Page 132 of Show Me How
“I don’t have one to put on your head, but I was hoping it would still count.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“You don’t seem to mind too much,” I drawl.
“I’ll suck it up, I guess.”
And then she’s kissing me again, making it true.
39
MILLIE
Shade liftsmy suitcase into the trunk of his car like it weighs nothing. It slides in quickly, and then he’s reaching for the smaller one, treating it carefully after having watched me fill it with expensive skincare and makeup.
I hover close to him, palming the side of the car. “This is your last chance to make me take my own car. You can’t decide three hours into the drive that you regret coming here to get me and dump me on the side of the road, you know?”
“I can’t?” he asks, straightening and shutting the trunk. “Damn.”
“I’m being serious! If I go back with you like this now, we may as well be husband and wife.”
“That was easy,” he rasps, dipping down to kiss me just once before smacking my ass. “Get in, princess. We’re going home now.”
I watch him round the hood with the confidence of a man who doesn’t have a single doubt in his head, and that’s more than enough for me.
“Millicent! If you leave right now, that’s it,” Mom calls, stomping down the driveway.
While I feel a small wiggle of fear in my stomach, I know it’ll go away eventually. Today, I’m deciding what the rest of my life is going to look like. I believe her when she says that this is it. Unlike when I fled from the wedding, this is permanent. I’m making a conscious choice to leave. There’s no running this time.
I’m going to do it with my head high, knowing that I’m doing what’s best for me.
Shifting, I face her. “Iamleaving, Mom. We both know this place isn’t ever going to make me happy the way I deserve to be, even if you refuse to believe it.”
“You’re a Harrington,” she argues, stopping a few feet away from where I stand.
“That’s not a reason for me to stay.”
“There are obligations?—”
I cut her off, frowning. “You’re not getting it. I don’t care about the obligations that you’ve forced on me. They’re not my weight to bear, and I’m choosing an alternative. If you love me at all, you’ll accept that and let me go without giving me more reason to never consider coming back to visit.”
“Being a Harrington isn’t a part-time position. You don’t get to throw it away and only come back when you feel like it.”
“Why does it have to be all or nothing?”
My question is followed by the slow roll of tires on pavement. Then, a door slamming shut. My entire body clenches at the heavy sound of footsteps approaching from behind me.
“What’s going on?” Dad doesn’t wait for me to reply before speaking again. “Millicent?”
“I’m leaving,” I answer firmly before twisting and meeting his hard gaze.
He looks to where Shade’s standing back on my side of the car, having moved without me noticing.
“You have the nerve to disrespect me by coming onto my property and taking my daughter?”
It’s embarrassing having your father scold your grown boyfriend like this. Almost as embarrassing as this has all been hurtful. Instead of one of my parents caring enough about me to try and understand where I’m coming from, they’re too stubborn.
Shade keeps his focus on my father, not backing down even as I try to will the ground to open up beneath me.
