Chapter 43
43
Haruki - 27 years old
T he door to my dad’s bedroom is closed, but I can hear the yelling all the way from the kitchen. I pretend to read the article that has been opened on my phone since my dad called me an ungrateful child, when Kenji storms in.
“He’s pissed at you.” Tell me something I don’t know.
“Tell me what he told you, Kenji. It’s okay, I’m a big girl. I can handle it.” Partly true . When it comes to my father, I always cower like a small child. I wish I could be braver, but I can’t. When he welcomed me back into the fold, when he came to Elsham Cove for me, something in me was activated. A don’t-be-a-disappointment-to-Dad button, the one that has managed to put me in control when it comes to holding my tongue.
Kenji blows out a frustrated breath with his hands on his hips. “I get it,” he says in a softer tone, same dark brown eyes as mine looking sympathetic. “But just let him handle it, Haruki, please. It’s turning into a mess.”
“No,” I say. My grip on my tea mug is so tight, I feel like the palm of my hand is getting second-degree burns. “Lorenzo told me he doesn’t want to press charges or be a part of the divorce proceedings. We already discussed it.”
It’s pretty funny when it’s not happening to you, but the joke’s on us this time. Bryce and I are in our late twenties now, but our fathers have decided that it would be best to treat us like children.
Arthur Simmons is doing everything in his power to paint me as a gold-digging opportunist, meanwhile, Haruto Sano is claiming that my estranged husband is a violent man who coaxed me into marrying him while I was not in the right mental state.
You think a divorce between two people with different nationalities who don’t live in the country they got married in is complicated? Add the fact that the wife got married while being a US national and is getting divorced as a Japanese one. After that, factor in an angry father and a father trying to protect his son’s assets into the mix.
I don’t know what Bryce’s reasoning is for not hiring his own lawyer, but I can’t afford one. Not for this particular uncoupling. Despite everything, we have been married for a long period of time. We didn’t sign a prenup. We didn’t even have rings except for the one he gave me as a Christmas present. We just had love. And hope.
“Have you talked to him?” Kenji asks.
“He doesn’t want to talk to me. I called him a few months ago to ask how he was doing and whether he wanted to discuss the divorce with me. He told me to let our lawyers handle it.”
My dad finally comes out of his room and decides to join us. By the way he’s glaring at me, I’m certain he’s also disappointed in the fact that Kenji tried to defend me. He thinks I’ve brought his precious son to the dark side.
“You are going to do as I say.” There is finality in my father’s tone.
You can’t choose your family, which is why I came to terms a long time ago with the fact that my father will never change, and if I want to have a relationship with him, I’ll just have to accept that he runs the household and his business with an iron fist. But Bryce Simmons didn’t choose this. Bryce chose me. And for some reason I can’t explain, the version of me that chose Bryce back on that beach in the middle of the night is the one that answers my dad.
“This is the last time I am repeating myself. I will not lie and say that I did not marry him out of love. I was sober, of sound mind, and fully capable of making a decision for myself.”
“Haruki,” my dad hisses. “You were grieving your mother. You were a runaway. He took advantage of the situation.”
“Took advantage to get what, exactly, Dad?” I can’t help the scoff that comes out. “I don’t know why you’re twisting this all up. You and Arthur want us to get a divorce? Well you’re both the ones standing in the way of it!” I’m not stupid. This is a game of pride.
“He married you without my permission!”
The one act I don’t know how to defend. Because Bryce has completely shut down . Ever since my mom died, I just wanted to be loved by my dad. But in this moment, the need to defend the man who adored me with every single cell he had in his body is stronger.
I wipe the tear that falls on my cheeks. Asian children are taught not to talk back to their parents. Be respectful, be obedient, be agreeable . Standing up, I put the last nail in the coffin. After this, it’s a guarantee. When he looks at me, he will only think of me as the black sheep of the family.
“ I married him without your permission. It was me,” I say, pointing a finger to my chest. “I chose to do it. I decided for myself what was best at that time. If you want to blame someone, blame me. I apologize that it was not to your liking, but do not punish the man who has only ever tried to make me happy. Either you stop this bizarre chicken fight with Arthur, or I will never forgive you for this.” Be respectful, be obedient, be agreeable. “Please.”