Page 102 of Surprise! I'm Engaged To My Boss
Alice looked around at the faces of the adults in the room, and there was a tired and frightened expression on her face. It was very late now, and she had had a terrible day. It would be best, for the moment,to allow Margaret to take her away so that she could rest.
That behavior wasn’t natural to me. Until very recently, I would have insisted on fighting, I would have tried to take Alice by force from the hands of that woman for whom I felt nothing but disgust, and I would not easily accept what I would consider a defeat. But I seemed to have matured more in those last months than in all the previous years of my life.
Understanding myself as a father had contributed a huge part of that.
The other part came from my relationship with Camila and how much she had been teaching me about responsibilities, priorities and protecting those you love above anything else.
I handed the paper back to Margaret and said, “This is not a defeat, Margaret. I will not give up on my daughter.”
“You can keep the paper; it's just a copy. Keep it as a reminder of the day you almost killed your daughter. And may it also serve as a reminder for you to put your hand on your conscience and think about whether you really want the best for her, or just the best for yourself.”
With these bitter words, she walked past us and left the room. Camila looked at the door for a few moments, as if considering going after her. In the end, I know she understood that there would be no pointin doing so and turned back to face me, stretching her hand towards my face.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, her voice whispered and full of anguish.
I shook my head negatively. “It's not. But it will be.”
She nodded in agreement and hugged me tightly.
And I hoped my words were right.
Chapter Forty-Six
MICHAEL
Nothing else made any sense on that trip. So much so that, the next day, we decided to pack our bags and go home.
The flight back was sad and silent. And I had no hope that things would get better once we got home.
It was Camila who called Janet and told her everything that had happened, because even though I knew that this was a necessary step, I felt like a fucking coward with no desire to face my new problems head on. I knew that Janet would freak out and scream about how irresponsible I had been and how the situation was now definitely and completely in the Harrises' favor. And I really wasn't in the mood to put up with that anymore.
At least not at that moment.
As soon as we landed, my mother was already waiting for us, which gave me a clue that Camila had also contacted her to tell her about the situation. At least my mother wouldn't judge me. She just welcomed us with tight hugs, said words of support and drove us in her car to my house, talking the whole way about how Caleb and Margaret were two venomous vipers and two 'damned old vultures'.
I would agree with her, if I had the heart for it.
Upon arriving at the gate of my mansion, however, the car was stopped by a small crowd of journalists.
Speaking of vultures...
I hadn't been following the latest news, but it was to be expected that what happened to Alice would be an important topic for all the newspapers.
“I'm going to run over them with the car,” my mother threatened, and I knew it wasn't an exaggeration, and she was really willing to do it.
Ever since my father's scandals in his relationships with his employees, my mother had not had a great appreciation for reporters, especially gossip reporters. Not to mention that even before her marriage, she, like every Hollywood star, had suffered a lot at the hands of the tabloid media.
“No, mom... I'll talk to them,” I declared.
“Are you crazy?” my mother replied. “You don't have to say anything to that bunch of vultures.”
“I don't have to, but I want to. I don't know what my public image is like after everything that happened, but I believe it's not good at all, and I need to try to improve it.”
Camila was in the back seat of the car and her hand went to my shoulder, massaging it.
“I'll go with you,” she announced.
I didn't want her to have that exposure, but I knew how much her company would support me at that moment. I wasn't sure if I could face it alone. So, I agreed.
