38. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
M ICAH
“Dad.” My father has his scolding face on, meaning he’s about to start telling me off in five, four, three...
“What on earth is wrong with you, Micah?” he asks. “You’ve been ignoring my calls all week. Not giving me any updates. And now your grandfather tells me that you got affianced to a woman you just met, a woman who he says is some kind of imposter.”
The minute the word leaves his mouth I feel Carly stiffen behind me. I glance over at my grandfather’s unapologetic expression.
My expression hardens. I understand this for what it is. An intervention.
My grandfather likely didn’t mean any of what he said on the phone. He just said it to get me here, so they could gang up on me and Carly.
And while I can take it, I hate that I’ve inadvertently put Carly in this situation once again.
“With all due respect, Dad.” My voice is low, silky with my anger. “You don’t get to dictate my love life. Neither do you, Grandfather. And the fact the two of you called me and my fiancée here to do... whatever the fuck this is, is total bullshit. And the two of you can frankly fuck off with that for all I care.”
Shock reverberates around the room as the two men stiffen. I hear Carly’s gasp as well. No one was expecting me to say that, especially while vibrating with as much anger as I was feeling.
But I don’t stop there.
“I mean, Jesus, what is wrong with you two? Are you serious? You think I’m going to let you disrespect her in front of me again? And what, I’m just going to fall in line and break up with her because you said so?”
My grandfather’s face grows hard. My father just looks shocked and perplexed by everything going on here.
“Micah,” he says, “calm down.”
“Calm down?” I turn to frown at him. “How do you expect me to calm down when you brought us here to ambush my woman and call her names.”
“Micah, that woman is an imposter,” my grandfather says, his eyes frosty as they regard Carly. “Probably a social climber too. She’s not who she says she is.”
Shit. Some guilt presses through the anger and hangs in my stomach. This is mostly my fault. I knew there was a possibility that my grandfather would dig into her deeper after that disastrous dinner. Even if it hadn’t gone haywire it was only a matter of time before he searched. At the time, I was just hoping he would give me the money before then.
But I no longer need his money.
And even if I did, I’m done with him talking about Carly and people like her as though they’re somehow inferior to him due to circumstances of their birth. I can stomach it when he does it to me, I’ve lived with that my entire life. But not my Carly.
Not the only woman I’ve ever loved.
I swore to myself that I’ll protect her from anything, including them.
“She’s not an imposter,” I say. “I’m the one that told her to lie about her origins. I made up that whole story so you would accept her.”
My father doesn’t look shocked, but my grandfather does for whatever reason. As though he never expected me to have the audacity to do anything that crazy to him. Maybe to my dad, but not to him.
“Why would you do such a foolhardy thing?” he asks.
“Well, because at the time, I wanted you to loan me the money and I thought that was the only way to get it. Because we all know how you feel about people who aren’t bluebloods marrying into the family. It’s why you saddled Mom and Dad together even though they clearly didn’t like each other very much.”
“Well…” my dad starts, but I ignore him and keep going.
“I was wrong for lying,” I say. “I admit that it was childish and stupid and, most importantly, it put Carly in a position where she had to tolerate being humiliated by you just for my selfish gains. But we’re not doing that anymore. Now I’m going to be honest. Carly isn’t a blueblood. Her family is an… interesting gaggle of people, but she’s not from royalty. She’s from Laketown, a funny place filled with a lot of interesting people, and she’s the most interesting one there. She’s beautiful, smart, unbelievably strong... she’s way better than anyone you could ever imagine me with, way better than I deserve. And she’s going to be an accountant, a fantastic one.” I feel I want to say more, to expound more on Carly’s qualities but I can’t find the words. And I don’t have to. I don’t have to explain who she is to anyone, but I want her to know how I feel. “And I love her irrevocably.”
I hear Carly gasp again, and I take a chance to look at her. Her eyes are misty, once again, but this time I can tell they’re good tears. Or at least I think so, seeing that it’s accompanied by a tremulous smile. I lean in and brush my lips against her, but she puts her hand on my cheeks and kisses me back passionately. I taste her tears, her relief, and her love. Even if she hasn’t said it to me yet, I know she loves me, just like I love her.
My father clearing his throat has us pulling back. My grandfather is stunned and seems confused.
His expression would actually be funny under different circumstances, because I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look quite like that before. He glances at my father, and says, “Well, do something about this.”
My father sighs. “Micah, is it possible that I may talk with you for a second? Alone?”
“There’s nothing you can say to me that you can’t say in front of my fiancée.” I figure since it’s settled that we’re in love now, there should be no problem with me calling her that. After all, we’re going to get married eventually. Why not stay engaged and save ourselves time and effort?
“I need to tell you this alone,” he says and he puts on his stern father voice, the one that brooks no refusal. But I’m not in the mood for it. I’m no longer just his son and my duty is no longer to him.
I’m also Micah Landing, Carly’s fiancé. My duty is to her.
“No, Dad,” I say. “And I think with that, this meeting is officially over.”
I take Carly’s hand again and start walking her out, ignoring the calls of my father and grandfather behind me. I catch Elvira’s wide-eyed gaze on the way out, and I wink at her. She throws me a thumbs-up in response.
We’re soon outside in the crisp air, and that’s when my anger recedes enough to realize that Carly is quietly calling me.
“Micah, just wait a second,” she gasps out the words running to keep up with me. I stop and then turn.
“Sorry, babe. I was going too fast, wasn’t I?”
“A little,” she says with a smile. “But that’s not why I was calling you. I think maybe you should go back in there and talk to them. Without me.”
“Not happening.”
“Come on, Micah.” She sighs. “At least for your dad. I don’t think he has the same problem that your grandfather has with me. I think your dad was more hurt that you were dodging his calls and didn’t tell him that you were engaged. You didn’t see his face when we were leaving, but he seemed pretty devastated.”
