappointment. “He told me you were seeing someone new and that I’d be ashamed of the kind of person he is. But even the warning wasn’t enough to prepare me for the creature you chose to burden us with.”
She knew about Jake already? Edward, that tattling asshole, told her?
“Is this why you canceled DC and came here tonight? You wanted to see him since Gerry told you I’d be accompanied?”
“Can you blame a mother for wanting to protect her child? I’m only looking after you, darling. You might think you know it all at your age, but that’s clearly a misconception.”
“I’m mature enough to decide for myself, Mother. Jake is a fantastic man, no matter what you think.”
“A fantastic man? Have you no shame? To think you’ve exposed your own nieces to him! Have you seen the influence he’s had on them already? They look ridiculous with those drawings all over. What comes next? Alcohol? Drugs?”
“The girls like him! More than they ever did Edward. Camellia even spoke to him a few times. I promise, Mother, he’s not what you think.”
“He is a man of nothing but sins, Genevieve. Piercings, tattoos, alcohol… That man lives off people’s desperation and mental imbalance. And you want me to believe he’s a good person? That you’re not using him to punish your father and me?”
“He is an artist, and just because you can’t understand his craft doesn’t mean it’s—”
“Why do you insist on being a perpetual disappointment?” she cuts me off, her tone so cold it freezes my blood. “Have you not done enough as it is? Must you plague this family with another tragedy by bringing that vile, lowly freak into it? I will not tolerate—”
“I beg your fucking pardon?”
Jake’s threatening mutter sends everything flying in my mind, shattering the confusion into utter panic.
My heart is in my throat, taking so much space that I can’t fill my lungs. When I see the pure rage plastered on Jake’s features, a sensation of nausea spreads within me and persists no matter how much I try to swallow it back. This can’t be happening. Jake having a hot-headed reaction to Edward is nothing like him going off on my mother. In my heart, I didn’t care about Eddie, but this is something else entirely.
Which is why I need to stop it before it even happens.
Vivienne looks unfazed, glaring at Jake like he’s nothing but a pest. “This is a family matter. You’re not concerned by this conversation.”
“I’mdirectlyconcerned. The fuck is your problem?”
“Jake!” I intervene, refusing to let this blow out of proportion. “I’m handling this.”
My interjection might have worked had Mother not added to it. “My daughter is too good for you, and if you don’t realize that, you’re a fool.”
“Oh, I realize that. Your daughter is phenomenal, and I’m blessed to be deserving of her affection. But doyoueven know how amazing of a person she is?”
He points at the other end of the hallway, toward the others still seated at the dinner table. “I saw your eyes roll when she talked about that promotion she’s after. I saw your lips pinch whenever she laughed as if it made you physically uncomfortable to witness her happiness. So, again, what the fuck is your problem? Why do you loathe your own daughter?”
“Jacob, that’s enough!” I intervene.
“Is it? Are you content with this situation? She berates you, and you present the other cheek again and again.”
“The complex relationship I have with my daughter is none of your concern, Mr. Clarke,” Mother interjects.
