Chapter 73
AUSTIN
Ipulled my car to a stop in the circular driveway.
The last time I had been here, it hadn’t ended well.
Neither had the time before that or the time before that.
It was time to change things. I didn’t want to dislike my father.
I knew life was short and I had already wasted so much time being pissed at him. It was time to fix this thing.
This conversation was long overdue.
Cash had texted me that morning: Dad knows you’re still with Melody. Fair warning.
Of course he did. Armand Bancroft didn’t get to where he was by missing details. And the fact that I’d disappeared to the Hamptons for a long weekend right after the Summer situation probably tipped him off.
I finally got out of the car and headed to the front door. Kathy answered, looking pleased to see me. “Austin! Your father’s in his study. Go on back, he’s expecting you.”
I made my way through the familiar halls, past family photos that chronicled decades of Bancroft history. It was almost like a Bancroft museum. My dad’s side and Kathy’s side all blended together in one long hallway.
I paused to look at a photo from last Christmas. Everyone looked so happy. I wasn’t in the picture. I wasn’t in most of the pictures because I had chosen to distance myself.
I hoped that could change.
I knocked on the study door.
“Come in.” Dad sat behind his massive desk, reading glasses perched on his nose, looking over what appeared to be a contract. He glanced up when I entered, removed his glasses, and gestured to the chair across from him.
“Austin.”
“Dad.”
I sat down, and we looked at each other for what felt like twenty minutes when in reality it was maybe two seconds.
“I assume you’re here to tell me that you didn’t end things with your influencer after all,” he said.
“Her name is Melody. And since when have I ever done what I’m told?”
The corner of his mouth twitched. Almost a smile. “Fair point.”
“But I didn’t come here to argue about Melody,” I continued. “I came here to talk. And I need you to listen to the whole thing before you say anything.”
Dad leaned back in his chair, folding his hands. “I’m listening.”
I took a breath, organizing my thoughts. I had practiced this speech in my head a dozen times over the past few days, but now that I was here, the words felt heavier.
“I want to apologize,” I started. “For leaving the way I did all those years ago. For just taking off without really explaining why and trying to work things out first. I was impulsive, as always, and I hurt you and the family by just disappearing.”
His expression didn’t change, but I saw something flicker in his eyes.
“It never felt right being away,” I continued.
“Even when I was traveling and having adventures while living the life I thought I wanted, it never felt quite right. There was always this sense that I was running from something instead of running toward something. So I numbed it out with the fast-paced lifestyle, the parties, the women, all of it. I kept moving so I wouldn’t have to feel how wrong it all was. ”
“Austin—” Dad started, but I held up my hand.
“Please. Let me finish.”
He nodded, settling back.
“I know I didn’t do our last name any favors during those years.
I know I embarrassed you, embarrassed the family.
The scandals, the headlines. I own all of that.
And I’m sorry for the position it put you in, put all of you in.
” I paused, making sure he was really hearing me.
“But I also need you to know that phase of my life is over. I’m not that person anymore. I’ve changed.”
Dad opened his mouth, but I wasn’t done yet.
“That said, I need to be clear about something else. I won’t ever change who I am at my core.
I’m not going to magically become the kind of son who falls in line and takes orders without question.
I don’t operate like Cash does, or like some of my other brothers.
I’m never going to be the golden child who does everything exactly the way you want it done. ”
I leaned forward, making sure he understood this part.
“I’m always going to push back when something doesn’t feel right. I’m always going to question authority, including yours. I’m always going to do things my own way, even if it makes you uncomfortable. That’s who I am, and I can’t apologize for it anymore.”
The study was silent. Dad’s face was unreadable. I wasn’t going to let it get to me. He could say a million things with that one expression.
“But here’s what I can tell you,” I said. “I’m happy. Really, genuinely happy for the first time in my life. And I’m in love with an incredible woman who makes me want to be better without asking me to be someone I’m not.”
I sat back, finished. “That’s what I came here to say.”
Dad was quiet for what felt like an eternity. I waited, my heart pounding, prepared for anger or disappointment or another lecture about responsibility and some dig at Melody and what she chose to do for a living.
Then, slowly, his expression softened.
“I’m proud of you,” he said quietly.
I blinked. “What?”
