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“Get the fuck out,” I snarl at his associate. He takes one look at me, grabs his briefcase with shaking hands, and runs out.
I watch him go before slowly turning back around to face my father. He’s standing, fists clenched and resting on the desk as he glares at me. Fury cords the veins in his neck and makes them stick out violently against his mottled red skin. His lips are flat lined into a savage slash across his face. His eyes are bloodshot, the red suffocating the white.
“What are you doing here?” he barks, spittle flying from his mouth.
I step up to his desk and get in his face.
“I came to end this.”
He scoffs, laughing at me. “End what? You have nowhere to go, nothing to do with yourself but stay and do as you’re told.”
I round the desk and grab him by his lapels. His eyes widen comically, fear flashing through his irises. I’ve never laid hands on him before and this sudden clash reveals the new power dynamic between us. I feel it shift in real time as he realizes just how much physically stronger I am than him.
A weigh lifts off my shoulders realizing just how frail he is in my hands. He’s only human, not this monster I built up in my head. It’s freeing, like shackles falling off my wrists, and I shake him.
“Tess showed me what you did to mum, you piece of shit. The only reason I agreed to this punishment of yours was because you promised not to hurt her.” I snarl, inches from his face. “I should have known you couldn’t keep your word, should have known you couldn’t resist those psychotic urges for a year.” He fights against me, trying to wriggle himself out of my hold like the vermin he is, but I stay firm. “How could you do that to her? What about hitting someone weaker than you helps you get your rocks off, huh?” I snarl, inches from his face.
He says nothing the coward.
“I’m done,father,” I say, releasing him with a shove. He stumbles backwards, catching himself on his desk. “I’m giving it all up. The money, the houses, the company, the fucking name even. I don’t want any of it. I came here to look you in the face and let you know this plan of yours backfired. You can’t threaten or force me any longer.”
I turn on my heels to walk out, but he’s on me. I should have known not to turn my back on him.
He jumps on me, violent hands reaching for my neck.
“You’ll do no such thing,” he hisses. “I can do much worse to your mother if you test me, Tristan.” Ice crawls down my spine at his violent tone. “I can make her disappear overnight, believe me.”
Fear claws at my chest and morphs into violence. I whip around and nail him in the jaw with a right hook. He tumbles to the floor in a lump of pitiful bones and I stand over him, breathing heavily, restraining myself from killing him on the spot.
Part of me is scared by my own need for violence, but I recognize it for what it is – a desire to protect and not a desire to harm, like him.
“What’s going on here?” a small voice asks from behind me. I turn to find my mum standing in the doorway.
She looks petite and frail, smaller than when I last saw her six months ago. Time and my father haven’t treated her well. The sling on her arm and the massive purple bruise on her eye don’t help. She shakes like a scared animal as she looks at the shocking scene before her.
“Mum,” I say, striding over to her and wrapping her in a large hug, being careful to avoid hurting her wrist. When I pull back, I run my thumb gently along her eye socket, tracing the terrifying bruise there. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to protect you.”
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s not, Mum.” I grab her other hand tenderly in mine and give her an imploring look. “He’s going to kill you one day, you know that right?” I turn and point at him where he’s trying to get up from the floor, wiping the blood off his chin with the sleeve of his shirt. “You heard about his best friend, Robert Royal? He killed his wife.Alexanderis going to do the same to you if you don’t leave him.”
“Tristan, I… I wish I could,” she stutters, adding on a whisper, “I wish I was brave enough.”
“Youare, Mum. Look at how brave Tess is, how fearlessly she conquers the world, how kind she is, she certainly didn’t get that from him,” I say, tossing a glare at my father. “She got that from you. You can do it, Mum, youneedto. Please… I don’t want to have to bury you because you stayed,” I beg, my voice imploring.
“Bettina, don’t listen to the boy–”
“I’m not a boy,” I snarl, taking a step towards him. He cowers reflexively. I look at my mum, searching for how to get through to her. “I’m not a boy, Mum. I’m a man who’s in love.”
Where before there was despondency in her gaze, they now shine at my words.It’s like her entire body perks up at my declaration.
“In love?”
“Yeah,” I say, taking her hands once more. “Her name is Nera and she’s… she’s everything, Mum. I can’t live without her and I won’t. Choosing her is the easiest decision in the world, except when it comes to you. I can give this all up easily, I don’t need any of it, but I can’t leave you here in danger. You need to leave him. If you won’t do it for yourself, then do it for me. Do it so I can be with the love of my life.”
There’s a fierce look in her eye that I haven’t seen before.
“Will you tell me about her?” She asks, squeezing my hands back for the first time.
