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I’ve been hurt by this man too many times to simply take things at face value. There must be something going on. Or he wants something.
“I’m just calling to see how you are,” he says, as if he didn’t have the opportunity to ask me at the party. He treats me like dirt, and now he expects me to believe that he wants to know how I am?
“You saw me just hours ago,” I calmly say.
“Yeah, about that… I was in a bad mood, and I took it out on you,” he says. I blink in disbelief. Not exactly an apology, but it’s definitely a start. “Are you alone?” he asks.
I still can’t believe what’s happening. I open my mouth, tempted to tell him Lev is here, but my throat is dry. “Why are you asking?” is all that comes out.
“Is he there?” my father presses.
“Is that why you called?” I bite out. “To ask if my husband is with me?”
“No. It’s not.” His tone has gone hard again, much like the way he’d addressed me when he announced my marriage to Lev.
“Then why did you call, Father?” I say, beginning to lose patience.
“I want to see you,” he says.
What?
Is there something wrong with my hearing?
“You… you want to see me? I blurt. “When?”
“No time like the present, girl,” he says lightly. This is definitely not the man I’ve come to know as my father.
“What for?” I ask, still in disbelief. As much as I’d like to believe that he’s genuinely interested in me, I know better. This conversation is too strange and I must find out what’s going on.
“Can’t a father simply want to see his daughter?” He asks.
I scoff so loudly, I’m sure he hears it. I decide to push his buttons a little.
“Fine, but there’s a problem,” I drawl, feeling a little more confident. “I’m not just your daughter anymore. I’m Lev Ivanov’s wife.”
There is a long silence on the other end of the line.
“What does that mean?” he finally says.
“It means I have to get permission from my husband before I can visit,” I respond knowing that the chances of Lev allowing me to meet my father are slim. I’ve witnessed firsthand how the two of them can’t stand the sight of each other. It makes me wonder how they agreed to the damn deal in the first place.
“You don’t have to tell him. I want to know if he has been treating you well,” he tries to encourage me, but it’s too late. My level of suspicion has already gone through the roof.
“And why do we have to meet for that?” I question.
“Does it matter?” he asks. “I’m just trying to have a relationship with my daughter. It won’t take long,” he says, but I’m not biting. The days I longed for the father I never had are gone. Now, I’ve resigned myself to my fate.
“Maybe it’s too late for that, Father,” I mumble, shaking my head.
“Come on, don’t say that,” he cajoles me.
“Why not? It’s the truth. You had twenty years to have a relationship with me but you chose not to. You can focus on Simon, just as you’ve always done,” I tell him, and I hear his sharp intake of breath. I know I’m starting to get on his nerves, but I’m past caring. I just want him to admit why hereallycalled me and be done with this conversation.
“Why are you being so insensitive about this?” he fires, and I’m taken aback.
“Insensitive? Says the man who disregarded his daughter all her life? You didn’t hesitate to sell me off to the highest bidder, and now you are talking about insensitivity?” I fire back and I feel tears begin to burn my eyes. I shake my head, refusing to allow them to fall. I keep thinking I’m over this, but it seems he can still get the better of me.
Keep it together.
