Edward was out with Emmett, getting some driving lessons. I
was working in my office, recovering from a mild case of bronchitis that I’d
gotten while in Hawaii. With the injury to my lungs from being shot, I was more
susceptible to upper respiratory infections that could morph into bronchitis or
even worse, pneumonia. Our trip to Kauai caused me to catch a bug that turned
into bronchitis. While Edward ran his errand upon our arrival, he was kind
enough to call Dr. Banner. He prescribed an antibiotic and steroid nebulizer.
However, when Edward came back from his errand, he was
quiet, almost jumpy. I asked him what was wrong, but he didn’t reply,
deflecting or changing the subject. I figured he had to process it with his
journal or talk to Marina. When he was ready, he’d approach me.
My reverie was interrupted. There was a quiet knock on my
door. With my raspy, husky voice, I beckoned them to enter. My dad walked in. I
bristled, still pissed about his recent asshole-like behavior. “You sound
awful,” he said.
“It is what it is,” I shrugged. “What do you want, Charlie?”
“I wanted to talk to you about Edward,” he sighed, sitting
down across from me. His face was stern, almost pinched. “Did you know he came
to see me?”
I blinked up, wanting to smack the self-satisfied smirk off
his face. “I wouldn’t put it past him. He was pretty pissed about your little
bombshell, Chuck,” I snapped. “If Edward Masen Sr. was such a good friend, why
didn’t you know that he died? On top of that, why didn’t you treat Edward
better when you met him? You said that Edward was almost the spitting image of
your bestie! Yet, you treated him like shit. And let’s not talk about the way
you acted while I was in the hospital? Completely reprehensible!”
“I know,” he growled. “I’m a shit father. I get that. I
heard it from Edward and your reminders are just fucking salt in the wound.”
“So, Edward said that you were a bad dad. Good for him. You
were,” I sneered. “Especially after Mom died. Yes, I had access to the best
nannies, best education, best opportunities, but the one thing I needed was a
parent, Dad. I needed to be loved and if it was Edward who pointed that out;
he’s smarter than you.”
“I’m not going to win with either one of you,” he sighed,
falling back against the chair.
“What do you expect, Charlie? Whatever Edward said was
probably warranted and I’m still unbelievably pissed off at you. I don’t know
if I’ll be able to forgive you or trust you. I know that Edward decided to
invoke his partnership in Swan Hotels LLC.,” I said, arching a brow.
“He gave me the paperwork when you got back. You and Edward
now own Swan Hotels, LLC.,” Charlie muttered. “I got everything I wanted … a
chance to retire and live out my life without having to stress out about my
hotels. But, at what cost? My daughter? My family?”
“It would appear so. Dad, you made your choices. In time, I
might be able to get over this, but for now, I need time. A lot of time. Edward
needs time and if you think this coming to tattle on him is going to make me
choose you over him, it’s not going to happen,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “I
will always love you, Dad. I just don’t think that what you did was forgivable.
You abandoned me and you treated Edward like crap, a man who survived hell. Your
behavior didn’t ingratiate you to him and I don’t blame him. Now, if you don’t
mind. I have to run my company.” I
turned to my computer, looking at the screen and scrutinizing the quarterly
expense report. As I was checking different ways to further promote the hotels
with a new advertising agency, my dad got up and left.
