Page 104 of Mr. Aster
“Because you know your marital aspirations arefarmore important than a mediocre investment with Mr. Mitchell that was made to build a rapport. I only sent you here to get you back on track with your life, not to find the first available woman and propose marriage to her.”
“And the bachelor auction? Why is a childish event suddenly on your agenda? Wouldn’t placing your son on a stage to be sold to the highest bidder make the biggest mockery of us all?”
“I was unaware of this,” my mother said with horror, looking at my dad.
“It was nothing, and Sebastian wasnotgoing to be auctioned off for a date. It was merely an event I approved of because it was a fantastic idea to replenish the funds you’ve wasted on remodeling this wasteful place and space,” my father said, answering my mother and then looking at me.
“How lovely to know thatnow,” I exhaled.
“Did you honestly believe I would allow my flesh and blood to partake in such a foolish event?” my dad seethed, which was something he hadn’t stopped doing since he arrived.
“I had no ideawhatyou were thinking,” I returned. “The fact that you sent me out here was enough to make me believe anything.”
“Well, you weren’t going up on anything. Your presence alone at that event would have drawn in every wealthy person inthe country. Now, please tell me this is all the joke I believe it to be and that this arrangement you’ve made with that woman is merely to avoid embarrassment,” my dad said.
“It was,” I answered him, knowing the easy way out was to assure him that I had no feelings for Darcy, and I did all this to get out of that Bachelor auction; in other words, tell him the original truth. However, I suddenly felt a sense of loyalty to her and my feelings for her. “The engagement is a farce, but my feelings for her are another story. I believe I’ve fallen in love with the woman while attempting to be in a fake relationship to avoid this ridiculous auction.”
“What in God’s name has happened to you?” my father questioned, looking at me like he discovered I was a changeling. He looked at my mom with half a glimmer of relief, “At least he’s not engaged.”
“For now,” my mother said, her eyes narrowing at me. “You will leave this place tomorrow after your father meets with Mr. Mitchell, and then you will return home to your daughter, your life, and your responsibilities in New York.” She looked at my father, “I will notify the family that we will stay elsewhere tonight. There is no reason for them to?—”
“You and Dad are more than welcome to leave at once,” I said, irritated as hell that my parents dared to speak to me like this. “I will remain here. I will also have my daughter and her nanny flown out to join me while I search for housing and explore the possibilities of living here as we continue to invest in West Coast ventures. I will not be controlled by you or Dad,” I looked between the two of them, “like you have tried to control both my brothers unsuccessfully. You are both extremely foolish if you believe that I do not have a voice in this family and that you are able to speak on my behalf as if I were still an immature teenager.”
“You have lost your damn mind,” my father said.
“I think I’ve found it,” I chuckled, “and all in the process of losing it. Funny how that works.”
“How do you plan on taking over for your father by establishing roots inCalifornia,” my mother mocked.
They both truly believed I’d lost it, and I was okay with that. I was standing my fucking ground because I was tired of them treating my brothers and me this way.
“The same way my father runs our businesses all over the globe from New York.”
“So, you believe you have it all figured out?” my dad stated coldly. “You plan to pack up and move your mother’s only grandchild to California and start a new life out here?”
“It’s better than the alternative, isn’t it?”
“The alternative being you walking around the house like a depressed zombie?” my dad tried to insult me but failed. He was probably confused because I wasn’t crumbling under the pressure of him and my mother.
“Precisely that,” I said. “Now, you can either be on board with the decisions I make for Charlotte and me and the business deals I manage under our corporate umbrella, or you can choose to sever our family ties. At this rate, from how all three of your sons have chosen not to comply withyourwishes forour lives,you will have no one left to bequeath our family legacy and wealth to.”
“I would just as soon have our fortune given away after we die. Dear God, I fear the day it all ends like this,” my mother chose to take the hysterical route now.
“You may fear the day, but I don’t give a shit anymore. Both of you have a decision to make. I would hope our ancestral wealth would mean less to you than losingyet another sonand your only grandchild. However, that is not up to me to decide or to live with; it is up to you two. I will leave you to determine your course of action.” I turned to leave but stopped before I reachedthe door. “Oh, and if I hear that either one of you has spoken to Darcy outside of my presence,” I arched my brow at my mother, remembering the damage she’d done to John’s wife, Mickie, while they were still dating, “you will never see me or Charlotte again. You are best to find your place in my life; that place is to support whatever decisionsImake, not attempt to make them for me.”
“I will see you at the meeting tomorrow with James Mitchell,” my father said.
“Very well.”
This wasn’t over. I was no fool, and neither were my parents. They were merely giving me time to cool off after seeing that I didn’t cower to them, but I certainly hoped they didn’t think giving me time or space would change my mind.
I knew my worth and place in this family. They needed me more than I needed them. They also weren’t stupid and probably thought that my feelings for Darcy would fizzle out sooner rather than later.
Either way, right or wrong, I was thankful my father didn’t press me any further. In fact, shouldn’t they have been grateful that I’d returned to the land of the living?
All I currently cared about was getting back to Darcy. Taking a walk through the vineyards and up the hillside to watch the sunset sounded like a marvelous idea.
“Hey, gorgeous,” I said, seeing that Darcy had found privacy by the pool. “Care to take a walk?”
