AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She slashes her hand in the air, cutting me off. “Absolutely not. All I have to do is look at his father, up in his ivory tower at Van den Bosch industries at all hours of the day and night, to see your future if you are with Sebastian. You’re foolish to think that it wouldn’t be the same if you, God forbid, married him. He’d be shackled to his job first and foremost, and you would always come second.”
“That’s not true!” I lean across the table, wanting her to hear every word I’m saying. “We talked about exactly that, Mom, and the last thing Seb wants to be is anything like his father when he gets older. He’ll be a loving, doting husband and will never put his job before–”
“Before who?” she snaps, her eyes fixed on mine. “Beforeyou,Julia? Because you see yourself as his wife in the future? Ha!”
Furious at the way she keeps belittling what I have to say, I slam my hands on the marble table and stand, yelling my next words louder than I intended. “If he wanted me to be his wife, I would say yes! And there is nothing you can do about it!”
Cold as ice, my mother searches my face with her eyes. She’s silent for long minutes, to the point where I fidget uncomfortably where I stand, my pulse starting to pick up with the slightest edge of fear.
“Nothing I can do about it, hm?” She says coolly. “Well, we will see about that, but for the moment, I am done hearing about your ridiculous love affairs and how you’re ruining your future for some idiot. So, get out of my suite and don’t bring this up to me again, do you hear me?”
“But Mom,” Frustration is building inside me to an unbearable level, “Why can’t you just talk to him? He wants to speak to you one on one, so he can show you who he really is. You don’t even really know Sebastian, why can’t you just give him a chance?”
She stands up from her seat and brushes past me, ignoring what I’m saying and dismissing me without saying another word. It’s hard to not cry right here and now, but I won’t give her the satisfaction of knowing that she’s won. Because she hasn’t. There is no way I’m going to stop seeing Sebastian just because she demands it. If that means I’m going to have this strained, terrible relationship with my mother from here on out, then so be it.
When I’m sure that she isn’t coming back, I storm out of the room, all but running to my own suite while desperately blinking away tears. Mom has always been controlling and overbearing, but never like this! Never to the point that she would ruin my chance at happiness just so she can win and have her way. She would rather that I be miserable than have to admit that she’s wrong.
Maybe I’ll just go back to Amsterdam for the weekend, call Gabi, and order takeout while I cry my heart out to my friend. It sounds better than staying here under the same roof as the woman who wants to ruin any chance of romance that I may have, but I’m on the verge of bawling my eyes out and shaking from the stress of it all, so I’m in no mood to leave right this second anyway.
I slam my bedroom door behind me and launch myself onto my freshly made bed, laying face down and letting the sobs wrack my body. I cry out of sadness, knowing that Mom will never approve of Sebastian, but also out of pure, unfiltered anger at her. For nearly a year now she has talked about two things only: me graduating university, and me finding an appropriateprospect. The list of men that she finds appropriate for me has been told to me over and over, but not a single of them interests me at all. Mom isn’t trying to find me a husband that will be compatible with me, but instead is trying to find the man that most benefits the family if I marry him. Her choices have also been full of meek, spineless, boring men. Not all of them, of course, but a majority of them have seemed so blasé that I’m exhausted just hearing their names.
It’s clear why she chooses the way she does–my mom obviously doesn’t believe in love anymore, after what my father did to her. She’s always been a hard-edged, relentless woman, but Dad leaving her has also made her cruel. I feel like I don’t even know the woman that I just argued with. If she wasn’t my mom, I would be frightened of her. She’s just that cold now.
A soft knock comes from the door, and for a single bright moment, I think it might actually be Mom coming to apologize. But then I hear a much deeper voice speaking from the hallway.
“Hey, Julia. Can I come in?”
I sit up, dragging my forearm over my face, thankful I didn’t wear mascara to smear all over my face today. I sniffle once before answering. “Alright Alex, come on.”
My twenty-year-old brother looking like a grown man is still a surprise to me every time I see him, but when he sits on the side of the bed and gives me a playful nudge on the arm I know he’s still the same annoying Alex. He’s always been a good older brother, if a bit sarcastic at times, and I’m sure he’s had his own issues with Mom before too, so I’m not embarrassed asking him for advice.
“Do you need like, a hug or something?” he asks, and I snort.
“I guess that means you heard us fighting, then.”
“The entire household heard you fighting, J, and that includes the horses outside in the stables.” He chuckles, while still giving me a comforting pat on the arm. “But that’s okay. We’ve all had our rows with Mom. It’s a rite of passage or something I’m sure.”
“This isn’t like getting in trouble for breaking curfew or something,” I tell him, exasperated. “This is a decision that will affect my adult life forever, and Mom is refusing to even hear me out.”
“Just to play the devil’s advocate, nineteen is a little early to be making life-changing decisions, don’t you think?”
“I firmly believe that when you know, you know,” I tell him, trying to sound confident, “And I justknowSebastian is the right one for me.”
“Even if Mom was totally normal, she’d still be apprehensive about this, Julia. He’s so much older than you, and you aren’t even twenty yet. You’ve never had a serious boyfriend, and now you’re basically ready to run to the altar with him. Combine that with the fact that Mom is anything but chill about anything these days, and well–” He laughs sardonically, his eyes flicking up and down at me. “You get this whole mess.”
“But she’s been trying to set me up with guys all year,” I insist, but Alex shakes his head.
“Guys, Julia. Not men in their thirties mere years from taking over a multi-million dollar company. It’s different, and you know it.”
“Ugh!” I flop back on the bed. “Why is Mom so fucking against him, though? Don’t even pretend that she wouldn’t be acting the same way if he was twenty or whatever. It’s just insane. What did he ever do wrong to her?”
“Well, he was born male, and that’s already an issue for Mom,” Alex teases, but it doesn’t lift my mood any. “Honestly, though, I wouldn’t bother myself with Mom’s opinion if I were you. The Van den Bosches are a good family, and Mom didn’t seem to have any problem with them until Seb showed interest in you.”
He seems pretty comfortable with the idea of me dating Sebastian, I think, pushing myself back up into the sitting position and considering my brother for a moment. “So…you’d be okay with me marrying Sebastian? You approve?”
Alex balks, his jaw dropping at my question and he takes a step back. “Jesus, Julia, marriage? It’s been like a week since you met the guy.” He rubs the back of his neck, looking at the ceiling. “I mean, if you guys had a normal courting period, then sure. Sebastian is a stand up guy as far as I’m concerned, and he hasn’t done anything to raise any red flags for me.”
Sensing that I have Alex right where I want him, I strike. If I can use my brother to my advantage, I just might have a chance to convince Mom. She’ll have a much harder time telling him no, I think. “Okay, then I need a favor from you. I need you to talk to Mom and tell her just what you told me, that you approve of Sebastian, and make her understand that he’s the man that I want and it’s in everyone’s best interest if she just accepts that we’re going to be together.”
