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Her father’s limousine pulled up and his driver opened the door. This was it. She’d find out either way what the prognosis was.
She walked to the front door with Derek, and opened it. Her father had more color to his face. Seeing him made the guilt in her chest rise up into her throat. He gave her a nod as he walked in. “Nara.” He held a small box in his hands.
“Please, come in,” Derek said. “We can talk in the family room.”
Her father followed them into the other room. He took a seat on the chair. Nara sat next to Derek on the couch. Her father fiddled with the box in his hands.
Nara couldn’t stand the guilt any longer. It suffocated her. “I’m sorry,” she blurted out. She stared at the brown and green flecks in the carpet. “For yesterday. For what I said.”
Her father shook his head. “I don’t blame you. I’m sure you wanted to say those things for a long time.”
“I shouldn’t have.” She swallowed back more guilt. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too,” he said. “For a lot of things.” He took in a large breath, then exhaled. “It’s stage two. It has not spread to the lymph nodes or the surrounding tissue. They can most likely cure it with surgery and chemotherapy.”
Nara whipped her head up, sure he’d spoken wrong. “What?”
“It’s curable,” he said, a small smile finally forming on his lips. “It’s going to be okay.”
Derek breathed out a sigh as relief flooded through her. “I’m so glad,” he said.
She nodded, tears pricking the back of her eyelids. “That’s good news.”
Her father sobered. “I have more I need to say.”
She wasn’t sure why this startled her. “What is it?”
“First, I need to give you this.” He held out the box toward Nara.
She was close enough to him that she extended her hand and took it. “What’s this?”
“It’s what you wanted.” He lowered his gaze and clasped his hands together. “You fulfilled your end of the bargain. You married Derek.”
She opened the box, her fingers trembling. Inside the packing material sat a small teacup and saucer. She pulled it out and touched the tiny blue flowers on the porcelain, tears welling in her eyes. This was the one thing she had asked for from her grandmother’s estate. And her father had held it over her head, forcing her to marry Derek to get it.
Derek leaned over, staring at the saucer. “That’s your inheritance?”
“No,” she said quietly. “You assumed it was an inheritance. I probably should have corrected you…but…”
He placed his hand on her knee and sucked in a breath. “No, I get it, now. This was the cup you talked about. The one your grandmother put hot chocolate in.”
She nodded, remembering how her grandmother’s hands took great care with this cup. A flood of memories came rushing at her. The way her grandmother would hum when she was happy. The comforting feeling of sitting on her lap while she read a story. And the warmth of drinking the steaming liquid from the small teacup. She fingered the chip on the side. “Yeah.”
Her father cleared his throat. “What I have to say next is going to be difficult for me.”
That was an odd thing to say, and Nara’s gaze snapped to his. “What?”
“I was wrong to force you to marry.” His shoulders slumped. “I got the idea in my head that passing on the company would be much easier if you were together. It all made sense in my head at the time.” He motioned to Derek. “Your father helped build it with me. And you,” he said, pointing at Nara. “You’ve never had any interest in dealing with it. But it’s grown to be worth a lot of money. It made sense to give it to you both. As a couple. Derek could run it and you’d benefit financially.”
He wiped his hands on his slacks. “But I overstepped my bounds when I insisted on this marriage. And I was wrong to withhold the teacup. I knew you wanted it for sentimental reasons.”
Nara couldn’t believe the words coming out of her father’s mouth. “What are you saying?”
After a pause, he said, “I’m releasing you from your obligations.”
“You mean, you’re saying we don’t have to stay married for two years?”
“No. You don’t.”
