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Lost for words, I run my hands through my hair.
"Cole, I'm so sorry. I'm ashamed of what I've done. But I can't undo it. I wish I could."
I lift my head and narrow my eyes at my mother. "Bullshit! You're not sorry. You had fifteen years, a hundred and ninety-seven months. That is five thousand, four hundred, and fifty-seven days, Mom. And you said nothing."
My hands twitch, clench, and unclench, and a vein pulsates in my forehead. My heart beats at an exploding rate, making it drum in my ears, and the urge to destroy takes over. I turn my body, and when my eyes land on the wooden cabinet beside me, I react. My fingers clutch around the wood, and with a hard yank, it comes into motion. My mother’s pleas to stop drowns in the monumental clattering sound of shattering dishes. The ground is a battlefield of broken china, a pure reflection of my inner world.
Seconds later, Jeremy comes barging through the kitchen door. He stops and gasps at the destruction. Not caring, I march out and get welcomed by five pairs of eyes staring at me.
Alisha hurries my way. "Cole, what's wrong?"
Not able to respond, I walk straight to my daughter, who's standing next to the piano.
"Dad?"
I grab her shoulders and press her head against my wildly beating heart.
"What happened?" she whispers, hugging me back.
My body goes rigid when my mother's pleading voice reaches me. "Cole, please, I—"
I let go of Samantha and face her. She's standing a few feet away, with Jeremy beside her.
"No." I place my daughter in front of me, facing my mother. "Tell her, Mother. Tell your granddaughter, or, better yet, tell everyone here what you did."
My mom's chin quivers, and her eyes plead with me to stop. "Cole, please."
"NO! Tell Samantha what you did. Or I will."
"Carmen, what is he talking about?" Jeremy and George ask simultaneously.
Alisha comes my way and places her hand on my lower back while Victor walks to his mother and father. Now everyone is glancing and waiting for Carmen's reaction.
"Dad?"
My daughter glances at me over her shoulder, and I gasp, seeing her dampened eyes. I don't want to hurt her, but she needs to know the truth. So I speak after placing a kiss on her head. "Your grandmother is the reason I've been absent in your life."
"What?" Her pupils widen. I take the deafening silence filling the room as my cue to continue.
"Your mother came here fifteen years ago to find me and tell me she was pregnant. But instead of finding me, she encountered the dragon, who convinced her to raise you by herself by offering her a substantial amount of money. And to top it off, she made your mother sign a confidentiality agreement stating if she ever told me about you, she had to return the money."
Loud gasps flow through the air as I expose this disgusting act. My mom's sobs fill the room. But they don't affect me anymore. I'm raising my brow at Jeremy, who wraps an arm around my mother and whispers in a calm voice. "Carmen?"
"I-I'm so sorry," she chants, and it fuels the raging fire to the point of no return.
"Stop saying you're sorry."
I let go of Samantha and stride towards the woman who raised me, jabbing the air by pointing a finger toward her and spilling my honest, deepest pain without using dampeners.
"My whole goddamn life, I did everything to please you and Dad. From the moment you two found out I could play, prestige and performances became the top priorities in our family. Everything was about the piano. And I won’t lie, I loved it. But then Dad injured his wrist, and you guys blamed me for it. Have you any idea what that did to me, Mom?"
I take another step closer, now towering before her. "You blamed me for the fact he couldn't play professionally anymore. Shocked and scared, I kept playing to make amends for what I now believed was my fault. Your’s and Dad's passion for my piano talent became an obsession. And you didn't give a shit that I was unhappy. The moment I had the nerve to tell you two that I needed a break from the piano, you guys waved it away as unimportant. My feelings and opinions didn't matter. I’ve been nothing more than a trophy son for you. And I'm done. I'm done with you and your manipulating ways, Mother. You took my daughter from me. You took away the chance for me to see her first steps, her first words, just because it didn't fit into the plan you had for my life."
A tear runs over my numb skin, but I keep going. "For fifteen years, my daughter believed her father didn't want her. And that isyourfault." I narrow my eyes at her. "Now I'm taking her and the woman I love home, and you'll never see us again. You didn't want a grandchild then. So you will not get one now. She's my daughter, and I’ll protect her, so she doesn't get poisoned by manipulating snakes like you."
My mother gasps for air, and with one more glance at her, I turn around and hold out my hands to my girls. My stomach turns, watching Samantha grab my hand with glassy orbs and trembling lips. Alisha, my rock, takes my other hand and gives it a gentle squeeze as we walk out.
The Banks family stands at the side, and as I pass George, I mumble, "I'll call you."
