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“Are you going to be alright?” she asks, her lovely voice laced with concern.
“Yeah, don’t worry, I’ll manage.”
Just as I turn the corner to my building, my eyes lay on none less than Karl himself standing right in front of my front door, dressed in a pair of jogging pants and a hoodie. What a big contrast compared to his usual perfectly tailored suits. But what the fuck is he doing here? I stop in my tracks, looking at him with a frown.
“Um, babe? I’ll call you right back. Someone’s at my door,” I say before hanging up.
His lips form a slow smirk as if he enjoyed catching me off guard.
“What are you doing here?” I snap at him, keeping some distance.
He paces in my direction, his demeanor giving way to a more humble expression. “I just want to talk,” he says, sounding more desperate than I thought.
“Not interested.” I turn my back on him, and make my way toward the door, keys in hand.
“Please,” he says, reaching for my arm in a desperate attempt to catch my attention. When I turn, ready to shove him away, I can’t help but notice how his face has become as sad and pitiful as a beaten puppy. “Andries, listen, I have lost so much. I alreadylost more than half of everything I owned from the divorce. I don’t want to go on trial. I don’t want to lose my job. I barely have anything left.”
I snort at his observation. “Don’t worry. You’ll likely keep your job since my dad likes you more than his own son,” I point out.
Karl frowns in confusion, squinting his eyes at me. “Why do you say that?”
“Why don’t you ask him?” I retort.
“Listen, man. I’m not here to make any trouble. I have learned my lesson. I just want this to be over. I’ll pay you whatever you want if you can get Patricia to back off,” he says.
“Whatever I want?” I repeat, surprised. “You told me you had barely anything left.”
“I’m borrowing right and left.” It sounds mostly like a lie, but I brush it aside.
The money is tempting, and given my current situation, I actually consider it for a second, but decide against it anyway.
“I don’t need your money, Karl. I just need justice,” I reply, turning back to the door, then I put the key into the locker but when I’m about to enter inside, Karl grabs my hand. His eyes are pleading with me. I pull my hand quickly from his grip and in the blink of an eye, sneak into the lobby. I don’t bother to spare him a glance as I shut and lock the door behind me.
Once I’m safely inside my own apartment, I call Roxanne again. I tell her about Karl’s sudden arrival at my place and she gives me a few updates about his trial. Apparently, despite all the positive media coverage he’s got, it’s not looking so great for him. Good.
“Are you going to testify against him?” I ask her as I make my way to my bedroom.
She pauses for a second and then says, “I don’t know. I’m a bit conflicted. Karl helped me get on my feet. He helped me getmy life together at some point. I don’t know if testifying against him would be betrayal.”
I stop immediately in my tracks, caught totally off guard at her revelation. “You have to tell the truth,” I remind her. “Especially since you are the one who connected Patricia to him. This could be good for your public image if you side with her.”
I hear nothing but an exasperated breath from the other side of the line. “I think you’re right. I’ll contact Patricia’s lawyer and see what I can do.” I smile, proud of her for making such a decision. “Also, I want you to know that I love you… so much.” My heart does a little somersault in response and my smile keeps growing. “Whatever problem your family has with you will come to an end in time. I’m sure it’s not going to last forever.”
“Thanks,” I reply, my tone barely audible. “I love you too.”
I don’t voice my opinion to Roxanne, but I don’t think my problems with my family will easily fizzle out. Not with such a prideful and stubborn father as mine. But I do need to give it a try and face him once and for all.
35
Amsterdam, March 15, 2022
Andries
There’sa certain element of dread that washes over me as I walk into my dad’s office. While he might have agreed to meet me, it isn’t a good look to be cut off from the family, and dealing with him when it comes to finances makes a really horrible taste appear in my mouth. Especially because it’s all due for my choosing to be with the woman I love, and it’s only my decisions that left me in this situation in the first place. No matter how I decide to live my life, though, I need to get my allowance back. Being in school I have no way of making the same amount of money than what I was receiving from the trust fund. My parents had no right to remove me as one of the beneficiaries since that fund was created generations ago—way before them and it has accumulated generational wealth, so it’s not really up to them to cut someone out at their own whim.
I know why they did that, though—they want to humiliate me. They want to force my hand and make me bow to their demands. But that’s not going to happen.
I look behind the imposing desk as I walk into his office and find Dad on the phone, waving at a chair for me to sit. I choose to stand instead, looking out of the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the canal.
