Page 56 of Dominate
“Let’s not beat around the bush here, Sloan.” She stops in her tracks and turns to look straight at me. “You don’t like me and I have issues with you, but the fact of the matter is your issues pale drastically in comparison to that floozy my son has wrapped around him like a second skin. And your issues with me pale drastically in comparison to the ones you have with my son, who is as pompous of an arse as I’ve ever seen.”
My hand flies to my mouth to cover the laugh that threatens to escape. I manage to purse my lips together and nod.
“But the only thing you should trust is my affection for Sophia. That has never faltered.”
All good humour is drained from me as I nod again. “You have been very good to her.”
She inhales deeply and gazes back in the direction of Sophia. “I’m convinced that Sophia is the only thing that has kept me alive these past few years.” She coughs gently and I swear I see a tear form in her eye. “But even that brown-eyed angel can’t stop what’s going on in my body, which means we need to settle things before my time comes.”
I eye Margaret with genuine sympathy. “What is it that you need from me, Margaret?”
She cuts her eyes to me again. “Are you serious about this Harris fellow?”
I’m surprised by her question because it’s not where I thought her mind was going. I’m also not sure what my answer should be. Do I minimise what Gareth and I are to lighten the severity of her reaction? Or do I tell her the truth and speak from my heart?
I exhale heavily. “I’m very serious.”
“And is he serious about you?” she retorts back.
I nod, looking down and thinking back to our conversation in the car and the promise he made to me. “He says the moment he can win over Sophia is the moment he will know he can marry me.”
Margaret has no outward reaction to the emotional response I just gave her, but she gives me a crisp nod like we’ve concluded some sort of business transaction. “Very well. I need you to know that I don’t trust that Callum will have Sophia’s best interests at heart when it comes to her future. I never realised how disinterested he was in fatherhood until the divorce. The past several months have been very eye-opening.”
“Okay,” I reply curiously, unsure where she’s going with this.
“I am the one who urged him to put Sophia in the Kid Kickers football camp. I wanted him to get involved with the charity we’ve participated in for years, and I thought it would be a good opportunity for him to see Sophia be a part of something she loves.”
“You’ve been a charitable donor to Kid Kickers?” I ask, my jaw dropped in disbelief.
“Yes, we have,” she replies firmly. “We’ve been involved ever since Gareth Harris started the program years ago. When they reached out for sponsors to grow the program outside of the city, I pushed Callum to get involved. However, he can’t seem to get his hands off that bloody awful woman long enough to get anything accomplished. And I’m far too old and unwell to fight with him about it.”
“I had no idea,” I reply, marvelling over the woman in front of me right now. Maybe I never gave Margaret a chance to open up to me like this before. Maybe if I had, we wouldn’t have been enemies for so long.
“We’ve had our differences, Sloan, but Callum’s remarks about the Harris family are quite unfair. I want you to know that you won’t be hearing any argument from me in regard to your relationship with Gareth Harris. Lord knows he is far and away more admirable than that tramp Callum has attached himself to.”
“Why are you telling me all of this, Margaret?”
“Callum has become a tremendous disappointment to me, and I refuse to let Sophia go down the same path.” She turns and begins walking again as I hustle to keep up. “That is why I’m going to tell Callum that the fifty-fifty custody agreement is no longer necessary and we will be amending the terms.”
“What?” I exclaim, running up to look Margaret in the face. “What are you amending them to exactly?”
“Callum has no interest in seeing Sophia every other week. He hardly sees her when he does have her, and I don’t want Sophia’s brain rotting away on the sofa with that woman he’s chosen to marry. I’m going to urge him to revise the custody to every other weekend. Would that be satisfactory to you?”
I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I’m sucking in air, but none of it is getting where it should be.
“A simple nod of the head will suffice, Sloan.”
I nod. I nod so hard I think my head might fall off my neck. “Do you think he’ll agree to it?”
“He will if I tell him to,” she replies, raising her chin high in the air.
My body sags with relief. She’s right. Callum is completely ruled by his mother. I suspect the only real reason he wanted to move back to England was to secure his inheritance before she passed away. Margaret’s estate is worth a lot of money.
“I can’t thank you enough, Margaret,” I croak, my throat closing up with barely contained emotion. “This means the world to me.”
Margaret’s expression shows zero emotion when she turns to face me straight on. “I’m British, Sloan, so please take what I’m about to say as a one and only occurrence.” She looks me in the eyes, and I swear I see a flicker of admiration on her face as she adds, “You’re an excellent mother, and Sophia is very lucky to have you.”
Tears. Tears, and smiles, and head-nodding are all I can feel outwardly as my heart reaches out to the woman whom I thought hated me for all these years. I manage to find my voice enough to reply, “Thank you, Margaret.”
