Page 117 of Give My Everything
“You know, Ben, I have to be honest with you, I don’t understand all this animosity between us.”
“That’s bullshit. Even if I didn’t loathe the very sight of you because you’re a selfish asshole, I’d still want to spit in your face because you’re incapable of taking even a fucking moment of your day to spend with your daughter who is in the hospital.”
“She’s not my daughter and we all know it,” he says, his words coming out with a sigh, as if he’s exhausted at the very idea.
“Then what were you doing there last night, huh? And don’t fucking lie to me.”
There’s a pause, and I wonder if he hung up or if I accidentally did. But then I hear him moving around, possibly the sound of a door closing.
“I have to say, Ben, I know you’re angry at me because of what happened with Krissa, but…Remmy Wallace? That’s the big play you’ve been banking on?”
I grit my teeth, my anger continuing to grow until it feels like it’s going to suffocate me.
“If you think marrying Remmy Wallace is going to get youanythingfrom Bob, you’re sorely mistaken.”
“If I remember correctly, going after Nancy Belton sure did sort things out for me for a short while,” I reply.
Even though I know it’s a mistake to bring up what happened between my dad and Larry, I’m feeling taunted, and it’s too easy of a hit between the eyes for me to pass up.
My dad hums in acknowledgment.
“Yes, you were able to block the sale of the Hermosa Beach Yacht Club. Commendable, truly.” He pauses. “But was it really a battle well won? I seem to recall the wake of that scandal, and it did quite the number on your life, didn’t it?”
My hands clench into fists at my sides.
He’s a master manipulator, my father, a man capable of some absolutely horrible things.
Like earlier this summer when he threatened to drag Hannah’s name through the mud if Wyatt didn’t help him at some sort of ceremony.
Honestly, I think I have it in me to be as ruthless and calculating as he is—maybe even more so. I could absolutely decimate him, rip him into tiny shreds.
But I have to remind myself of the ways my dad and I are different.
He thinks he’s this formidable opponent because he doesn’t have any weak spots.
What that really means is that he has nothing to lose.
And he has nothing to lose because he’s completely ruined his relationships with his entire family.
Wyatt and I are able to be jerked around because we value our relationships, our family, our lovers more than we value winning.
And maybe thatdoesmake my dad bigger and better and stronger.
But it doesn’t make him happier.
It doesn’t satisfy his soul.
Suddenly, everything clicks together and makes sense in a way I didn’t realize it could, in a way I couldn’t have planned for even if I’d been working my hardest.
“You know, dad…it did do a number on my life,” I start, pausing for a moment and taking a deep breath. I know I’m making the right choice, but sometimes, you just need to take a second to fortify your mind if you’re going to take a giant leap. “And that’s why I won’t be doing anything like that again.”
He laughs, something long and deep and riddled with anger. “Sure you won’t.”
“I get that you assume my relationship with Remmy is about how I can get to you, and honestly, at one point, that was true. I knew getting her to marry me would be the greatest way for me to bring you to your knees, especially since Wallace Media owns more than half of Calloway Corporation.”
Atthatstatement, I hear nothing but silence.
“You didn’t think I knew that? That you stumbled through some bad business deals over the years and needed some saving?” I scoff. “The fact that you were able to get an honorable guy like Robert Wallace to help you out and keep it on the down-low still astounds me, but it isn’t my problem. Not anymore. So consider this my notice. I’m waving the white flag. I’m not trying to come after you.”