“He’s devastated that he’s losing his second heir, the person who he thinks is going to take over his corporation and he’s mad that he can’t control me with money anymore,” I point out testily. “Even if I have to be dirt poor, I’m not going to kowtow to him. I’ll figure out some way to make it. As long as I have you, I’m good.”
Carly smiles at me, gently her hands touching my cheek. “That’s sweet. And thank you for defending me back there. But I just want to ask, could you possibly be reading your dad wrong in this situation?”
I shake my head. “I’ve known that man for years. I know what he wants from me.”
“Oh yeah? And you’ve never been wrong about him? Just like you’ve never been wrong about your grandpa.”
“Well...” I hate to admit that I didn’t think my grandfather would pull something like this. He’s always seemed too straightforward a man.
“Could it also be possible that your negative thoughts about your father might have been at least partially initiated by your grandfather?”
I open my mouth to deny it, but then my mind lingers on a few conversations here and there, where my grandfather would casually mention how my father clearly prefers my brother, and how my brother is better at business than I am, but that I probably had other talents elsewhere.
I thought he was sticking up for me, pointing out the inequality.
Now, I have to think again.
Huh. How come I never saw that before?
Not to say that my father was completely blameless in the deterioration of our relationship and he definitely did enough things to warrant my doubt of him, but maybe… hmm.
“Maybe things aren’t exactly the way you think they are,” she says.
I smirk. “Is this you turning my words against me?” I said the same thing to her a few days ago, about the townspeople not hating her as much as she thinks they do.
She shrugs. “If the shoe fits.”
I shake my head and tweak her nose affectionately. “How did you figure all this out anyway?”
“Just a hunch.” She smiles gently. “They kind of remind me of my family, but it’s easier to see things clearer from the outside looking in. Go back there. Talk to your father. I’ll be right out here waiting for you.” She glances behind her, at the fancy neighborhood park. “In fact, I think I’ll sit on that bench.”
“Alright, but don’t talk to any strangers while I’m gone.”
“No promises,” she quips as I brush my mouth over hers again.
And then I sigh, turn around, and head back into the house to speak to my father.
They’re still in the living room, and my grandfather is ranting about something when I arrive, with my father listening on quietly. His eyes flicker to me when I walk in and my grandfather falls silent.
I still can’t forget what he said about Carly, so I ignore my grandfather and focus on my father instead.
“You said you want to talk,” I say. “Now talk.”
He nods. “Dad, please leave us.”
My grandfather looks incensed. “This is my home. How dare you make demands on me?”
“Please,” my father stresses, throwing him a pleading look.
My father stares at him and digests that. He stands and with all the dignity he can muster, he walks into the adjoining living room.
And then my father says, “Micah…”
“No let me speak first.” I hold up my hand. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you I got engaged. I’m also sorry that I’ve been ignoring your calls. It’s my petty way of getting back at you for forcing me to stay in Laketown. But I shouldn’t have done it. I understand why you did what you did.”
“You do?” He looks and sounds surprised.
I shrug. “Well, you need an heir, don’t you?” I say it without bitterness this time because I’ve had plenty of time to accept it. “And that’s my job as the adopted son.... A spare.”
My father does an odd thing in response. His mouth emits a choked sound. Hurt and pain explode all over his face.
His expression breaks into so many pieces that it’s uncomfortable to look at him for a long time. But he can’t seem to get a word out. So I continue talking.
“I know you never wanted to adopt me,” I say. “Grandfather made it clear that it was always mom’s idea. But you lost your first son and now I’m here....”
“Micah, stop.” He squeezes his eyes shut and holds his hand up. “Please just stop for now.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Did I say something wrong?”
“You said everything wrong.” The answer burst out of him in a harsh breath. Then he inhaled deeply. “It doesn’t matter what I said or thought before. The minute your mother came home with you, you were my son. Period. I was not very good with kids and still have difficulty expressing my care to you. And your brother will testify that it was the same for him too, may God rest his soul. But I’ve always made a point to treat the two of you equally so you would know that you were in every way my son as he was.”
“You wanted me to be like him.”
“No,” he says. “I didn’t want you to be like him. I wanted you to be a better version of yourself. I became heavy-handed with it because you seemed to lack direction and didn’t care about anything. You stubbornly flitted from one thing to the next, aimlessly drifting through life. I didn’t want you to continue to waste your life like you’ve been doing. I thought this was a way to teach you responsibility, so you would put down some roots and wouldn’t keep going through life like you were.”
Ah. I see it now. So Carly was right. And I’m a little embarrassed that I didn’t see it before. Because my father was right. From the outside looking in, it did seem like most of my life, I had no ambition. Even with architecture, I’d given it up at the slightest push back from him.
I love it, but I don’t have enough resolve or drive to push through the hard parts.
Or didn’t. I do now. And now I see things better from his perspective.
“I get it, Dad,” I say. “Truly I do. But what I’m doing now, with my architecture firm, that is something I’ve wanted for a while. This is not me asking you for permission to do it, or for a handout. This is just me letting you know as my father, that this is what I’m going to do. I’m going to sell my Laketown shares to someone who can manage the place. And I’m going to pursue architecture full time.”
He stares at me for a minute, then nods. “If that’s what you want, then that’s fine.”
I nod at him too, and then it feels like an understanding has been reached between us.
“And as for your fiancée,” my father continues. “I was only hurt that you didn’t tell me Micah. I don’t disapprove of her. I don’t even know her really. But I would like to. If you would give me that chance.”
I bite my lip and then sigh. “That’s fine Dad. I think she would like to know you too. In fact...”
I turn and head out to the door, to call for Carly to come back.
But when I glance at the park, Carly’s gone.