CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR – HATTIE
It’s amazing how, in twenty-four hours, everything can change.
Twenty-four hours ago, I was sitting in the dining room at my father’s house, eating a silent, uncomfortable meal with a family that has never truly been mine.
And now, I’m sitting at a table with Finn, Oscar, and Alec, hearing stories that make Finn groan and Alec smile wickedly. Stories of them from years gone by, of climbing trees and stuffy parties ten-year-old boys had no interest being at.
I’m regaled by tales of Oscar breaking his arm and Alec accidentally letting his mother’s dog run free in public.
Of Finn almost tripping during his first public engagement as a preteen.
Of their hilarious normal teen years behind closed doors, away from prying public eyes.
Of university escapades that would make a grandmother blush.
And this… I understand. This is what family is.
It’s being accepted, being included, being loved for who you are.
In this place, there’s no judgement. Not one of these three men brings up my missing years.
They aren’t interested in the qualities I might not possess.
They don’t care if I’m not perfect. They don’t care for things they could use against me.
Instead, they’ve invited me into their family. They’ve brought me into their world without question, accepting both the good and not-so-good sides of me. They don’t question me, they don’t doubt me, they don’t fear me, they don’t underestimate me.
They just accept me.
And it is the strangest feeling.
I don’t have to prove myself to any of them. I simply am. I can just be.
It’s the same with Beatrix and Louis, even Rowan. Nobody expects anything of me. It’s an acceptance I’ve never really experienced, and to an extent, it feels as if I don’t deserve it. I don’t deserve to be loved or cared for like this. I don’t deserve this acceptance. I don’t deserve this family.
Yet… I have it.
It’s mine.
And I want to be worthy of it.
I want to cherish it. I want to nurture it. Protect it.
Oscar’s phone pings, and he reaches across the table for it. “Oh. Interesting.”
“What is?” I ask.
“Your father.” He looks over at me, his lips tugging to one side. “He’s trying to get access to the palace to speak to you, but Aunt Beatrix won’t permit it. He’s concerned about you, apparently.”
“So concerned that it’s taken him all day to reach out?” I tilt my head to the side. “Bullshit. What does he really want?”
“If I had to guess,” Alec said slowly, grabbing his own phone and tilting the screen towards himself.
He swipes, leaving us all waiting, and taps a few times before putting it back down and looking at us all with a smile.
“He wants to know why ACN Industries withdrew their investments this afternoon and what your connections to them are.”
Finn snaps his head around. “You didn’t.”
“Who and what is ACN Industries and what does that have to do with me?” I flick my attention between them all. “Is that you?”
Alec’s smile never falters. “I can’t tell you that.”
“Alec,” Finn warns.
“Oh, fine. Yes, it’s one of my companies.
It was previously my uncle’s, and he passed it to me when he retired a couple of years ago.
He made some substantial investments in your family’s business about fifteen years ago, and it’s always been a good return, so I just let it be.
Now… Well, I have plenty of money, and it’s an easy way to mess with him. ”
An easy way to mess with him.
Like he isn’t talking about an actual business with an actual cashflow and actual repercussions for an entire company.
“That’s one way of putting it,” Oscar says with a shake of his head. “At least nobody knows it’s you.”
“I don’t care if they do.” Alec shrugs and reaches for the bottle of wine to refill his glass.
“Jasmine hitting Harriet did some damage to his business, especially since she didn’t publicly apologise, and all ACN has done is react to that.
I pulled a couple of others at the same time, and I’m technically only the chairman with no real power on paper, so even if it’s traced back to me, it won’t hurt Harriet in any way. ”
“Is that because you’re scared of me or because you like me?” I grin, propping my chin up on my hand.
“Bit of both.” He smirks, laughter flickering in his dark eyes. “Also, I just don’t like your father, and I enjoy the thought of him squirming right now.”
He could say that again.
I pause, then look from Finn to Oscar. “I’ll speak to him.”
“Hattie.” Finn sets his hand flat on the table. “You don’t have to. Not after what happened when you went home.”
“I want to.” I hold his gaze, my resolve hardening with every second that passes.
“I want to ask him why he hasn’t denied this story about me.
He doesn’t know I have the DNA test results, so there’s no reason for him not to respond to it.
He could easily put an end to it. He’s only here because it’s affecting his business.
