“You fucking heard me,” I say, my voice louder now. “Get the fuck out.”
His lips press into a thin line, eyes narrowing.
“I almost killed myself trying to be the daughter you wanted. Trying to prove I was good enough. Smart enough. Obedient enough. I choked myself on your expectations until I couldn’t breathe anymore.”
My chest rises and falls with each word, but I keep going, rage and grief bleeding through every syllable. “All I ever wanted was a scrap of love from you, just a fucking ounce. And you couldn’t even give me that.”
He says nothing as he stands there, staring at me like I’m speaking a language he refuses to understand.
“The only parent I ever had was Mom,” I say, “you’re a fucking stranger. A name on a bank account, a ghost who showed up to criticize but never once showed up to care.” Tears burn in my eyes again, but I don’t let them fall. “I don’t want your money, I don’t want your fucking last name, and I sure as hell don’t want your goddamn wedding.” I point to the door, voice shaking now with fury. “Get thefuck out of my room and go shove your wedding up your ass!”
He doesn’t speak.
Carter interjects.
“You heard her,” he growls, “leave.”
Vartan stands there, unmoving, like he’s waiting for me to back down. Like I always have.
I don’t. I stare him down with my chin high and my spine straight, even though my body’s still stuck to the machines. My voice might shake, but it doesn’t fucking break.
He scoffs, the familiar curl of his lip returning like a bad habit. “Jesus, Catalina,” he mutters, “this little performance won’t save you from reality. You’re still a failure, just like your mother was. Always emotional, and always so fucking desperate for attention.”
The oxygen in the room gets sucked straight from my lungs.
Carter moves before I can even blink. He steps in front of me. His body blocks my view of Vartan completely, and when he speaks, his voice is low, controlled.
“Don’t you ever,” Carter growls, “speak about Catalina or her mother like that again.”
Vartan tries to play it off with a smirk, but Carter keeps going.
“You think being cold makes you strong? You think power means money and manipulation?” He leans in, shoulders squared. “You’re not powerful. You’re a coward in a tailored suit.”
Maverick lets out a low whistle behind him. Reed folds his arms, watching quietly like he’s waiting to back his brother up if shit hits the fan.
Carter doesn’t blink. “You had the chance to love a daughter who would’ve moved mountains for you,” he says, jabbing his finger into his chest. “And you chose to break her instead. That’s not parenting, that’s being fucking pathetic.”
The room goes still. Even the monitors seem to pause. Then the silence breaks with loud claps.
Amelia stands at the foot of my bed, slow-clapping with a deadpan face, mascara streaked down her cheeks. “That’s the hottest shit I’ve ever seen.”
Layla joins in next, then Maverick, then Reed. The entire room fills with the sounds of applause echoing off sterile walls.
Vartan turns beet red, his face practically glowing with embarrassment. He adjusts his cufflinks like that’s going to restore his dignity, but it’s already gone. The emperor’s naked and everyone knows it. He doesn’t say a word as he spins on his heels and walks out, the door clicking shut behind him.
I exhale so profoundly that it feels like I’ve been holding it in for years. Carter turns back to me slowly, his hand rests gently on the side of my face, as he caresses my cheek.
I smile through the tears still clinging to my lashes.
“I’m free,” I whisper, my voice soft but certain.
And this time? I mean it.
carter
. . .
Three months later
