What can I do? My job barely pays enough to take care of my own bills.
I have no additional money saved and no extra fortune lying around. There’s only … my dad.
I swallow away the lump in my throat and pull my phone out of my pocket to look for the phone number I haven’t called in over a decade.
Maybe it’s about time I gave him a call.
In the rain,I wait in front of the screen until the gates to his property finally open, and I run up toward the mansion.
“Dad?!” I keep knocking on the door until finally a butler opens up.
“Miss Runner? What are you doing here?”
“I have to talk to my dad. Can I come in?”
The butler steps aside to let me pass, and I swiftly enter the house. The mansion is sickly white, completely devoid of any color, and I hate how sterile it smells.
My dad shuffles out of the living room, a newspaper tucked under his arm.
“Stella. How nice of you to finally show your face.” Sarcasm laces his voice, but I ignore it.
“Dad, I need your help.”
He rolls his eyes. “Of course you do.”
“You know I wouldn’t come here if it wasn’t important,” I say. “It’s because of Mom. She has cancer.”
He frowns and puts the paper on the cabinet in the hallway. “I’m sorry.”
“She doesn’t have insurance, and she can’t afford the bills for the medical procedures necessary to save her life,” I say. “Can you please, please help us?”
He stares at me for a moment, and I can’t tell at all what he’s thinking or feeling. All emotions have been drained out of his face.
“I could …”
My heart skips a beat.
“But I’ve been disappointed long enough to know it never pays me back.”
Wow.
“She was your wife.”
“And?”
The carelessness is astounding.
My brows furrow. “Doesn’t that mean anything?”
“It did, once.” He clears his throat. “Life is hard.”
I’m still dripping with rain, and not once has he offered me a towel. “She’s my mother. If you care about me, if you want me back in your life, please help her.”
He sucks in a breath through his nostrils and stares at me for a moment. “Fine. If you get a husband, I will.”
My jaw drops. “What?”
“You heard me. Marry someone decent, and give me an heir, and I might consider it.”