He clearly thinks he still has some kind of control over me or he wouldn’t be here, so it’s time I put that to an end. ”
“The last time you were alone with him, he moved to hit you.” His tone darkens. “I’m not leaving you with him.”
“I’ll speak to him somewhere you can stay close. He’s an idiot, but he’ll be panicking.” I drop my gaze to my half-finished plate. “He’ll keep himself under control because he won’t want to risk anything getting out that could lose him more money.”
“That’s going to happen regardless. Once we reveal the truth about Jasmine and Rosalyn, the business is going to crash,” Oscar says.
Once we do?
Does that mean they have a real plan?
Oscar taps his fingertips against the table. “What if he’s desperate enough to be stupid?”
“Then he’ll get a shock. I can defend myself, and I’d bet I can hurt him far quicker than he can hurt me.
The only reason he had a chance to raise his hand against me before is because I foolishly thought he would never do such a thing.
” I press my lips together, looking at all three of them one by one.
“Now, I know better. So let him in. Let me talk to him. It’s the only way I can put an end to all this bullshit. ”
Alec and Oscar both look at Finn. Silence rests heavy between us all as he stares at me, and just when I think he’s going to say no, he sighs.
“Fine. We’ll let him in, but we’re going to be in the next room. Any sign of him laying hands on you, and it’s conversation over.” He presses his lips into a thin line. “I refuse to let you get hurt by him again.”
“I won’t.” I push back from the table and stand, leaving my hands resting on the edge. “At this point, he can’t hurt me. He doesn’t have that power anymore.”
***
My father gets to his feet the moment I walk into the room. He looks remarkably different to last night—the blue-purple shadows under his eyes add years to his face, and the tight drawing together of his lips only serves to enunciate the lines around his mouth.
Even his posture has changed. Gone is the stable, strong demeanour he usually carries himself with. In its place is a tired, weaker silhouette, one that fits with the relieved wave of desperation that emanates from him as I approach.
“Hattie!” My father reaches towards me before stopping short of touching me. “Thank you for getting me permission to enter the palace. I can’t believe I couldn’t get in. I would have invited you home to talk to you again, but Rosalyn told me you left on bad terms last night, and I—”
“Took her word for it and never thought to call me and see what happened,” I finish for him, taking a step back to put some distance between us.
He balks at my words. Or maybe it’s my tone.
Colder. Sharper.
Less forgiving than he’s used to.
It’s not the voice of the Harriet who would roll over and accept his weak placations.
It’s the voice of the Harriet I never let him see.
The real me.
“Given that you also didn’t call me to discuss the news that broke early this morning, I can only assume you’re here because you want something from me.” I fold my arms across my chest. “Well? Am I right?”
He opens his mouth, freezes, and closes it again. “I’ve been trying to contact you via the palace all day,” he says after a moment. “Of course, today’s incident is part of why I’m here. We need to resolve that issue.”
Part of.
Same old, same old.
He must think I’m stupid.
“Do we? Could you not have resolved it immediately this morning?” I stare at him, unblinking, unmoving.
“We took a DNA test as soon as I returned to St Peters. Instead of the speculation that’s been rife all day, you could have confirmed I’m your daughter with proof in a matter of minutes. Yet here we are.”
“I was just—”
“More concerned about ACN Industries pulling their finances from Sinclair Corp.”
He flinches, as if he wasn’t expecting me to say that.
“Surprised?” My lips curve into a cruel smile. “You clearly didn’t consider that any information I want is at the tips of my fingers. I know exactly what’s going on.”
“You…” He trails off, then runs his hand through his short hair, taking a step back. “I need your help. ACN pulling their investment has caused the company’s value to tank, and it’s in trouble.”
“I don’t see how that’s my problem.”
“I’m your father.”
“Oh, so you do know that. Given your silence on the very public discussion regarding my paternity, I wasn’t sure if you remembered it.”
“I’ll clear it up. Right now,” he says quickly, dropping his hand from his hair. “As soon as I leave, I’ll release a statement with a copy of the DNA test that proves you’re my daughter. And I’ll find whoever started the rumour and handle it.”
Unreal.
I laugh, sliding my hands down until they’re on my hips. “Don’t bother. You’d just find a way to pin it on me like usual.”
“What do you mean?”
“Rosalyn. It was Rosalyn who started this story in the first place.”
He freezes. “No. She wouldn’t. She knows… She knows you’re my daughter.”