He’s right again. I know exactly what I have to do. And right this moment, my head is completely silent, an eerie calm envelops my body, and before I can back out, I go to the bathroom, shower and shave, then make my way to my parent’s house.
My father’s office door is open, and I knock on the doorframe. “Father, I need to talk to you.”
“Sit down, son.” He’s always been so formal, even with me. I used to think that stiffness and arrogance came with money, but Louis’s family has three times as much as we do, if not more, and they are all warm and loving. No, it’s not about money, it’s about my father.
“I’ll just get straight to the point, okay.” I actually wantedto wait for him to nod, but I have to get it out, or I’ll lose my nerve. My chest is tightening again, and my tongue is going numb and tingling. “I’m in love... with a man. I’m gay, father.”
It’s out, and then everything is silent. My father lowers his head and takes a deep breath in and out. I wait for harsh words that will pierce me deeply and hurt me so much that I don’t think I’ll ever recover again.
“I know, son.”
The world stands still for a brief moment, then my mind grasps his words. What? Is he serious? No yelling, no freaking out?I know? “Excuse me?”
“When I showed you the photos a few years ago, I already suspected it, but then you said you were just friends and I believed you. I suggested to stay away from that boy to not lead him on. To not give him false hope. I have a feeling that had been the wrong thing to say.” No. He can’t be serious. That’s a joke, a bad one.
“But Theresa...?”
“What did she tell you?” Now his tone is stern.
I swallow hard, because somehow I have the feeling my half-sister hasn’t shared the whole story with me. “That you found photos of her kissing another woman in a club and then she had to leave.”
My father shakes his head, snorting. “That’s a very simplified version of events. There were photos. Your sister half-naked and more than just kissing with a nineteen-year-old in some nightclub. That in itself is difficult for someone from management at a company like ours. The main problem, however, was that the nineteen-year-old in question was our new university intern, who had only started with us a month earlier, with your half-sister as her supervisor. This naturally made her part of a vulnerable group of people and placed her in a relationship of dependency.Your sister’s behavior was highly unprofessional and unacceptable, and it was completely irrelevant whether she was intimate with a man or a woman.” I am speechless.
“The Delfosse boy and you, you were a couple, weren’t you?”
Tears well up in my eyes. Tears of relief and tears of abysmal grief and bottomless pain. How much time have we wasted? How much have we suffered for nothing? Because I was sure my father was a homophobic asshole. Because I was sure my father would take away the company I’ve wanted so badly since I was a little boy, because I was afraid he wouldn’t love me anymore. Because we just didn’t talk to each other.
“Yes...” My voice is nothing more than a whisper. “And if I’m lucky, I’ll get another chance, but Louis wants to live openly.”
“That’s completely understandable. What’s wrong with that?”
“I thought you... the company...”
“Of course you’ll get the company.” My father looks at me almost blankly.
“Even if I live openly in a gay relationship?”
“For heaven’s sake, it’s not the 18th century anymore. You’ve heard who took over as the new CEO of the Lacroix Group, right? Unanimously elected, by the way.”
Yes, I did. Mathéo Gaillard. His kid, Valérie, is in the same class as Louis’s brother Jannis, and the families are close friends. I know him and his husband from my countless afternoons and weekends at the Delfosse house.
“Do you know why he got the job? Because he’s good. Damn good. That’s all I expect from you, that you do a damn good job and successfully continue our legacy. At first with me, then on your own, and maybe someday with your children.” Fuck. I’m stunned. Speechless. “The fact that thissurprises you so much should hurt me, and well, it does hurt me, but I guess I deserve it. I raised you with a firm hand, so maybe love fell by the wayside. But I love you, my son, and nothing will ever change that, especially not your sexuality. I’m proud of you.”
And with those words, my father stands up, walks around his desk, pulls me up, presses me close to his chest and holds me while I cry over the last six years of my life. But at the same time I’m so incredibly excited about what might come.
Chapter 45
Louis
24 years
“Where is your phone?”
“Somewhere on the desk... knocking would’ve been a fantastic idea.”
“Yeah, next time! Here! Check your social media!” My younger little brother frantically throws my phone at me.
“Luca...”
