Page 134 of Prelude To You

Emily sighed. She looked at my father for a few seconds before meeting my gaze again. “I once asked him that same thing,” she told me.

“Do I even want to know what he said?” I asked, quietly hoping for a loophole.

“He said you were like him. Strong. That nothing could break you. Every adversary was a challenge you bent to your will. And that if there was a choice between living a normal life and carrying on the Belmont legacy, you’d choose tradition because that’s what you were born to do.”

“And you just went along with that?” I asked. “You didn’t tell him that perhaps I should be given that choice? And that perhaps not doing that was bending me tohiswill?”

Emily lifted her chin and looked at me, maternal instincts taking over. “What is going on, Roman? You’re worrying me now.”

“I just want to know if you went along with my father’s resolve to mold me into a worthy heir for the greater good of the empire. How difficult is that to answer?”

There was a moment of stunned silence. I’d never used this harsh tone with Emily. But instead of putting me in my place, her gaze softened. “You know and I know there is no undermining any of your father’s decisions. And the one time I tried, it resulted in my nearly leaving him. But he compromised in his own way eventually. He agreed that when you graduated from your school in Switzerland, you could come home and go to Brown University. I was so happy to have you back here at Belmont Manor, even if it was a little too late. A sweet, happy boywent to Switzerland, and a serious, isolated man came back. So, no Roman, I didn’t always go along with your father.”

“I didn’t know that, Emily. So you’re the reason I didn’t go to Oxford?”

“Yes, I suppose you can say that.”

I gave her an apologetic smile. “Have I ever told you that if it weren’t for your influence, I’d probably be an overbearing bastard like him?”

“You don’t know the man I know, Roman. I wish you did, but you don’t.”

I wiped my face, physically and mentally exhausted. And again I got a goddamn whiff of Isabel. Everything in me was beginning to retaliate against life as I knew it.

“And I can’t imagine that last will and testament is going to give me a break, is it?” I asked. “That damn will is going lay down the law for me, my children, and their children. That would be Roman Henry Belmont the III’s wet dream, dictating to the world from his grave.”

Emily tilted her head, puzzled by my sudden rebellious behavior. “What if he wakes up, Roman? It’s happened to other people, you know.”

“Do you seriously think that’s even a possibility, Emily? He’s been getting the best medical treatment. There’s been very little improvement.”

Suddenly Emily smiled. “Well, if you want to believe his new reader, stranger things have happened.”

I flinched instinctively. “And I take it this person is a qualified medical advisor?”

“Oh stop it. You’re just being grouchy now. Personally I love what she’s done here. It feels comfortable and…well, warm. More importantly, she genuinely cares about him getting better.”

“And you think putting on vintage music, playing Monopoly with a man in a coma and putting little lights on his bedposts will do the trick?” I asked.

“It’s The Carpenters. He loves The Carpenters…”

“Could have fooled me. Here I thought my father only listened to Beethoven and Bach.”

But Emily wasn’t done. “She also insists that he needs to hear familiar voices, so it’s probably not the worst idea to stick your head in here more often.”

“That’s absolutely doable,” I conceded. My gaze moved to the small stuffed bear on the pillow beside my father’s face, and all I could do was shake my head in amusement. “You do realize if he wakes up next to a stuffed toy, he’ll probably think he’s in Hell.”

Emily laughed. “That’s very true. I can see his reaction now… Well anyway, meet Francis.”

This was getting more absurd by the second. “The bear has a name?” I asked.

“Yes, it was a childhood toy apparently. You should meet the reader, Roman. She’s really a lovely young woman with the best of intentions.”

There was no way I was getting sucked into this scenario, and I had no desire to meet this person. “So I’ve heard. But it’s fine. I trust your judgment, Emily.”

For a moment I saw Emily’s eyes glisten. But she quickly blinked back any prospect of tears. “Your father is my life. I’ll do anything to see him get better. Please understand that.”

“I know,” I said softly. “I just don’t want you to get your hopes up."

A knock at the door interrupted me.

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