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“What do you mean by that?” he growled.
“I wanted out from the grips of both of you. You ran my entire life. You never once asked me what I wanted.”
“It didn’t matter what you wanted. We’re your parents, and we knew what was best for you,” my mother said.
“No! You didn’t know what was best for me,” I shouted. “You never let me explore life and do the things I wanted to do. You were so busy trying to make sure I was the perfect daughter that made you look good that you didn’t give a damn about how I felt.”
“Oh, stop being so dramatic.” My mother waved her hand in front of her face. “We gave you everything you wanted.”
“You gave me everything you thought I wanted!” I pointed at her. “You chose my friends, what I ate, what I could and couldn’t wear, what school I had to attend, college, my career, and my future husband! You didn’t give me a choice, and like a fool, I put up with it for far too long. Grant didn’t want to marry me any more than I wanted to marry him. He cheated on me! Did you know that on the night of his bachelor party, he slept with not one, but two strippers at the same time?!”
My mother looked away with a nasty look on her face. “Grant loves you. He would never do that, and what you did to him and to us is unforgivable.” She folded her arms.
“Well, at least we agree on something because what you did to me is unforgivable.”
The room became silent for a few moments, and when I looked over at Drew, there was a deep sadness in his eyes. This wasn’t fair to him. He shouldn’t have had to hear this.
“You’ve embarrassed this family, Jillian,” my father spoke. “And you threw away a million-dollar wedding.”
“Is that all that matters to you? The money? I didn’t ask for a fucking million-dollar wedding. That was all her,” I pointed to my mother, “doing.”
“Why did you come to New York?” he asked. “And how did you slip away so quietly without a trace? You haven’t used your credit cards, and your bank account hasn’t been touched. What have you been doing for money?”
“Oh, I’m sure this one over here has been supporting her.” My mother pointed at Drew. “Is that why you left Grant? For him?”
Narrowing my eyes at her, I couldn’t believe she dragged Drew into this.
“How dare you! You want the truth?” I strutted over to her and my father. “Because you aren’t going to like it. When I turned twenty-one, my grandmother left me a trust fund with four million dollars in it.”
The shock on their faces was priceless, and finally telling them gave me great satisfaction.
“What?” my father asked in anger.
“That’s right, Daddy. Your mother ensured I would be taken care of when I finally decided to break free from this so-called family and the prison I was living in. She knew everything.”
“That wretched woman!” he yelled. “How dare she hide that from me!”
“She did it because she loved me and knew I needed an out. As long as I stayed in Seattle around the two of you and Grant, I would never know who I truly was.”
Seeing them sitting there weak and their defenses down gave me the strength to continue. Drew sat back in his chair, staring at me, and waiting for what was to come next.
“What do you mean you would never know who you truly were?” my father asked.
“You made me into someone I don’t even know! You molded me into what you wanted me to be. You didn’t let me decide what I wanted to be or let me discover myself. You shoved your life down my throat and I see a complete stranger every time I look in the mirror!”
“Oh, for God’s sake, Jillian. You are such a drama queen,” my mother snarled. “The fact of the matter is that you have embarrassed this family, and you need to seriously apologize. Not only to us and the community that supported you, but also to Grant.”
I could feel the fire rise inside my body, and my anger grew more intense.
“An embarrassment? Me?” I calmly spoke. “If anyone should be embarrassed, it’s you, Daddy.”
“Me? Why me?”
“Do you know why I came to New York?”
My mother rolled her eyes. “I’m sure it was for him.”
“LEAVE DREW OUT OF THIS!” I shouted. “I came here because of my sister! You know, the child you created with another woman?” I glared at my father.
