She couldn’t have been further from the truth. In fact, the whole situation was so preposterous that I had to laugh. “No. You know what? I think it’s because she’s the right choice foryou,” I countered.
“She’s the right choice for this family,” my father clarified. “Because of the family she comes from. A family we’ve known for years.”
“And what about Emzee’s family?”
“They’re dirty,” my mother blurted out. “Youknowthey’re dirty. Everyone knows what Konstantin did with his business, and even if he’s in jail now, his children are just like him. We can’t be associated with those kinds of people.”
“Those kinds of people,” I said, nodding. Finally, hints of the truth were coming out. “Let me tell you about those kinds of people, Mom. They’re honest, they’re kind, and they run a tight ship over at the agency. Sure, KZ Modeling might have been dirty, but Danica Rose isn’t. The fact is, you don’t know anything about Emzee and her brothers.”
“It doesn’t matter what they’re trying to do now,” my father said. “That family has too many connections to the mob.”
“And ours doesn’t?” I asked.
“You can’t speak to me that way!” my father said, his breathing shallow.
“You can’t make me marry Claudia,” I told him.
“You will marry her!” he said.
“Ford. Sweetie,” my mother said gently, switching tactics. “We need you to do this. For us. Our entire family’s reputation depends on it.”
“That’s right, son,” Dad chimed in, trying to sound reasonable. “Claudia is clean. We need to appear clean, too.”
I glared at both of them. “Of course you do. Because youaren’t. Well, tough shit.”
My mother let out a gasp.
“Watch your tone,” my dad said.
But I wasn’t hearing any of it. I turned to my dad. “I know the truth. You were involved with Konstantin years ago. You want to talk about dirty? You’re just as dirty as he was.”
“Howdare you,” Mom said.
They clearly weren’t budging. Neither was I.
“It’s not my job to be your PR,” I told them. “This is your mess, and me marrying Claudia isn’t going to get you out of it. You have to figure it out yourself.”
I didn’t want to spend another minute arguing with them, having the same conversation over and over again that would get us absolutely nowhere. In fact, I didn’t even want to be in the same room as my parents right now. They obviously cared more about their reputation and their money than they did for my happiness.
Turning my back on them, I went to my room to get a change of clothes, which I threw into a bag with my phone charger. Until I got the locks changed, I didn’t plan on coming back.
“Where are you going?” my mother demanded as I passed them on my way out.
“To be with my family,” I said over my shoulder. “The only family that matters.”
From the expressions on their faces, I could tell that both of my parents were furious.
Walking out the door, I’d never felt so free.
Ford
Chapter 25
But all escapes from family—as everyone knows—are temporary.
A mere week later, Emzee and I were headed back to Chicago for her sister-in-law Brooklyn’s baby shower. As our flight descended into O’Hare, the familiar layout of the city came into view below us: the Chicago River, the dark monolith of the Willis Tower in the Loop, the John Hancock Center overlooking Lake Michigan. The sense that I was truly home again washed over me. It felt nice.
Despite the fact that I was overjoyed to be back in the city I loved and knew so well, however, I was also feeling paranoid. I had no plans to see anyone from my old life while I was in town, but all the same, it was anxiety-inducing being on the outs with my parents. They’d gone radio silent after our huge fight over Claudia at my Williamsburg apartment, but they’d crossed too many boundaries for me to be able to reach out and forgive them just yet. And I was still infuriated by all the underhanded, fucked-up things they’d done in order to keep me and Emzee apart.
