FROM THE SECOND I slid into the back seat of my parents’ car, the silence was deafening. Neither of them said a word or even looked my way as we made the short drive from Astor to their penthouse on Madison Avenue. I almost would’ve preferred for them to yell instead of filling the space with their icy disappointment, but I had a feeling that part would come soon enough.
I stared out the window, my mind replaying everything that had happened that morning, even though it was the last thing I wanted to think about. I didn’t want to remember the insults and ugly looks aimed my way. I especially didn’t want to think about the consequences Archer was dealing with right now, when all the two of us were guilty of was loving each other.
If I hadn’t kept so much of my life secret for so long, this wouldn’t be happening. Serena wouldn’t be caught in the middle of something that wasn’t her fault, and the only problem people would have with me and Archer was our age difference. Not what they all assumed because they’d been led to: that we were having some sort of sick affair under Serena’s nose.
My stomach twisted as the car stopped in front of my parents’ building, and I waited for them to exit before climbing out after them.
The ride up to the penthouse was the same, deathly quiet, until we reached their floor.
“Take a seat in the parlor,” my father said, just before the elevator doors opened and he walked out, heading straight for the house manager. “Let the staff know they can all be excused.”
To his credit, the man didn’t bat an eye, already used to the privacy my parents insisted upon.
More like they didn’t want anything remotely embarrassing to come out about them, which was why they waited until everyone had left before laying in on me.
The parlor was pure white—the couch, the armchairs, the curtains, the rug. It made you almost scared to sit for fear of leaving a mark, which was why I’d never ventured in there much when I lived with them.
But marring their precious furniture was the last thing I was worried about at that moment, so I took a seat on the couch and waited for their lecture. I still wasn’t sure how I would respond, leaving it up to what felt right in the moment. I knew I didn’t want to hide anymore, that I needed to tell them everything, but what form that would take…who knew?
As the last of the staff departed, my father strolled into the parlor, a crystal tumbler half-full of amber liquid in his hand. Considering that it was still morning, his drinking was the only indication so far that something was bothering him.
He stayed standing by the fireplace while my mother took a seat in one of the armchairs, and after taking a sip from his glass, he cocked a bushy eyebrow at me.
“Well? What do you have to say for yourself?”
A lot, actually. But I knew my father enough to know he already had a path set for this conversation. Best to just give a general apology and let him kick things off.
“I’m sorry.” There. That could encompass all my perceived sins.
He grunted and stared down at me, all that judgment weighing heavily on my shoulders.
“I’d like to hear what exactly you’re sorry for, Preston. For bringing shame to our family? For lying? Cheating? Disregarding your future for a moment of pleasure? Please explain to your mother and me what’s happening in that thick head of yours.”
I forced myself to breathe through my irritation as my temper began to rise.
“I apologize for hiding who I truly am for so long. That’s one of the few things I’m sorry for.”
“And who is that? Enlighten us.”
My mother stayed silent, letting my father take the lead, which was par for the course. I didn’t expect her to chime in at all, not when he was this worked up.
“Who am I?” I said. “I’m someone who’s spent years being who I thought you wanted me to be, at least in public. But I’m not that person. I don’t want to go into politics. I don’t want to hide that I’m gay. And I don’t want it to be a secret that I’m in love with Archer Carrington.”
Holy shit, I couldn’t believe I’d just said all that out loud, but the words were true. Following in my father’s footsteps, being in government… That wasn’t for me, and it was past time I acknowledged that. And if I didn’t want that life, then I didn’t have to hide. I didn’t need the secrets that had overtaken my life up to this point.
Even as I felt like I could breathe again after putting it all out there, my father’s fury pushed back, suffocating everything in the room.
“Have you lost your mind?” he seethed. “Has that man brainwashed you into something you can’t get out of?”
“No,” I said quickly. The thought was absurd. “I’m the one who pursued him, not the other way around.”
My mother’s eyes were bugging out of her head as they darted between the two of us. “Wh-what about Serena?”
“Yes, what about my future daughter-in-law?” he said. “You’d blindside that poor girl with her own father?”
