Chapter 33 #2
“Father,” I stutter, shocked by his presence. Lila silently moves to stand beside me, slipping her hand into the crook of my arm, and her touch anchors me enough to get my next words out. “What are you doing here?”
My father stands with his feet shoulder-width apart and his hands laced behind his back.
He looks from me, to Lila, then back again.
His eyes are cold, and so is his tone. “Son, I made a special trip here to tell you that despite your best efforts to fool me, I’ve left no stone unturned, and now I’ve proved to Granddad’s lawyer that your marriage is a sham.
It wasn’t difficult seeing as there are no photos or receipts of the year you claimed to be together.
Nevermind that the paintings you purchased were by an artist whose identity was unknown to anyone—including you.
” Lila sucks in a sharp breath at these words, but my Father remains smug, not even a hint of doubt or regret on his face.
“Your inheritance was transferred to your cousin’s campaign earlier today…
which means you have no money to purchase the firehouse.
Fisher Group will be purchasing and bulldozing the property as originally planned. ”
A collective gasp echoes among the collective members—who, like all the other gallery patrons, are being subjected to this awful scene—but my father just tilts his nose up like he’s superior to everyone else in the room.
“Your actions forced my hand. If you wouldn’t have stuck your nose in Fisher Group business, this wouldn’t have gotten so ugly.
” He sighs. “I hope you’re happy. Now you’re free to annul your marriage to Lillian… or whatever her name is.”
I huff a disbelieving laugh. “First, you can show my wife some respect. Lila is kind, caring, insanely talented…and she makes me happy. She accepts me for the person I really am, which is something you’ll never understand, because you’ve never taken the time to understand me.”
My father’s regal brow scrunches. He opens his mouth to speak but I hold a hand up to stop him.
“Your actions forced my hand first. All I wanted to do was save a historic building.” I pause.
“I tried to get you to choose a different property, but you refused to hear what I had to say. And if that’s what upholding the Fisher name is all about—letting you have your way and not caring who you hurt in the process—then I’m out.
I don’t want to be a part of this family anymore. ”
The man in front of me huffs a laugh like he couldn’t care less. “That’s your choice. Why would I care when you’ve always been such a disappointment?”
I roll my eyes. A couple of months ago, his cutting words would have wounded me. Made me feel even more like an outcast who can never do anything right. But now that I’m free of him, his words run off me like water. Now, I choose to believe better about myself. And I have Lila to thank for that.
Lila disentangles her hand from my arm and steps between us.
“Respectfully, Mr. Fisher, or disrespectfully, I don’t care.
Good character, honesty, and empathy aren’t things that can be taught, they’re not traits that depend on good breeding or a fancy degree.
But your son exudes all of those qualities.
And even more incredible is that they were self-taught—they obviously weren’t learned from you.
” She laughs. “It’s actually funny.” She chuckles again.
“Are you…mocking me?” My father asks, his tone like ice.
Lila smiles. “I simply find it hilarious that you don’t realize that your son isn’t the disappointment here…
you are. You can hoard all the money and power for yourself, throw all the insults you want at us, and even flatten our firehouse.
But you’ll never take away our community.
Our empathy. Our love and care for each other.
And you’ll never get to experience those things for yourself.
Which actually isn’t that funny, now that I think about it…
it’s just sad. I feel sorry for you. You missed out on a relationship with your wonderful son because you were too blind to see how incredible he is. ”
My father’s face turns a darker red than I’ve ever seen before, the vein in his forehead pulsing like it’s about to burst. His fists are clenched at his sides, and I do not like Lila being the one he’s aiming all that barely contained rage at.
I step forward, pushing my brave little wife behind my back. Penn and Noah come to stand at my side.
“I think you need to leave, sir,” Noah says in his usual calm, cool tone.
“Yeah, we’ve heard enough from you,” Penn adds as he cracks his knuckles
My father sniffs. “I can do what I want to. And as I’ve thoroughly proven, there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“Oh, you didn’t just say that—” Penn balls his fists in anger, itching for a fight.
Masha, who I didn’t realize until now had left, strides around the corner with two security guards following closely behind her. She points to my father, and the security guards rush toward him.
“Sir, we need you to leave the premises,” one of them tells my father. “Now.”
“Do you know Mayor Davidson? Because I do, and he wouldn’t like to hear about a dear friend of his being mistreated,” Father says, unmoving.
The other security guard, who I realize is the same bouncer from Tommie’s, rolls his eyes. “If you won’t leave on your own accord, we’ll have to escort you out.” He grins, clearly enjoying himself. “Forcibly.”
My father sneers. “There will be no need for that kind of fanfare. I’ll go.
” He dusts off the front of his suit coat and calmly walks toward the exit without so much as a backwards glance at us, both security guards on his trail.
Once he’s gone, the shame of my father’s behavior hits me like one of those cartoon TNT explosions.
My whole body is wrung out and tense, my shoulders ache from the tension.
“I’m so sorry,” I tell our group, feeling like the air has been stolen from my lungs.
“None of that was your fault,” Masha tells me. “You have nothing to be sorry for.” The others from the art collective nod in agreement, even Zane.
“Thank you.” I nod, then I turn to Lila. She has tears in her eyes that cause my heart to twist inside my chest. “Lila, I’m so damn sorry he ruined your night.”
She takes my hand in hers. The connection has my lungs finally filling with air so I can breathe again.
Penn places a hand on my shoulder. “You okay, man?”
“Yeah, I’m okay,” I respond, looking into my wife’s heartbroken face.
A tear breaks free and streams down her cheek. I bring a thumb to her face to wipe it away. “Don’t cry, Lila, please. I promise I’ll plan another night to celebrate you and all your hard work. You didn’t deserve him waltzing in here and making everything about him—”
She sniffs. “Fisher, I’m not upset about tonight.
I’m upset because he’s so awful to you.” She looks at me and shakes her head, another tear falling.
“And I’m sad your family cut you out of your grandpa’s will.
It sucks that those assholes don’t appreciate you, and it also sucks that we no longer have the money to save the firehouse. ”
“Don’t worry, Lilabug,” Masha says, her face stoic, and the other members of the collective murmur the same sentiment.
“You did everything you could, more than anyone ever asked of you, and we’re so grateful for your efforts.
We’ll find another property, or maybe another last-minute buyer who doesn't want to demolish the property will outbid Fisher Group…” She trails off, like she doesn’t even believe her own words that she’s trying to reassure Lila with.
Lila’s chin quivers as she wipes away her tears. “I just wish our plan had worked.”
I pull her into my arms, wrapping her in my warmth and comfort. “Actually…I kind of have a surprise for you.”
She looks up at me with wide eyes.
“And I think once I show you, you might not be so sad anymore…”