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Walt sighs and points at my empty seat. “Sit back down, Jack! We still have important matters to settle.”
I remain standing, pulse elevated. Walt continues, undaunted.
“Let’s give it a few days, then speak again about Walsh. You’ve always had principles, and I admire that. But if you insist on doing this project on your terms, the least you can do for me is to ensure that the family legacy thrives. Maddie seems like a good match for you.”
Fury blazes at hearing him continue to meddle in my life.
Noticing my flaring nostrils, Walt waves aside my outrage. “Marry this girl soon and produce an heir. Unless you've got cold feet there too.”
I slam both palms on the tabletop, rattling the cutlery. “Back off. Stop trying to dictate every area of my life!”
His eyebrows shoot up incredulously.
“I'm not some wind-up toy programmed for your agenda, old man!” Rage is pouring out of meunchecked now. “I followed orders like a good soldier before. But no more. You don't own my personal choices!”
Walt rises to his full height, matching my undisguised contempt. “Then you don't deserve to run Whitmore if you insist on these foolish defiant whims!”
We stand unmoving, at a bitter impasse years in the making. The only sounds are waves crashing indifferently as I resist my deepest urge—to walk away from his choking expectations for good this time.
“If you won’t listen to me on the direction of Whitmore, I need you to at least get that girl pregnant as soon as possible.”
I scoff in disbelief. “She's practically a kid herself. You have no business expecting her to be a mother.”
“Then why the devil are you getting hitched to an immature child?” Walt demands.
I shift uncomfortably. “She was convenient, and I went with the easy solution.”
Walt scowls incredulously. “Convenient? I thought you are in love?”
“I’m having second thoughts,” I reply tersely. “We’re not suited for each other.”
“Well, sort this out!” Walt snarls impatiently. “I want grandkids. Then I will still have time to guide and teach them to develop this empire in the direction I envisioned.”
Revulsion tightens my gut. “I refuse to recklessly impregnate a child bride just to satisfy your patriarchal fantasy!”
I freeze, spotting Maddie behind us with eyes full of anguished tears.
As Maddie turns and runs away, Walt sighs heavily, realizing that she overheard us. “Way to muck this up. Better go after her and fix this shit.”
I sprint after her, sand kicking up behind my pounding steps. “Maddie, please wait!” I call out hoarsely, my heart thundering.
She whirls around, her chest heaving. Angry tears stream down her face even as defiance flashes in her eyes. “What is it that you even want to talk about with a child?”
I stop, stunned by the blistering contempt so unlike her usual warmth. “I know what I said was thoughtless and hurtful, but it came from the frustration I have with Walt, not?—”
“Oh, spare me!” she interrupts me derisively. “You've told me plainly again and again that we can’t work. Well, the joke’s on me for imagining that you could love me back.”
As I try to reach for her hands, she recoils as if scalded.
“Do not touch me,” she lashes out through ragged breaths. “Don't you dare touch me ever again!”
I flinch as she straightens, fresh resolve in her eyes. At arm’s length, I freeze, stunned by her blistering fury. “I'm so sorry you overheard all that.”
Though to be honest, I hadn’t lied to my father when I spoke of her. And I have always told her clearly where we stood. Even so, this feels like a betrayal. Because the only thing I haven’t told Walt is that I have developed genuine feelings despite all the reasons we shouldn’t be together. I haven’t even wanted to admit it to myself.
She swipes her face harshly before raising her chin to meet my eyes. I've never seen her so hardened, a storm raging within her yet somehow eerily contained. Her anguished tears have crystallized into icy fortitude.
“I heard just what I needed,” she returns. “I’m a child bride. I was convenient. You have second thoughts.” She sighs heavily. “Nothing you haven’t been telling me over and over. I shouldn’t be this upset.”
