CHAPTER FOUR #3
“For years, I’ve listened to you both tell me what I should do, who I should be, and what’s best for my life.
” She took a slow breath. “The truth is, I don’t have the energy to care what any of you think anymore.
So save your explanations, your excuses, and your disappointment. Because I’m finished.”
And for the first time in a very long time, Nova meant every word. Something inside her had finally snapped, not in anger or heartbreak, but in acceptance. She was done carrying the weight of everyone’s expectations.
Without another word, she turned and strode toward the door. She wasn’t running away. She was finally walking away.
“Nova!” Leonard barked from behind her. “If you walk out now, don’t expect to come back.”
She paused, her hand on the doorknob, and looked back at them. Her mother looked nervous, while her father shot her a cold glare.
She stared at her dad for a long moment. Then a slow, sarcastic smile curved her lips.
“Good. Because I have no intention of coming back.”
And with that, she yanked the door open and slammed it behind her.
◆◆◆
The door slammed so hard that a few of the pictures on the wall rattled.
Leonard didn’t flinch. He ran one hand down his face as if he were frustrated.
Next to him, Erica wrung her hands nervously. Her wide, frantic eyes darted to her husband.
“What are you going to do?” she hissed, barely containing her panic. “We have too much riding on Nova marrying Rick! Everything is already set. He was planning to propose next weekend.”
Leonard leaned against his desk, lacing his fingers together, his face a mask of cold calculation.
“Relax. I’ll handle it,” he said smoothly.
“But—” she started.
“I said I’ll handle it,” Leonard snapped, his voice slicing through the air like a blade.
Erica recoiled slightly but pressed on. “I’m just saying that our family’s reputation and financial future are at stake. If she backs out, we will be the laughingstock of the social circle. Not to mention what the Montgomerys would do if our daughter embarrassed their son.”
Leonard’s jaw tightened, but he forced a calm smile. “That won’t happen. I can assure you that Nova won’t let it get that far.”
He rose from the desk and moved to the window, hands clasped behind his back, staring out at the rolling green lawn that masked the rot underneath their lives.
Years ago, Leonard and Merrick, Rick’s father, quietly struck an agreement to steer their children toward marriage, knowing the union would merge business interests, political influence, and family wealth in a way that would financially benefit them both.
Not to mention he owed the Montgomery family a lot of money.
Now, Nova was threatening to blow it all apart because Rick had apparently been thinking with his dick instead of his brain when he brought that slut Piper back to his place.
Leonard closed his eyes briefly, anger simmering low in his chest. He wasn’t pissed because of the cheating. He was angry at the recklessness and timing. If Nova walked away now, the fallout wouldn’t stay private, and there would be consequences.
The next few months were critical for Rick’s campaign.
Donors would be watching closely before committing money, measuring not only his policies but his image.
The last thing Rick needed was an infidelity rumor surfacing before the election cycle even gained momentum, especially when family values still carried enough weight to destroy a candidate before he ever reached a debate stage.
But Leonard wasn’t worried. Not yet.
“She’ll come back,” he said, voice low, almost amused. “After she’s cooled off, she’ll realize that she overreacted.”
“And if she doesn’t?”
Leonard looked his wife in the eyes. “Then we force her hand. Either way, Nova will marry Rick as planned.”
◆◆◆
Nova barely remembered the walk from her dad’s office to the driveway.
She was beyond angry, although at the same time, she was hurt.
Her parents had sat there, calm and composed as if Rick’s betrayal was nothing more than an inconvenient detail to smooth over, something that didn’t matter as long as appearances stayed intact.
Her grip tightened on her keys as her car came into view, but her steps faltered when she saw two familiar figures waiting for her.
She slowed her steps as she took in Rob and Wallace, who leaned against the hood of her car like a couple of bodyguards in tailored suits. She wasn’t in the mood.
Of all the people to deal with after surviving her parents’ fury, they were the last ones she expected to be waiting for her.
For most of her life, they had pretty much ignored her.
