Page 106 of What If I See You

“Mrs. Hobbs, I’m Griffin. Griffin Ollenberg.”

“Oh, I know very well who you are, Mr. Ollenberg.” She huffs, folding her arms in front of her. “You’re the man who is exploiting my daughter probably for some sort of political or unlawful gain.”

My brows furrow as she continues.

“You took advantage of our daughter when she was the most vulnerable and now look at her.” She gestures to Layken standing semi-behind me. “You forced her into a marriage she didn’t even want, most likely using her for sex, and now she doesn’t even want to hug her own mother.”

“Oh, my God that is the biggest bucket of horse shit I’ve ever heard.” Layken scoffs, stepping out on the other side of me. “Do you even know what a hug entails, Mom?”

Her mother frowns. “Of course, I?—”

“And let’s get one thing straight. Like I told you before,” she says, her body straightening, her chin rising the more confident she becomes. I squeeze her hand in mine to remind her I’m right here with her.

That’s my girl.

“I love Griffin. Do you hear that? I love him. With my whole heart. He didn’t make me do anything I didn’t want to do. In fact, it wasn’t even his idea to get married in the first place. It was mine.”

She rolls her eyes. “Well, as far as I’m concerned, the only smart thing you’ve done so far was not sign a prenup. So, when this crazy ass relationship you think you’re in is all over, you can at least walk away with enough money to live comfortably…until you fuck up again.”

Mrs. Hobbs takes the wind out of Layken’s sails so I tag myself back in. “As far as I’m concerned what’s mine is Layken’s. She can have every last cent I own if she wants it because I love her more than I’ve ever loved anyone. My love for her in the short time we’ve been together is more than you or Mr. Hobbs have shown her in her entire lifetime. You told her over and over again that her life would amount to nothing unless she took the path you paved for her, but that was a lie. She hasn’t amounted to nothing. She’s a goddamn rockstar who has changed not only my life, but the lives of so many children at Pacific Children’s thanks to her hard work and creativity and determination.”

Layken’s mother rolls her eyes. “You mean until she got herself fired?”

“That had nothing to do with her and maybe if you listened to your daughter for one damn minute you would know that.”

I lift Layken’s hand in mine and show her mother her ring. “Do you see this? This right here means I’ll spend the rest of my goddamn life making sure your daughter knows how loved and cherished and admired she is. I’ll support her in anything she wants to do whether that be helping a hundred organizations raise charitable funds, or writing the kinkiest smuttiest book she can write, or hell, maybe she’ll decide to give pole dancing lessons someday. If that happens, I’ll buy all the fucking poles and install them on every floor of my house. Because your daughter, Mrs. Hobbs, no thanks to you, is one mother fucking badass bitch who could run the world if she wanted to. This girl can do anything she wants to do and be anything she wants to be because I’ll be by her side loving her and encouraging her every fucking step of the way.”

“What’s going on here?” A man steps up beside Layken’s mom. I can only presume that it’s her father.

“For the love of fucking Christ.” Mrs. Hobbs rolls her eyes again. “You guys have no idea what it means to be?—"

“This will be the last time you see your daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Hobbs,” I tell her parents, interrupting whatever kind of bullshit Mrs. Hobbs was spouting our way. “Because I’ll be damned if I let her step back into a world that doesn’t know love. Or kindness. Or basic human decency. You will never again darken her light because I will spend the rest of my days making sure she shines brighter than any star in the goddamn sky. And if and when the day comes that we bring children into this world, they will not know you. Your legacy will die with you. Because I believe the things you do for yourself…” I gesture to their fancy clothes and expensive home. “These things die with you and only you. It’s the things you do for others, the imprint you make on their lives, their hearts. That’s a legacy that will remain far after you’re gone.”

Mr. Hobb’s brows lift. “What in the hell?—”

“Layken is my family now.”

I turn to Layken, arching my brows to ask her if there’s anything else she wants to add, but she shakes her head and squeezes my hand and then turns to walk back to the car.

“Layken!” her mother calls after her.

“Fuck all the way off, Mom.”

“But Lake!

“You too, Dad!” She raises her arm up and waves without looking back. “Thanks for believing in me. Fuck you both very much.”

I smile as I follow Layken back to the car, opening her door for her and waiting as she hops in.

“You good?” I ask softly when she sits back and grabs her seatbelt.

She nods, releasing a big breath, and then beams back at me, her smile melting away any and all dark thoughts from my mind. “Couldn’t be better.”

That’s my girl.

CHAPTER TWENTY

LAYKEN

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