Dex handled the entire thing perfectly. He was cordial, polite, and ready to answer her questions with an informational tone. He smiled through the entire conversation, his cheeks dimpling every time, but I could see the strain around his eyes and the slight clenching of his jaw.
I kept my end of the conversation short, speaking only when spoken too and taking care not to mention too much about my personal life in Miami. I didn’t want to share those things Valer
ie or anyone else in the house. Miami was mine. I wouldn’t have them tarnish the life I made there with their displeasure.
My leg shook up and down continuously throughout the meal, I was eager to see my father. Not to embrace him or even check on his condition, but to understand why he asked to see me.
A large part of me still wished his near-death experience incited a newfound need in him to apologize for the way he had treated me. He was my father, I wasn’t sure if I could ever fully stop seeking his love. While my heart constricted at the thought of possibly having a relationship with him, my head knew I couldn’t get my hopes up. There was something he wanted, some piece of my life and my livelihood he wanted to take away from me. That had to have been the only reason he asked for me.
Another women, older with graying hair and a pair of blue scrubs entered the dining room. “He’s awake, Mrs. Reed,” she spoke to Valerie. “I’ve told him his daughter is here.” She looked over at me and smiled a bit. “He wants to see her.”
I shot up out of my seat. “Take me to him.”
The woman nodded before leading me up the stairs to one of the many spare bedrooms.
“Don’t get him too excited, he’s still very weak,” she spoke before walking back the way we came.
I took a deep breath before opening the door, preparing myself for what was about to come.
Even weak, post heart attack, and bed-ridden, my father’s presence was foreboding. His blonde hair was slightly messier and his normally tanned skin seemed pale and gray. A dark part of me reveled at how bad he looked.
He set down the newspaper he was reading and took the reading glasses off of his nose. “Rosaline, my girl!” he exclaimed, shocking me. “Come here.” He patted the space next to him on the plush bed.
I planned to keep my distance, hoping that staying as far from him as I possibly could while in the same room would allow me to keep my wits about me. My feet moved on their own, carrying me over to where he sat.
“Hello, Dad.” My voice was shaky.
My father reached out to pat my hand, his palm weak and clammy. “Valerie tells me you’ve been in Miami.”
“Yes.” I nodded.
“And what have you been doing there?”
“Um…” I cleared my throat. “I’m an assistant actually. To an artist.”
He sighed. “Oh, Rosaline.” His tone was disappointed. “You threw everything away to be someone’s assistant?”
I knew he didn’t want me to answer, but I did anyway. “As opposed to what, Dad? Being Daniel Bennett’s wife?”
“Watch your tone with me, Rosaline Reed.” His voice was sharp and harsh. The sweet, caring father was gone in an instant, and in his place was the man I had always known.
He softened his tone again. “You had so much potential.”
“Yes, I did,” I agreed. “ But you were never going to let me live up to it.”
“That’s nonsense.” He dismissed me. “I orchestrated a good life for you. Better than the one you would have gotten had I never picked you up from that dump your mother left you in.”
I fucking hated it when he brought up my mother. “Don’t bring her into this. She didn’t leave me anywhere, she died.”
My father’s hand tightened slightly around my wrist, not enough to bruise but enough to show dominance. This was new. “I’ll do what I goddamn please in my own house.”
I was getting impatient, we weren’t heading towards any sort of breakthrough here, only more fighting and anger. I snatched my hand away from his grasp. “Why did you want me to come back here, Dad?”
“It’s time for you to grow up, Rosaline.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Of course you do. It’s time to come home. I’m done letting you galavant across the country. No daughter of mine is going to spend her life as someone’s fucking secretary.”