“I’m proud of you, Austin.” He stood up and came around the desk, leaning against it in front of me. “I’ve been too hard on you. Too inflexible. I kept trying to force you into a mold that was never going to fit, and all I did was push you away.”
This wasn’t what I’d expected. At all.
“You’re right that you’re not like Cash or your other brothers,” he continued.
“You never have been, and I’m sorry for trying to make you into something you’re not.
You have your own strengths, which is what I expect in all of my sons.
You have your own way of doing things, and I should have respected that instead of fighting it. ”
“Dad—”
“Let me finish,” he said, echoing my words from earlier.
“I owe you an apology too. When you left, I was devastated. I blamed myself for not being able to reach you, for not understanding you. Cash tried to tell me that you just needed space. He told me you weren’t motivated by the same things as the others, but I wouldn’t listen. I took it personally.”
He rubbed his jaw, looking older than I remembered. “I spent years angry at you for leaving, but I was really angry at myself for failing you as a father. For not being able to give you what you needed to thrive here.”
“You didn’t fail me,” I said. “We just didn’t understand each other.”
“Maybe. But I should have tried harder.” He looked at me directly.
“I’m proud of the man you’ve become, Austin.
Especially the parts that don’t fit the Bancroft mold.
You’re loyal, you’re brave, and you fight for what you believe in.
Those are good qualities, even if they manifest differently than I expected. ”
My throat felt tight. “Thanks, Dad.”
“And Melody,” he continued, and I saw a hint of amusement in his eyes. “She’s lucky to have you. Or maybe you’re lucky to have her. Probably both.”
I laughed despite myself. “Definitely both.”
“Does she know what she’s getting into? This whole mess with Summer Auburn was just a taste of what it’s like being connected to this family. The scrutiny, the expectations, the people who will try to use her or tear her down because of our name.”
I thought about Melody standing up to Summer. “She knows. She’s been through it already. And she’s not going anywhere.”
Dad nodded slowly. “Then I look forward to getting to know her better. Properly this time, without the tension of thinking it’s all a performance.”
“It was never a performance,” I said. “Not with her. That was real from the start, even when I tried to pretend it wasn’t.”
“I can tell.” He moved back to his chair and sat down.
“The way you talk about her says as much. But more importantly it’s the way you’ve changed since meeting her.
That’s not something you can fake. And frankly, I’d rather see you happy with a woman who challenges you than miserable trying to date someone who fits some arbitrary Bancroft standard. ”
This was surreal. My father was sitting here telling me he was proud of my chaos.
“What changed?” I asked. “Why now?”
“Watching you handle the Summer situation,” he said simply.
“You didn’t do it the way I would have. You trusted Melody, you worked with Cash instead of against him, and you found a creative solution instead of just throwing money at the problem.
You showed me that your way works too, even if it’s different from mine. ”
He leaned forward. “And more than that, I saw you fighting for something that mattered to you. You didn’t run away. You actually stood your ground. That’s growth, Austin. Real growth. And I’m proud to see it.”
I didn’t know what to say. I’d come here prepared for a fight, and instead I was getting acceptance. Understanding. Pride.
It felt like something fundamental was shifting between us.
“I want to do better,” Dad said. “Be a better father to you, even if that means accepting that your path won’t look like your brothers’. Can you give me that chance?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Yeah, I can do that.”
He smiled. “Good. Now, when am I meeting this woman properly? Not at a tense family dinner where everyone’s on their best behavior, but actually getting to know her?”
“How about Sunday brunch? Just you, Kathy, Melody, and me. Small, casual, no pressure.”
“That sounds perfect.”
We talked for another hour. It felt different than any conversation we ever had. It was all so honest and real. Like we were finally seeing each other as we actually were instead of as we wished the other would be.
When I finally left, driving away from the estate, I felt lighter than I had in years.
I called Melody immediately.
“How’d it go?” she answered.
“Better than I ever could have imagined,” I said. “He apologized, Melody. My father actually apologized and said he was proud of me.”
“Austin, that’s amazing!”
“And he wants to meet you properly. Sunday brunch, just the four of us.”
“I’d love that.” I could hear the smile in her voice. “I’m proud of you too, you know. For having that conversation. For being honest with him.”
“I learned from the best,” I said. “You’re the one who taught me that honesty and vulnerability aren’t weaknesses.”
I had finally made peace with my father.
And for the first time in as long as I could remember, I wasn’t running anymore.