I shook my head. “She wasn’t blindsided, and she was never going to be your daughter-in-law. Serena’s my best friend, but that’s all she is. I’ve never been a secret to her.”
My father finished off the rest of his drink and slammed the glass down, causing it to crack. Then he turned his back on me, resting his hand against the mantel. “You’re saying she helped you in this…this…deception.”
“There’s no one to blame in all of this except me. I take that on fully. Leave Serena and Archer out of this.”
A laugh bubbled out of him, low at first and then rising until it echoed off the walls. He faced me again, and his expression had alarm bells going off.
“Leave Archer out of this, you say. No, I wouldn’t dream of such a thing. As a matter of fact, I should pay him a visit—”
“No,” I said, horrified. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not? I’d love to see the look on his face when I tell him he’s no longer the Elysium president because he couldn’t keep his hands off my son.”
“What?” My mouth fell open. “You can’t do that.”
“I can do anything I damn well please, and effective immediately, Archer has been stripped of his position.” He smiled, but it was full of malice. “He’s also been fired from the Astor school board, and I can’t imagine many of his clients at CTA will be thrilled by his behavior.”
Shock and disgust had me clenching my fists as I stared up at him. “He doesn’t deserve that, and you know it. You’re punishing him when you should be taking it out on me.”
“Aren’t I? Since you claim it was your actions that led to this chain of events, his dismissal is, in fact, your fault.”
The sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach was because he wasn’t wrong.
My father crossed his arms over his barrel chest. “What, nothing to say now?”
“There isn’t anything I can say that would change your mind. Is there?”
He stared down at me, the answer clear in his expression. No.
“Right. So you brought me here just to tell me you’re going to punish him.”
“I brought you here to set you straight,” he said firmly. “Since you can’t be trusted to make decisions for your own good, I’ll be taking over from here.”
I blinked up at him, not sure I’d heard him right. His expression didn’t change, and when I turned to my mother, she was looking everywhere but at me.
It was all so insane that I couldn’t help my chuckle. Only once it started, I couldn’t stop.
“You find this amusing?” my father said.
“I do, actually. You want to take over…what, exactly? Because you may have missed it, but I’m not a kid anymore. Whatever you wanted me to do back then, I always jumped and asked how high, because I didn’t think I had another choice. Now I know better. I have nothing but choices. So, no. You won’t be taking over anything.”
The red flush in his cheeks deepened. “You expect me to sit back while you ruin your life making mistake after mistake? Do you even have a plan?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “But you know what? That’s okay. I don’t have to know everything right this second. I can finally figure out what I want to do with my life.”
“Preston, we just want what’s best for you,” my mom finally said as she worried her hands in her lap.
“I understand that, but maybe neither of you know what’s best for me anymore. I have to figure that out on my own.”
“Have we not given you everything? You’ve never wanted for a damn thing in your life, and you’ll never have to—”
“Let me guess, if I give up Archer?”
My father grunted. “It’s a small price to pay, son. Trust me.”
What he was suggesting was madness. There was no way I’d ever give up Archer. Not even if my father stripped away my inheritance or cut me off at the knees in any other way.
But the only way to get that through his head was to show him.
I stood up and relaxed my hands that had been tightly balled into fists for this whole conversation. “I don’t have to listen to any more of this. My life is just that—mine. So you can either choose to accept me and anyone I choose to be with, or…” I hesitated, unable to say the alternative, because even though I loathed them in that moment, they were still my parents. I dropped my hands by my sides and shrugged. “Or you don’t.”
“You don’t mean that.” My mother stood up, looking like she wanted to walk over to me, but only managed a couple of steps.
“Yes, I do.” The stricken expression on her face had me softening a little. I didn’t want to hurt anyone else today. “Everything will be okay, I promise. You’ve just got to give me the space and trust to figure it out.”
I turned on my heel and walked away, having said everything I wanted to.
“Preston,” my father called out as the elevator doors opened. “We’re not finished with this conversation, young man.”
I stepped inside, and as the doors began to close, I met my father’s stare. “Yes, sir. We are.”
