Page 116 of Tall, Royal Hater
“But—”
I shoved my chair back from the table and stood up. “We’re done here.”
“Shehryar.” His eyes searched mine. “She’s your sister.”
“I don’t have a sister.”
It was harsh. I knew it was. And false. Because I had Esmeralda. And this girl, Ablah, who I didn’t know, didn’t deserve my rejection, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t do it. Not now.
I picked up my cup of cold cappuccino and chugged it down, then picked up my paper bags with my now cold paninis. I glanced down at my father’s imploring expression, but no words came to mind.
What exactly was I supposed to say?
Goodbye? Don’t contact me again? I’ll email you?
Each one tasted weird, and neither felt right.
So, I opted for silence and looked towards the door.
But one step forward, and Andrew Platmon’s hand came around my forearm.
“Wait.” He pushed his chair back and stood up, but he didn’t remove his hand. “I…I understand that you may not wish to mix with my family. I would never suggest that either. But…” For the first time, he looked genuinely, openly uncertain of himself. “Youaremy son. I want to be a part of your life, and I’d like to include you in mine.”
I pulled my arm from his hand. “Just because you want it, doesn’t mean I do too.”
He was quiet for several breaths. “Is there truly no hope of reconciliation? Ever?”
I clenched my teeth, unable to answer.
I didn’t have an answer. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t decide. I didn’t know what to believe of what he’d said or what to want or do now that I’d heard his side of the story.
He took my silence as a positive possibility and said, “It’s Ablah’s eighteenth birthday on Saturday, on the twenty-seventh. She’ll be coming to Touma, and I had planned to throw her a party. Nothing big—she’s oddly not one for big celebrations—but I’m certain she would be happy if you were there. As would I. I can email you the details.”
Say no. Say no, Shehryar, and leave.
That should have been the only thing to do, but…
All I could picture was another wide-eyed version of Esmeralda.
I rolled my jaw, trying to relieve the ache and tightness from it. “I’ll think about it.”
Andrew Platmon offered me a slight smile. “Thank you. For Ablah. And for agreeing to meet me today too. I…hope you have a safe trip back.”
I stared at him, maybe trying to read him, or maybe I was imprinting the softened plains of his face into my memory…just in case. “Don’t contact Mum again.”
And without a backward glance, I left.
Chapter 28
Shehryar
Ididn’t immediately leave the small town after I left the café.
The revolving door of emotions I kept running through sent me away from the car I’d borrowed, and I’d ended up walking and walking, searching for some outlet before I erupted.
The fact that I was surrounded by countryside made escaping a lot easier, though several times I contacted Rocco and Yunis, my stand-in, to receive updates on Esmeralda—I might’ve taken the afternoon off, but I couldn’t abandon my duty entirely. Otherwise, I shut myself off from real life for hours, spoke to no one, and just…walked. For miles. In circles. Around a forest trailin some national park until I was tired and hungry, and the sun was setting.
By that point, the anger I’d felt around my father had faded, but in its wake was left an uncomfortable state between numbness and restlessness that clung to my insides like glue.