When they still lived in the house, they stood silently off to the side while their parents treated her like a puppet.
They never stepped in and called anything out.
Her shoulders stiffened as she approached. “Did Mom and Dad send you guys out here?” she asked, hitting the unlock button on her key fob.
Wallace gave a dry chuckle, while Rob looked down at his shoes, the usual smirk absent. When he finally met her eyes, something in his expression had shifted.
“Nova, we’re not here to defend Mom and Dad. We’re here because we owe you an apology.”
That stopped her. “An apology?”
Rob nodded slowly. “For not being the brothers you deserved.”
Wallace pushed off the car, stepping closer to Nova. “We should’ve seen it sooner, with how much control Mom and Dad had over your life. And how they pushed their version of the future on you without ever asking what you wanted.”
“We always thought you were fine because you never seemed bothered by it,” Rob said, his voice low, regretful. “You always appeared strong and unshakeable. But the truth is, we didn’t look closely enough. We let you carry it all alone.”
Nova’s throat tightened, but she swallowed it down. “You didn’t make them treat me like that.”
“No,” Wallace said, “but we didn’t stop it either. And that’s on us.”
They stood there in silence for a moment, the weight of years unspoken between them.
“We’re proud of you,” Rob said finally. “For walking into that house today and not giving a damn about expectations. For standing your ground. It took guts.”
“And Rick?” Wallace added, his jaw tightening. “What he did is unforgivable, and we’re pissed. And not just at him, but at how hard Dad pushed you two together.”
Nova looked at Rob. “Sophia told me about you overhearing Mom and Rick’s mom talking about a wedding.”
Rob nodded. “Like I told Sophia, I don’t know whose wedding they were discussing. I just assumed they were talking about you and Rick.”
“I won’t marry him,” she said firmly.
“And you shouldn’t,” Wallace said. “However, I have a strong feeling that Dad isn’t going to let you off the hook so easily, especially if there is something in it for him.”
“You think there’s some sort of kickback for Dad if I marry Rick?” she asked.
“Dad doesn’t do anything unless it benefits him.”
Rob spoke up. “Listen, let Wallace and me do a little bit of digging.”
“You’re being serious? You actually want to help me?”
“Dead serious. As we said, we should have been there for you when we saw all this happening.”
Nova stared at them, unsure whether to be angry, grateful, or just stunned. These were the same brothers who used to tease her about not messing up the family name, and now they were standing here owning their part in her pain.
Rob pulled her into a hug. “I know you have to work with Dad and Rick, but try not to engage with them if you don’t have to. At least until we can find out what the motive is behind the rush to marry you off.”
Wallace followed, his hug just as firm. “And if they come at you again, you won’t face it alone.”
She pulled back, still in shock, and gave them a small smile.
“Thank you.”
“You’d better get going before Mom and Dad come looking to see if you actually left,” Wallace told her.
“We’ll give you a call if we find out anything. Plus, maybe you can start coming over to our Sunday dinners at our place.”
“Wait, you guys have Sunday dinners and never invited me?”
Rob looked guilty. “Sorry. Mom and Dad don’t know about them either.”
Nova understood, and while it did sting a little, she wouldn’t hold a grudge.
“It’s okay. Just send me the details for the next one, and I’ll be there.”
“You got it, sis,” Wallace said, and they each gave her another hug.
Nova climbed into her car, still processing everything as she started the engine.
As she pulled away from the house, her brothers’ words continued to echo in the back of her mind.
Deep down, she believed them when they told her she could do this, that she was capable of standing on her own and building a life that wasn’t dictated by her parents, Rick, or the expectations constantly hanging over her head.
For the first time in a long time, she felt the smallest spark of confidence pushing through the fear.
But she also wasn’t naive enough to let her guard down.
Making a clean break from both her parents and Rick was never going to be simple.
People like them didn’t lose control gracefully, and something told her this fight was only just beginning.
She shook her head as she drove. She prayed that others around the world were having a much more enjoyable Easter than she was.