Page 34 of Grumpy Bossy Billionaire Enemy

“You have to keep trying, bro. You have to.”

Troy's pager went off – a clue that he had surgery to attend to or an emergency at the hospital.

I did a few rounds of supervising after leaving Troy's hospital. I dreaded going to a home devoid of Amelia's presence, so I lurked around the hotel until I was sure Amelia's shift had ended. I got home to meet a moody Amelia. She looked like she’d been crying for a long time. I realized that she’d been home long before her shift was over.

I gently raised her head to look at me, “Hey, baby, what's wrong?”

Amelia sniffled a few times before finding the courage to tell me that her parents had told her to resign as a doctor.

“What?”

Amelia swallowed, trying to put herself together. “They came by the hospital today and asked Troy to terminate my employment.”

I shouldn't care to ask why they'd want to make such a bad decision for their daughter, but I'd like to be diplomatic with them.

“Did they give any reason?”

“They want me to get pregnant and raise their grandchildren just like my mother did.”

“You are not resigning.” I kissed Amelia’s forehead and promised, “I will talk to your parents.”

“Did Troy terminate your employment?”

Amelia shook her head in response, “No,” she replied, “he asked me to talk to you first.”

“Come for dinner; we will deal with it tomorrow.”

Right now, I was okay with canceling all my appointments. I wouldn't stop until I spoke with Amelia's parents.

****

Amelia’s parent’s home was as I remembered it. I’d been there the second time I had met Amelia – the first time I fell in love with their daughter. Interestingly, I was here again to inform them to stay away from my wife's business and she would not be resigning. The house staff walked me to the pool, where I saw my mother and Amelia's parents having a discussion. I shook Mr. Johnson's hand and kissed Mom and Amelia's mother on the cheek. They all look up at me, waiting for me to speak.

I turned to Mr. Johnson. "I'd like to speak to you privately."

“If this concerns Amelia resigning from work, you can discuss it with us. We made the decision collectively.”

“You made a decision that affects my wife behind me?” I bit my lip. “Did you forget that she is my wife?"

“She is also our daughter! She was our daughter before she became your wife. We made her into what she is today.”

“This is beyond you, Henry,” Mother said. “They’ve made their decision.”

“Amelia is grown up enough to make her own decision.” I reminded them that their daughter was an adult whose decisions matter.

“Amelia is too work-oriented to build a home with wonderful children,” Amelia’s mother disagreed. “We want her to build a home just like I did. Just like your mother did.”

"At the expense of her career?" My voice carried pain as I spoke. My voice also bore Amelia's pain for always doing whatever her parents asked of her.

My voice also bore the pain on Troy's shoulder, a boy who couldn't even be a regular kid after Father’s death. I also bore the pain of the unrealistic expectations our parents had put on us both to become like them.

“I guess you leave me with no choice,” I replied, dipping my hands in my pockets as I motioned to walk away.

“What are you planning to do?” Mother asked, and I turned back to her.

“Vasectomy,” I replied. “You won't have to worry about getting grandchildren, and Amelia can remain a doctor.”

Mother's face turned gray. Amelia's parents laughed it off. They thought I was bluffing. Only my mother knew how serious I was about a vasectomy. She still believed that I was still as reckless as ever; she knew better than to take my words for a bluff.

---