Page 81 of Unwrapping Romance

“Yes.”

“At Christmas?” Gabriela asked. “What a horrible person. What kind of parent does such a thing?”

“That would be my mother.” Sierra held up her hand.

“Maybe you should be asking your future husband that question, Gabriela,” I said.

“Excuse me, son?”

That was it. I could feel the pressure in my chest as my heart raced.

“Are you that oblivious to what you’ve done to me as a child? You made a remark about not having Christmas decorations when you walked into my house. Do you want to know why, Dad? Because I fucking hate the holiday season!” I spoke through gritted teeth. “I’ve never decorated, but you were always too busy staying out of my life to notice.”

“Jack, where is all this coming from? How can you hate the holiday season?”

“I’m with him. I hate it too.” Sierra raised her hand again.

“What is wrong with the two of you?” Gabriela asked. “Christmas is a beautiful and magical time of the year. It brings joy into people’s lives.”

“Joy? It brought me nothing but misery since my mother died!” I shouted.

“Jack, Ellie is upstairs,” Sierra said.

“What are you talking about?” my father asked.

“You dropped me off at boarding school the minute Mom was put into the ground, and you never looked back. You left me there every Thanksgiving and Christmas while you traveled, celebrating Christmas as if you didn’t have a son! I was seven years old!”

“Christopher, is that true?” Gabriela looked at him.

He wouldn’t answer her.

“That’s the reason I fucking hate this holiday so much. And the reason why I’m stuck in a never-ending loop of holiday hell. This holiday brings nothing but bad memories of abandonment and bullshit! You reap what you sow, Dad.”

“Enough!” My father pointed at me. “I have given you everything! A good life with no financial worries and a good education. I handed my company over to you. And you have the audacity to blame me for your hatred of Christmas? Is that the reason you never told me you had a daughter?”

“My daughter was none of your goddamn business, Dad! And you want to know something? For the past four years, I barely saw her. When she came here, she barely knew who I was. And you want to know why? Because I was too afraid I’d fuck up her life as you did mine!”

“That’s it!” He stood up. “I don’t need to sit here and listen to this any longer. Get some therapy, Jack. God knows you need it. And as for you, young lady.” He pointed at Sierra. “It sounds like you need therapy as well. Take the money my son is paying you and get some help.”

“Excuse me?” Sierra cocked her head. “When I was five, my mother took me to midnight mass at church on Christmas, sat me in a pew, and told me she’d be right back. It’s been twenty-two years, and I’m still waiting! So excuse me if I view the holiday season as nothing but a load of crap and misery.”

“God help that child upstairs.” My father shook his head, grabbed his coat, and walked out the front door with Gabriela.

I started to go after him, and Sierra grabbed my arm.

“Don’t, Jack. Let that narcissistic asshole go. He’s not worth it.”

I sat back on the couch, placing my hands over my face, waiting for my heart to slow.

“I am never talking to that man again.” I turned and looked at her.

“I don’t blame you.” She softly rubbed my back. “You never had this discussion with him when you got older?”

“No. I hated him and spoke to him as little as possible.”

“It must have been tough working with him,” she said.

“I kept to myself and only talked to him when necessary. You have no idea how happy I was when he told me he was moving to Spain with Gabriela. Now, he’s back in New York and already making my life a living hell.”

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