Page 56 of Not Mine To Love

“I knew Becca and Julius were seeing each other, Mom.”

Claire shook her head, not understanding.

“And you still planned to marry him?” she said with her voice full of disgust.

“That’s just it, Mom, I never planned to marry him.”

“What? What are you even talking about? This is insane.”

“No! That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you for years: You’re insane.”

“Watch your words, young lady. I am your mother!”

“And that’s what makes what you did so despicable.”

“What I did? What about what he did?”

“Are you even listening to me? What is your problem? This was never about me or Julius. He was just being my friend, saving me from dealing with you on my own.”

“You’re not making any sense.”

“You kept going on and on about how I needed to choose a career. Make something of myself. Settle down. Etcetera, etcetera. Nothing I did was ever good enough. Where I went to college, my career, who I loved…”

Claire laughed hoarsely, “Being someone’s secretary is not a career.”

“You see!” Anne cried out, her voice breaking. “You’re still doing it. Even now. You’re still trying to make me feel bad.”

“I’m not trying to make you feel bad. I’m trying to get you to live up to your potential. I just want you to be somebody.”

“Instead of a nobody, right?” Ana said, sounding dejected.

“I never said that.”

“You didn’t have to.” Ana wiped away at a tear.

“So this whole marriage thing was just a sham? A lie? Did you put her up to this?” She looked accusingly at Julius.

“He didn’t put me up to anything, Mom. This was all my doing. I didn’t want to disappoint you again, and when you went on and on about how your best friend’s daughter was getting married, I just lied and said I was too. It was silly and stupid. But for a moment, you seemed to be actually happy for me, and it felt good to see you actually supportive of me. To see you pay attention to me.”

“Are you kidding me? What are you? Two? You’re lying now to get attention. God this is humiliating. What am I going to tell people?”

“What are you going to tell people? Oh my God, Mom, why is everything about you?”

Claire sent Ana a venomous look. “Oh please. I gave you everything, absolutely everything a kid could want, and this is how you repay me? With lies? My whole life was about you, making you happy, making sure you were provided for. I built an empire for you. So stop with the tears. You don’t know anything about what I sacrificed for you. And for what? For you to become some secretary and apparently some sort of compulsive liar. I’m not taking the blame because you can’t figure out how to be an adult.”

The silence after that statement was deafening. My heart ached for Ana. Even my own mother wouldn’t have gone so far.

“You’re right. I have no one to blame but myself. And it’s time for me to start behaving like an adult. You’re right, Mom. So I’m going to do the adult thing and ask you to get out of my life. Actually, don’t bother. I’ll just stay out of yours. I’m done being your daughter.”

“It doesn’t work like that,” Claire said, finally sounding unsure.

“No, it does,” Ana said with utmost certainty. “Stay out of my life, and I’ll stay out of yours. I’m sorry your sacrifice didn’t pay off. But hey, at least you have that empire that you built to comfort you; it’ll be more of a legacy than I could have ever lived to be.”

And with that, Ana walked away. Claire didn’t try to stop her. She just watched her go, her mouth pulling into a tight line. She turned her eyes to us and looked thunderous.

“Do you see what you have done?”

Julius shook his head. “What I’ve done? Your adult daughter was pretending to get married to please you, to make you happy, and you’re blaming me?”