“Kynsleigh—” she started, but I rushed to interrupt her.
“No! Let me finish! Please!” I pleaded, my voice catching as the emotions threatened to overwhelm me.
Surprisingly, she respected my wish to continue.
“I came here today thinking maybe Ineededclosure, but I’ve realized that closure doesn’t always come in the form of apologies or reconciliations; sometimes it’s about fully accepting the reality of who people are. So,thank you.”
Elaine blinked in surprise, her rigid stance beginning to falter.
“Yes. Thank you for the education, the beautiful home, themyriadsof opportunities, and every resource you all provided me while I was growing up,” I continued, emphasizing every word with intention.
Taking a decisive step back, I added, “But the emotional part?” I smiled faintly. “I’ll build that with myownfamily instead.”
Quincy finally spoke again, his voice thick with emotion. “Kynsleigh… please don’t do this.”
Looking into his eyes hurt the worst. Unlike Elaine, he actually looked burdened by all of that, like regret had finally settled into his bones.
But regret without action is still cowardice.
“Don’t do what?” I fired back. “Finally stop forcing a relationship that has been emotionally draining me for years? Stop pretending expensive gifts and private schools somehow erased the way y’all made me feel in this house?”
I scoffed softly.
“Nah. I’m doing what I should’ve did alongtime ago: I’m finally walking away from people who made love feel like something I had to qualify for. Kids grow up and eventually compare how they felt around you versus how they feelawayfrom you. And I have to say, it feltmightydamn good to be away from y’all this last year."
I turned like I was finally done, but then I stopped because there was one more thing sitting heavy on my chest.
“Oh, I also know it was y’all keeping me from getting jobs too, because ain’t no way I went from being ‘so intelligent’ and ‘full of potential’ to suddenly becoming unemployable everywhere I turned.”
Neither of them denied it. That silence told me enough.
“But let me tell y’all something aboutmyGod... he doesn’t play about his children. And believe it or not, I’m one of hisfavorites.Yeah, I might not be where I wanna be right now, and maybe God didn’t allow certain doors to open when I wanted them to because he needed to show me exactly who people were before elevating me around them.”
Elaine folded her arms tightly.
“That being said, youneverhave to worry about seeing me standing at this doorstep again begging for acceptance that should’ve came naturally.”
That finally made Elaine’s expression flicker, because suddenly, the permanence of that sounded real.
I turned toward Von. “Let’s go.”
He handed Mysun back, before stepping forward to confront Elaine directly.
“Let me leave you with this. Don’teverspeak on Kyns or my nephew like that again. That little boy is more loved in just five months than some people experience in five years. So, all that ‘bastard baby’ talk?” he shook his head slowly, as if dismissing a dangerous idea. “Yeah, check that shit immediately. And no, that’s not a threat. That’s me politely informing you that you have exactly one more time to play with somebody I love before this big-ass house becomes an address I never forget. And unlike you, I’m excellent at remembering the things that matter.”
His gaze dropped to the numbers beside the door, lingering there long enough to wipe the last trace of smugness from Elaine’s face.
“Von,” I warned tiredly.
Von sighed dramatically. “Well, it looks like we’ve overstayed our welcome, which is interesting, because I don’t remember feeling welcomed at any point. Enjoy the rest of your evening. Maybe sit by the fireplace and thaw out whatever is frozen inside both of y’all.”
Before they could respond, Von was already walking down the steps beside me.
The cold air hit my face instantly again, but somehow it felt easier to breathe now that we were leaving.
As we left behind a speechless Elaine and Quincy, Von gently opened the car door for me.
I climbed in carefully, settling me and Mysun in.
