- 5.
I waited until my dad came home from work.
Then I grabbed my suitcase and went to find
him.
The suitcase only had a few outdated clothes
that Grandpa had given me the day before
the Starks found me.
I wiped my eyes, zipped up the suitcase, left
it at the door, and went to my dad’s study.
I knocked. Only when he let me in, did I twist
the handle and step inside.
Chapter 2
“Dad,” I said, keeping my eyes on the floor.
く
Dad looked me up and down for a minute. He
saw the cuts and bruises, and his lips started
to tremble.
“Ethan, I know everything, son.”
“It’s our fault. If we hadn’t taken your card
away back then, you wouldn’t have…”
I didn’t want to hear it, didn’t want to relive
those nightmares. I interrupted him, which
was something I’d never have done before.
“Dad, I want to move out.”
Dad slumped back in his chair, defeated.
“Ethan, are you still blaming us?”
“Well, maybe I should, considering we didn’t
“Your mother’s going to miss you terribly.”
I lowered my eyes, my voice bitter.
“You still have Jake.”
What about Emily? Aren’t you still in love
with her? Are you willing to give that up?”
I didn’t answer for a second.
It was true. Everyone knew I was head–over-
heels for Emily. Ever since she had my back
that one time, I couldn’t help following her
around.
The other guys in the circle called me Emily’s
lapdog, her personal assistant.
But they didn’t know that when I tried to be like Jake and screwed things up, costing the
company millions, Emily stood by me and told
me that business was all about ups and
downs.
They didn’t know that when someone made
fun of me, and I punched him, Emily was
there, telling me I did the right thing.
We used to go out to dinner, she’d accept the
flowers I gave her, she’d remember my
birthday.
But ever since Jake came back from Europe,
she’d changed.
She was the one who told me that the thorns
on a rose are what protect it.
Г
She was the one who said I had to be tough,
that I couldn’t let people walk all over me,
that I was entitled to act like it as a Stark.
But then she decided that my thorns were too prickly, and she tried to trim them all away,
tame me.
“I’m calling off the engagement with Emily,” I
said, looking at my dad, telling him and
myself.
“I won’t bother Emily anymore.”
Dad sighed, understanding. He reached into
his pocket and pressed a bank card into my
hand.
“Come visit us, okay?”
く
I clutched the card without thinking, and gave
him a nod.
“Thanks.”
“I’ll put money in it on a regular basis. If you
don’t want to live here, that’s your choice.”
“You’ll always be our kid, Ethan. You can
always come home.”
I didn’t reply to his belated concern. I just
turned to leave.
“Want me to drive you?”
I shook my head. I knew that as long as I was
in that house, as long as I was around Emily,
my emotional wounds would never heal.
く
And Dad knew that after everything that had
happened, I couldn’t trust them anymore. He
had no choice but to let me go.
As for Emily’s reaction? I couldn’t bring myself to give a damn.
