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“I apparently haven’t made myself clear. You two can’t date,” he insists.
“Why not?” I blast back at him, wanting a better explanation as to why it’s such a big deal to him.
“Because… Because I forbid it,” he says, not able to come up with a valid excuse. “You know our families haven’t gotten along for years. There is no way we could ever reconcile our differences.”
“I think you’re wrong, Dad. Trey is determined to make things right,” I counter. “Besides, Victor is the one who hurt us and he’s gone.”
“I know, honey. But you two just can’t date,” he says, his voice trailing off. The pause at the other end of the line has me wondering about his true motive. It seems as if he is desperate to find a good reason why Trey and I can’t be together.
“Is he with you now?” he finally asks as if he didn’t already know the answer.
“Yes. We just boarded a helicopter that will take us to Monaco.” Again, there is a long pause on the other end of the line.
“Can I talk to him for a minute?” he asks, seeming a bit desperate that I haven’t given in to his fool hearted demands.
“That depends on what you are going to say,” I reply curtly.
“I’m not going to be mean,” he insists. “I just need to talk to him for a minute if the two of you two are going to keep dating.” There is another long pause but this time it’s me who is doing the thinking. What could he possibly want to say to Trey? It has to be something bad.
“Honey, please just let me talk to him,” he pleads after waiting for nearly a minute.
“Okay, here he is.” I hand my phone to Trey. “Dad wants to talk to you.”
Trey gets a funny look on his face as he takes the phone from me. I’m sure he is just as confused as I am by his persistence. God, I hope Dad doesn’t say anything embarrassing. I just know he is going to embarrass the shit out of me.
Trey
A variety of thoughts run through my mind the instant Mandy says that her father wants to talk to me. If our roles were reversed, I guess I wouldn’t want my daughter dating my arch nemesis’ son either. Regardless of what he says though, it’s not going to change my mind about anything. But, the least I can do is hear him out.
“Trey,” he starts out with a gasp. “It’s been a long time. I think you were only seven or eight the last time I saw you.”
“Yeah, it’s been a long time Mr. Grayson.”
“Call me Ray,” he insists. “I don’t know how to say what I have to tell you. But, it’s very, very important.”
“Okay. Is something wrong?” I ask, suddenly feeling a little more apprehensive.
“It’s complicated, but there is something you need to know.” He pauses. “Please don’t share it with Amanda though, because I don’t want Maggie to find out. It would kill her,” he says, pausing again. Mandy had told me about her mother’s ongoing battle with MS. What the hell is he going to tell me?
“Go ahead Ray. It’s between you and me.” I give Mandy a look that lets her know that I am simply pacifying him.
“Hey, I know my daughter is sitting right beside you,” he replies, still worried that she will hear him.
“We are just taking off, so it’s getting pretty noisy in here. You are going to have to speak up,” I tell him as the pilot revs the engine. I’m hoping that if he realizes there is no chance of her overhearing him that he will finally tell me whatever is on his mind.
“This isn’t going to be easy, but Silvia and I both agree that the two of you have left us little choice,” he says, pausing once again.
“What does this have to do with Mom?” I ask, as he adds another element of confusion.
He slowly begins to tell me a story that began years ago. For Mandy’s sake, I am trying not to display any emotion, however, his words are wreaking absolute havoc inside of me. This not only affects my relationship with her… but this changes everything.
“Are you okay?” Mandy asks as we touch down in Monaco.
Within the span of a few minutes, Ray had completely upended my entire existence. Even though I am definitely not okay, I have no choice but to say, “Yeah, I’m fine. Come on, there should be a limo waiting for us.”
“What did he say to you? Did he threaten you or something? He’s all bark and no bite,” she says, trying to smooth things over.
There is nothing she can say, however, that will ease the facts that have been permanently etched upon my mind. I definitely make painful choices when it comes to love. If Ray’s suspicions are correct and Mandy ends up being my half-sister, things are going to suddenly be extremely awkward between us. Son of a bitch!
