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“West? You wanna play a game of cards?”
I followed my dad into his office and closed the door behind us. He took a seat at his desk and indicated towards the chair that sat perpendicular to it. Leaning on his desk, he steepled his fingers, assessing me with his gaze. “What is it?”
This was going to be so fucking awkward. “I want to tell Weston the truth about Mum’s death.”
He reared back in shock, clearly not expecting me to say those words.
“W-why?” he stammered. He was never flustered, and it unnerved me.
“Because he deserves to know the truth. Because I’m fucking sick of carrying around this huge secret all the time. It’s killing me. All this fucking guilt? I feel like I’m drowning.”
At my admission, his gaze cleared. “Caiden? You know you don’t have anything to feel guilty about. Your mother…she wasn’t well. None of this is your fault. You couldn’t have stopped it happening. She was determined.” He dropped his head into his hands, his voice coming out muffled. “I’ve been a terrible father, haven’t I? I should never have—” He cut himself off and raised his remorseful gaze to mine.
“Yeah.” Fuck it, I was going to be honest. If there’s one thing I’d learned from my girlfriend, it was that honesty was usually the best policy. “I hated you, you know. When you started sneaking around with Christine. Mum got worse and worse, and you were never there. She was here, making excuses to come over, taunting Mum and throwing your affair in her face.”
“She what?” he whispered hoarsely, his face creasing with anguish. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Would you have listened?”
He closed his eyes, pinching his brow. “No, probably not. I was…blinded. I have no excuses, Caiden. Your mother and I weren’t getting along. She was ill, and although I paid for the best psychiatrists, nothing seemed to help her. Christine came along and swept me off my feet. She was beautiful, and full of life, and told me everything I wanted and needed to hear.”
“You abandoned Mum when she needed you most! Abandoned us!” I roared, slamming my hand down on his desk. Fuck, that hurt.
He flinched. “I know. If I could take it all back I would. I did everything wrong. I know I did.” His voice grew quieter, his expression defeated. “I know you’ll never forgive me. But I hope we can rebuild our relationship. I’m trying, here, Caiden, I really am. What can I do to make it up to you?”
My anger dulled to a simmer as I took in the expression on his face. Yeah, he’d done a lot of things wrong. Saying you could forgive someone might be easy, but in reality, to actually forgive? That was one of the hardest fucking things to do. I honestly didn’t know if I could forgive him for all of it, but I did know that I wanted to move past it. I wanted to mend our relationship, and he was trying. The biggest workaholic I knew was making time for his sons, and that was huge for him.
“Leave Christine, for a start,” I muttered.
“What was that?”
“You heard me.”
He sighed heavily. “My relationship with Christine isn’t up for discussion. However, in the interests of transparency between us, I will tell you this. I have reason to believe that she may be involved with someone else. She’s…she’s been acting strangely. There’s a strain on our relationship that was never there before.” He picked up a fountain pen from his desk and started spinning it in his hands, an internal debate playing across his face. “I can’t deny…the way she speaks to you boys, particularly you… I should never have allowed things to get so bad.”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t have any answers for you, Caiden. All I can say is that I’m re-evaluating things.” He placed the pen back on the desk, and it rolled towards me. I grabbed it before it could roll off the edge of the table.
“Okay. That’s good, I guess.” Fuck, I wanted to tell him what was going on with Christine. He was so off track thinking she was having an affair. “I don’t think all is as it seems. I don’t trust her, Dad. I think she’s hiding something. Do you trust her with Alstone Holdings?”
I probably shouldn’t have said that, but I needed to warn him, somehow.
He frowned at me. “Let’s not talk business, now. Back to the reason we’re here. If you want to tell Weston, if it will help ease some of the unwarranted guilt you feel, then go ahead. I want you to consider it carefully, and to be prepared for the fallout. Weston…well, we’ve always tried to shield him from the worst aspects of life. He’s not like you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re…” He paused. “Yes, you haven’t always handled things in the best way, but when I look at you, do you know what I see?”
I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak.
“I see a man that will one day become a powerful leader. A man I’m proud to call my son.”
“Uh, thanks,” I managed to croak, shocked by his words. Was that really how he saw me?
“Now, I don’t know about you, but I need a whiskey after this conversation.” He stood, rounding his desk and looking expectantly at me.
Fuck, yes. “Bring the bottle.”
