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Her father was already closing his leather folder. Emma knew when she was being dismissed. She took no notice of the two people who were not her family as she bade them a cordial goodbye. At the table, though, her nails were leaving crescent-shaped marks in her palms. The pain of her clenched fists helped her keep the mask of professionalism in place.
As soon as the call was over, the mask slipped completely. She dropped the phone to the tabletop and ran her fingers through her hair. Closing her eyes, she willed herself to feel calmer.
It didn’t last a moment.
Her phone rang almost immediately. It was her mother.
Emma hit the red button. She absolutely did not want to speak to her. Not when she had listened to Emma’s frustrations, told her to hang in there, that her time was coming. Lies.
It rang again. This time it was Maddison. Her call met the same fate. Emma wasn’t upset at Maddison. The only thing she was guilty of was being just a little spoilt, but she was the youngest. It was to be expected. And Emma was guilty of doting on her too. She just couldn’t bear to speak to any of her family.
Why should I be upset?she asked herself.
She had known this was coming. That there would be a time when Lauren and Maddison would flourish from their parents’ favour and she would languish in a little corner of the company where her father would never have to be bothered by her.
She couldn’t leave either. Peter and Helen Brown both expected their daughters to work in the company. Leaving would be the ultimate slap in the face to her parents. There was still an expectation of her that she could never be free of.
‘Emma?’
Her head snapped up at the sound of Alex’s voice. ‘Alexander... I hope you don’t mind... I needed a quiet place to take a call.’
He strode towards her, taking a seat at the large table. His eyes were unreadable. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing.’ She forced a brittle smile.
‘Emma,’ he pushed. ‘Talk to me.’
She looked into his eyes. They were intense. Unrelenting. And suddenly she wanted to tell him everything. Tell him about all the ways her family had hurt her. This was just sex, after all. She could say anything to him. Because at the end they were just going to walk away. Every secret would be safe because it would mean nothing to a stranger.
Emma closed her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling more in control when she opened them.
‘It’s just that I thought if I proved myself, studied hard and worked my way up, I couldbesomeone in the company. I never once expected just to walk into a management job. I was prepared to work hard for it. But the same doesn’t apply to my sisters. Lauren was pretty much gifted her position, and Maddison now has been too. Do you know how humiliating it is to constantly get passed over for promotion after promotion in your own father’s company? I’m stuck as a copywriter because apparently that’s where I’m needed and I should do it out of duty.’
‘Duty’ was just a nice word for the expectations forced upon all three of the Brown daughters. Lauren and Maddison relished their roles. Emma was alone in her feeling of being trapped. She had one shining light in her life with her charity work, but even that was frowned upon by her father. Money always came first.
‘Duty doesn’t fulfil you,’ Alex said.
‘No, it doesn’t. But what choice do I have? I am who I am.’
Emma thought about the massive house her parents owned and the tiny flat that she’d bought and now shared with Hannah. She thought about the luxury cars her family had and the sporty little hatchback she owned. Who was she really? Yes, she was a Brown, but she had been trying to distance her life from her family for a long time. To escape the hate and the vitriol.
‘Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I knew it would come to this.’
‘Why?’
Emma roughly pushed out her chair and stood by the window. With her back to him, she could hide the tortured expression on her face. Only Hannah truly knew what growing up had been like for her.
When she spoke her voice was even. Emotionless. She saw Alex frown. ‘Because Lauren was always preferred over me. In every way. My father adores her. I tried to prove myself to him, but the only people I impressed were the ones who would never have any say in my life. Maybe I remind him too much of my mother. God knows, he hates her.’
She gazed out into the distance. The sea was so tranquil. Focussing on that made talking easier. She felt Alex move behind her, but he didn’t touch her. He was waiting for her to finish what she had to say.
‘My parents had Maddison to fix the cracks in their marriage. They were more like gaping chasms.’ She laughed without mirth. ‘My father was opposed to the idea initially, but when Maddie almost died during the birth, it changed his attitude. He’d almost lost her.’ She finally turned around and looked into those intense blue eyes. ‘So, you see, I can’t compete with that. I’m not going to get a fair chance.’
‘You don’t have to deal with any of it. Leave. Do what makes you happy.’
‘It’s not that simple,’ Emma said quietly.
Alex shook his head and took her face in his hands. ‘Everything is simple. Life is a choice, Emma. People choose how to treat you. You choose whether or not to accept that. You can’t make people stay if they have chosen to leave. You’re worth more than that.’
