Page 286 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 9
“I’m sorry, pumpkin, but Daddy’s on the phone. We can play in just a minute. It won’t take long, I promise.” He cleared his throat. “Hi, Mila. Sorry about that, Emma and I were in the middle of a game of Candy Land.”
He hadn’t been talking to me when he said pumpkin. He was talking to my youngest half-sister. “You’re playing Candy Land?” I asked, trying not to sound hurt.
“Yes. It’s a board game.” His voice was so formal.
I knew what Candy Land was. I wasn’t surprised by the game, I was just surprised thathewas playing it. My dad had never played games like that with me growing up. He’d always wished I was a boy. He taught me how to play football, swing a baseball bat, and shoot a basket. He didn’t play Candy Land. Why was he suddenly so content with having daughters? He was 21 years too late. “Oh,” was the only thing I could think of to say. “How are you? How are Emma and Isabella?”
“We’re all good. Nancy too.”
I pressed my lips together. Of course he’d focus on the fact that I hadn’t asked about Nancy. But I’d just talked to her. I could tell she was good. She was as uptight and bitchy as ever. “Great,” I gritted through my teeth. “What have you been up to?” Why was small talk with him so painful?
“We just got back from vacation yesterday and are recouping this weekend.”
Recouping from a vacation? Why was that necessary? “Where did you go?”
“Down to Galveston with the whole family.”
The whole family? What about me?I blinked, telling my impending tears to fuck off. “That sounds fun.”
“It was.”
I waited for him to ask how I was. Where I was. What I was doing. If I was going on any vacations this summer. Anything. But of course he didn’t. He didn’t even know I was at the beach we always came to as a family when I was younger.
“I know, pumpkin,” his voice sounded a little farther away. “Just another minute, okay?”
He was trying to get rid of me. Talking to Emma the way he used to talk to me again. Didn’t he realize how much that hurt me? Didn’t he care at all? I gripped my phone a little tighter. The answer to my question was pretty obvious. He didn’t care one ounce about me. He hadn’t for years.
“I should probably go,” he said. “It was nice chatting with you.”
Seriously?We’d been on the phone for less than a few minutes and hadn’t talked about anything. We hadn’t spoken in months. Despite what he wanted, I wasn’t invisible. He couldn’t pretend I didn’t exist the way Nancy always did. “Dad,” I said before hecould hang up on me. I hated the way my voice cracked when I called him Dad. “I’m trying to transfer to the University of New Castle. I haven’t heard back from admissions yet, but can you hold off on sending payment through to SMU? Until I hear back?”
“SMU is a good school.”
“It is. But I wasn’t happy there. I want to come home.”Ask me why I wasn’t happy there. Ask me if I’m okay now. Ask me anything.
“You mean toDelaware, right?”
Don’t worry, I don’t mean home to you.“Of course. I’m actually already back in town at the beach we used to come to when I was little.”
“Oh.”
I waited for him to recall the good times with me. Any times with me. But he didn’t.
“Well in that case, that’s fine,” he said. “Whatever you want. Just send me an email when you hear. It’s easier that way.”AKA don’t call me again.
“Why is that easier? Because Nancy hates when I call? I tried your cell phone but you didn’t pick up.”
“It’s off. I told you, we’re recouping this weekend. Just taking some family time.”
“And what am I?”
“You know what I meant,” he said.
No. I didn’t. Instead of saying anything at all, I just wiped under my eyes, not knowing when the tears had started to fall.
“And speaking of Nancy, the two of us had a discussion. We need to start saving for our girls’ future. So this year of tuition will be the last thing we’re footing the bill for. So just be aware in case you lose some credits in the transfer. And make plans accordingly for after graduation.”
Our girls.The fact that I wasn’t one of them was blatantly clear. He was finally cutting me off. I wasn’t surprised. Right after the divorce he threw money and gifts at me, like that made up for the lack of him showing up. But it had gotten less and less over the years. The only thing he paid for now was my tuition. I figured this would happen soon anyway. And I wasn’t even surprised by the way he worded it, like this was the last time he was ever going to talk to me. He was finally erasing me from his new perfect life, like I was just a bag of garbage he could toss away. “Okay.” My voice sounded small. All I wanted to do was scream obscenities at him. Instead, I said okay. Nothing about this conversation was okay.
