Chapter 78: Chapter 78

It was 11:00pm. Amy was exhausted from crying, but at the same time she couldn’t stop crying. The tears kept flowing freely down her face.

How did her life get to this?

Why can’t her relationship be like everyone else?

Why is her life so complicated?

All these thoughts kept depressing her even more. She can’t imagine herself getting married to a guy she barely knows. She needs to talk to her dad.

With that conclusion, Amy wiped her tears and stood up from the floor, where she was previously seated and headed for her dad’s bedroom. On getting there, she knocked on the door twice but got no response, so she opened the door and walked into the room. When she got inside, she realized that her dad wasn’t in the room.

‘Where could he be?’ she wondered as she left the room.

She looked for him in his study, but he wasn’t there either. She then headed for the living room as she couldn’t think of anywhere else, since it was already late.

As she got to the living room, she noticed a bottle of vodka on the coffee table while her dad was seated on his favourite armchair with an empty glass in his hand. It looked like he was deep in thought, as his forehead creased with concentration.

“Dad” she quietly called, not wanting to startle him.

Her dad turned towards her direction with tired eyes.

‘Why does he look so exhausted?’

“I thought you were asleep” he said with a small smile.

‘Is he being serious? He breaks an unexpected news and expects her to fall asleep like nothing happened, like it wasn’t her future he talked about some hours ago.’

“Can we talk?” She asked in turn.

Henry nodded in agreement and gestured for her to sit down before placing the empty glass on the coffee table beside the bottle of vodka.

“I won’t get married to Sean” she began, going straight to the point.

Amy decided not to beat around the bush, so her dad wouldn’t get the wrong idea.

“And why is that?” Her dad asked in a serious tone, staring intensely at her.

His stare gave her goosebumps, making her reluctant to continue the conversation.

‘If you don’t address the issue today, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.’ Her subconscious said to her, giving her the courage she needed.

“I don’t love him” she replied.

“Is that all?” Her dad asked to her surprise. He sounded unaffected by her reply, making her wonder if she was actually talking to her dad.

“Amy, love doesn’t just happen. It takes time to develop” he continued. His voice softened a bit as he talked about love, but his eyes still held some seriousness, like he knew where the conversation was headed.

What is wrong with her dad? Didn’t he just hear what she just said?

“Dad, you’re not getting my point… I will never love Sean in that way” she stated, hoping he’ll get her message now.

“You two were getting along just fine”

“That doesn’t mean I love him, dad… Besides, you can’t just decide who I get married to like I’m some object. I’m your daughter and this is the 21st century, I should be the one making that choice”

“I’m sorry, princess, but my decision is final”

“What?! You can’t do this to me. You know I’m in a relationship”

“As a matter of fact, I don’t… You keep avoiding the subject whenever I asked”

“That still doesn’t give you the right to choose a partner for me!”

“Don’t speak to me in that tone of voice!” Henry yelled, standing up from his seat.

“I’m your father and I will not tolerate you disrespecting me” he firmly stated.

Her dad’s sudden outburst brought tears to her eyes.

Why is he doing this to her?

Where did she go wrong?

“I’m in love with someone else”

Amy wasn’t going to back down easily. She wasn’t going to let her dad treat her like one of his business deals.

“Really? And who is this person you’re so in love with?” Henry snapped back with heavy sarcasm. He was fed up with Amy’s excuses. She was making this a big issue, when in reality it isn’t.

Amy opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She so desperately wanted to give her dad a reply to his question, but she couldn’t at this point because her dad was fuming with indignation.

“I can’t believe this, Amy… Never did I ever imagine that my daughter would be in a relationship I know nothing about”

There was disappointment in her dad’s voice as he said those words, making Amy feel guilty, sad, ashamed, just any negative feeling you could think of.

She deliberately threw away her chances of telling her dad about her relationship with Bryan because she had no idea what Bryan was up to. She doesn’t know what plans he has regarding this issue, so she didn’t want to be forward.

“You’ve been in a relationship for God knows how long, and not once have I seen the person in question. Hell! I don’t even know his name… What if something happens to you? What if he hurts you in the end? Tell me, what do I do in a situation like that?” Her dad added.

Amy had to bite her lower lip hard to stop herself from revealing everything. With the current turn of events, this isn’t something she can do on her own. Bryan has to be present with her when her dad learns the truth.

“We need some more time” she managed to stutter in reply, a sob caught in her throat.

“Is that what he asked you to say, or are you just covering up for the bastard?”

Before Amy could give an answer, Henry interrupted her.

“Whichever way, I will never consent to such a relationship”

“Dad, that isn’t fair” Amy sobbed.

“I can’t get married to a man I know nothing about”

“That’s the point of an engagement. You both will get to know each other better over time… I’m doing this for your own good”

“You always say that, but it’s not true!” Amy yelled in frustration.

“Mom was right all along”

“Amy. Amy!” Henry called his daughter as she ran out of the house.

What has he done?

Amy didn’t bother getting into any of her cars. She ran out of the compound, into the quiet neighborhood. She needed to get as far away from her dad as possible. As soon as she felt she was no where near home, she stopped running and broke down in tears.

After crying for what felt like forever, she noticed that she had her phone with her, so she wasted no time in dialling Bryan’s number.

“Pick up the damn phone” she muttered while sniffling and wiping her eyes.

Bryan on the other hand was in his study. He didn’t bother changing into something casual when he got back from the dinner at Henry’s house, because he wasn’t in the right state of mind to do anything.

Ever since he received that call from Henry at the hotel, he hasn’t been himself. He has been unable to think properly to concentrate at work, or even face Amy. He was a total jerk for leaving her alone at the hotel and he regrets his action so much because he could’ve used that time to tell her of her dad’s plans, that way she wouldn’t have felt so betrayed.

He felt like hitting himself over and over again when he saw the hurt and disbelief in her eyes at the news of her engagement to Sean, but he had to compose himself so his son wouldn’t suspect a thing.

How does he apologize to her for hurting her in such a manner?

He was certain she wouldn’t want to have anything to do with him at this point.

Bryan racked his brain, trying to think of a solution to this whole mess he was in, but he couldn’t make out anything.

He poured himself another glass of whiskey and downed it without hesitation. That was his fifth glass since he locked himself in his study, pretending to be busy. Thank goodness Sean wasn’t the inquisitive type, if not he would’ve been able to dictate that something was bothering his father.

Bryan was about to pour himself another glass of whiskey, when his phone began to ring. He ignored it because he didn’t want to be disturbed, but the caller was persistent, so he answered the call without looking at the caller ID.

“Was this the reason why you abandoned me at the hotel?”