Page 93 of Grumpy Billionaire Seeking Wife

I feel like this is a really important moment in my life, but I also feel like I'm stuck. I feel like I don't understand my emotions, my being, my anything. Wes is so close to me, and I love him, yet I hate him. My dad, I'm really going to see him again, yet I hate him, as well. But there's still that little girl insideof me that loves him, that remembers how much he loved me as a child, and I can't reconcile how he could leave me. I don't even know how I'm going to tell my mom. I don't know what I'm going to say.

Wes pulls down a side street that is full of modest homes and pulls outside of a small green house.

"That's it," he says, nodding to the house as he turns off the ignition. I stare at it. It's nothing fancy, but it's still a home. I wonder if he lives there alone. My breath catches as I see the front door open, and someone steps outside. For a few moments, I think it's my dad, but then I realize it's a woman. Middle-aged with blue jeans and dark, curly hair. She's saying something into a phone, but we're too far away to hear.

"Are you sure this is where he lives?" I say, finally looking at Wes. He nods.

The woman starts shouting into the phone, and for some reason, a feeling of imbalance falls over me. She looks upset, and then the door opens again, and I see a foot come out. My breath catches, and then he steps down, and I see it's my dad. I'd recognize him anywhere, even though his hair is gray and he's got a bit of a belly now. He looks tired. He looks familiar, yet not.

"That's him," I say to Wes.

He reaches over and squeezes my knee. I want to push his hand away, but I don't. I'm grateful for the comfort in this moment.

My dad and the woman start arguing. He grabs the phone and throws it to the ground. She slaps him, and I just sit there. Should we do something? We can't do anything.

Wes says, "Let's see how this plays out." The woman steps back, and my dad is heaving and shouting.

I watch as he pulls something from his back pocket and takes a swig.It's ten o'clock in the morning,I think to myself,and he’s drinking.I stare at Wes, who is frowning.

"If it gets worse, I'll go out," he says. "Don't worry, okay?"

I nod slowly. I feel cold. I feel like we should leave. I feel like I don't recognize this man. He's not who I remember. This man seems angry and mean.

And then another car pulls up and stops outside the house. I see a girl jumping out. She looks like she's about eighteen and runs to the front. I lean forward, and Wes puts the windows down.

"Mom, is everything okay?" the girl shouts.

"I think that's her mom," I say to Wes as if he hadn't just heard as well. He nods slowly.

"Dad, fucking stop it. Leave her alone."

I freeze. I look over at Wes, my eyes wide.I have a sister, I think to myself. I stare at her. She looks familiar, yet not. She looks as if she's stressed.

"Mom, come with me." She's screaming now and grabbing the older woman, but the older woman is pulling her away. "You need to come with me."

"I'm not coming. He needs to fucking stop drinking. I have told him if he doesn't stop, I'm going to throw all his shit out."

"Mom, please."

"I'm not leaving," the mother screams.

I watched my dad pull out his flask again and drink some more. I lick my lips nervously. My heart is racing. I don't know what to say or what to do. I don't know if I should get out of the car.

The mom is crying now, and my dad is just standing there, doing nothing, glaring. My sister goes up to him, and he pushes her back.

"Fuck you, Dad," she screams. "Fuck you, you alcoholic piece of shit. Mom, please. I can't do this anymore. You have to come with me."

"I'm not leaving him," the mom screams.

I watch as my sister starts crying and rushes to her car. The next thing I know, she's driving away. The lady and my father just stand there and then go back into the house.

Wes and I look at each other. I can't even cry, I'm overwhelmed, flabbergasted. I don't even know how to process what I've just seen.

"You, okay?" he says.

"Not really." I shake my head. "Can we go and get a coffee or something?" I ask him, and he nods.

I watch as he putscoffee shopinto Google and starts driving. As we round the corner, I recognize my sister's car parked at the side.

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