My mother’s composed expression cracked slightly. “We just don’t want to see you limit yourself?—”
“That’s my decision to make. This is my life. Whether I stay here or leave, whether Braden and I work out or not, those are my choices. Not yours.”
My father opened his mouth to respond?—
A sharp, insistent buzz cut through the tension, startling us all. My phone vibrated against the granite countertop where I’d left it, the screen lit up with an incoming call. My blood ran cold as I saw the name.
Dr. William Albright.
A call.Not a text or an email. Before I could react, my mother glanced at the screen. Her eyes widened. “Tessa, it’s Dr. Albright. You should take that. It must be important.”
“No, I’m...” I reached for the phone, intending to silence it, to shove it back in my pocket and deal with the fallout later. But my father was already moving, his expression shifting from defensive to intensely curious.
“Bill Albright is calling you on a Saturday morning?” He was connecting the dots—the impending project lead announcement, their quiet inquiries, this unexpected call. “Is this about the fellowship? Did you hear something?”
“Dad, this isn’t the time.” My argument unraveled.
“Tessa, what is going on?” My mother’s hand was on my arm, her concern evident in her lined brow.
The phone stopped buzzing, the call going to voicemail. But the damage was done. The question hung in the air, heavy and unavoidable. My parents stared at me, their previous defensiveness forgotten, replaced by laser-focused anticipation.
“You got it, didn’t you?” A slow, proud smile spread across Dad’s face. “The Great Barrier Reef. You got the offer.”
I gave a single, miserable nod. “I got the email just before you arrived. He was probably calling to congratulate me personally.”
My mother’s hands flew to her mouth. “Honey, that’s incredible!” She rushed forward and wrapped me in a hug that felt more like containment than an embrace.
I stood stiffly in her arms, the scent of her expensive perfume suffocating. Over her shoulder, my father’s face glowed with pride so pure and potent it was devastating. This was the validation of every choice they had ever steered me toward. That I had worked for. And it was happening at the exact moment I was trying to break free.
“We knew you could do it,” my father rushed out. “We knew you were destined for more than?—”
He cut himself off, but the implication lingered.
More than this town. More than Braden.
The doorbell rang.
The sound was like a gunshot in the silent room, and I jumped. It cut through my mother’s happy tears and my father’s triumphant pride. Nine o’clock.
Braden. He was walking into an ambush, a celebration of the very future he feared I would choose over him. And I had led him right to it.
My mother pulled back, dabbing at her eyes. “Well,let’s not keep him waiting. This changes everything. Now it all makes sense.”
She was already moving toward the door, her demeanor transformed. The tension was gone, replaced by a magnanimous, celebratory glow.
I stood frozen in the center of the room as my mother opened the door. Braden stood on the step, and the sight of him physically hurt. He’d dressed carefully—a black button-down shirt that brought out his blue eyes, clean jeans, and a small, nervous smile at the corner of his mouth. That smile saidwe’ve got this. It saidI trust you.
And I was about to shatter that trust into a million pieces.
“Braden, come in!” Mom’s voice was a bright, welcoming wave, so different from the tight politeness of last night that it was jarring. She stepped back, holding the door open for him.
Braden crossed the threshold, and his smile faltered. He took in the scene in a single glance—my father, beaming by the counter, my mother, radiant and tear-streaked, and me, standing pale and frozen in the center of the room. He could read the room. He knew instantly that he hadn’t walked into a united front,but intoa celebration he wasn’t part of.
His gaze cut to me, the question sharp and immediate in his eyes.What happened?
“Hey.” His voice was carefully neutral as he closed the distance between us.
Before I could answer, my mother spoke again, her voice brimming with excitement she couldn’t contain.
