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“You will be cut off from the will.”
“Then do it, Richard. You said it yourself; I am not your daughter. So, you can go right ahead and cut me out of the will. I will be just fine. My real father left me a gift that I intend to take care of and build.” I then looked to my mother who was watching us silently as usual. “Mom, he named the ranch in honor of you. He called it Lily-Bird. I don’t know your full story, but Peter was a good man who cared deeply for you. I don't know how you could have traded him for someone like Richard, but you deserve better.”
My mother’s lips formed a thin line at my words. She had become so accustomed to no emotions that, whenever she felt something real, she never knew how to handle it.
“Then you are out,” Richard seethed. “I will blacklist you from every potential client from here to Florida. You will never find work.”
I took a step forward until I was toe-to-toe with him. “Good thing I don’t rely on people for business. I play with stocks, Richard. You will try to tear me down, but I will never admit defeat. New York isn’t my home anymore anyway. Keep your city. I will keep what I have found in Riverroad."
I turned and grabbed Marcus’ hand.
“You will regret this day, Maddison. You will come back crawling on your knees one day.”
Marcus paused and turned to face him. “No, she won’t because I will make sure that she lacks nothing in life. Your absence in her life will not be missed because it was never there to begin with. And I mean this most disrespectfully possible, sir. Fuck you!”
When we got into the elevator, we faced my parents once more until the doors closed on us. I didn’t speak. Marcus didn’t speak. We just stood in silence.
When the door opened up again, we stepped out of the elevator to the ground floor. I walked to the reception and asked them to go and retrieve our bags from our room. Our flight was in the next three hours, so there was no point lingering around in the city.
My mind was moving at a million miles a minute. Everything that had just happened between me and my parents. I couldn’t believe that I had just done that. I couldn’t believe that I had effectively just cut off all ties with Richard Vandlewoods.
Marcus came up behind me and circled his arms around my waist. He pulled me into him and kissed the side of my temple. I leaned into him, enjoying his strength and warmth.
“What are you thinking?”
“I think I just disowned my parents.”
He let out a soft chuckle. “And how do you feel?”
How did I feel? There was no guilt or regret in my heart. I felt good, in fact. I felt better than good. There was a sense of relief that washed over me. I felt free.
I had carried the Vandlewoods name on my back for my entire life, and it was like a cement cylinder block. Now, that weight was gone. I was free.
“I feel free,” I whispered in the middle of the busy lobby, but I knew he had heard me. I looked up at him and smiled. “Let’s go home?”
He nodded, capturing my lips.
Since arriving at Riverroad, I never thought that the place would grow on me, but it did. It wasn’t home because it was a place, but it was a feeling. I felt at home in Riverroad. I felt welcomed and accepted. I had built my own little makeshift family with Lily, Ethan, and even Marcus now.
I had created something new. Albeit some part of it was fake, it still felt good. I knew there would come a time when Marcus and I would drop our ruse and end it all. But I hoped when the time came, we would be able to start afresh and anew and maybe try this whole thing properly. The right way.
My only obstacle was I was fighting with a ghost for his heart. But I was up for the challenge.
