I touched my nose and realized that the remarks were odd enough coming from his mouth. This was Nathan Tanner, my father who could seemingly find fault with anything I did.
“Sorry, Dad. You should know I seldom go home all these years. I have no idea you changed a new car.”
I cocked my head to one side and gave him an innocent smile. Dad was just shy of announcing in the papers that he had renounced me as his daughter following me refusing his arranged marriage proposal. The whole family did not pay heed to me after that. I would still go back every year for the holidays, but they did not care to spare me any niceties. Why should I go back and put myself through that?
“You unfilial brat. Even you admit yourself that you don’t come back often, huh. Get in now. I have something to say to you,” Nathan pushed the car door open and said sternly.
I got into the car, but I was not willing to face the music coming my way. I tossed him a smile, saying, “I really want to go back. But Dad, you have a wife and another daughter, and you guys are such a happy family. I’d really hate to ruin that by going back to that house. So, you can imagine why I seldom go back nowadays.”
“How dare you!” Nathan slammed on the horn, and the loud noise startled people passing by, causing them to start shouting profanities at my father.
I was not planning on taking the bullets lying down. Drive a dog into a corner and it will fight. I soon lost the patience to fake a smile and growled, “Dad, you always find fault with everything I do whenever I go back home for the holidays. You even ganged up with your sister to humiliate me. Aren’t you guys doing this to me because I refused the arranged marriage back then?
“I think we both know very well if you’ve ever treated me like your daughter. There’s no need for you to pretend to be a good father. Stop looking at me as if I’m the one who only knows to disappoint you. Everyone suffers this way. Since you dislike me that much, why force yourself to come and see me? Just get to the point if you have something to say.”
“You brat! You’re this disrespectful even when you talk to your own father. No wonder Crystal locked herself in the room ever since she came back. Everyone’s saying you’ve bullied her, but she’s still defending you. Why don’t you take a look at what’s written all over the news instead?” Nathan dumped a pile of paper in front of me and snapped.
I lowered my head, and it was the same paper that I had read on the newsstand with the headline — Up-and-Coming Artist Is a Homewrecker. Is Crystal Yates Going Too Far for the Pursuit of True Love? I had not paid close attention to the headline before and had not appreciated how liberating it was to read it.
I replied coolly, “Isn’t that the truth? Dad, are you saying I should apologize to Crystal instead? You’d better save the trouble because that is not going to happen.”
I had given up on any hopes of experiencing any fatherly love since I was young. After suffering bouts of despair, I learned to never trust anyone at home because there simply wasn’t one worth my trust. My estranged father only reminded me of feelings of despair – nothing else.
“How dare you act like you’re in the right here? Do you have any idea what kind of situation you’ve put Crystal in? She’s a public figure, an up-and-coming artist. How is she going to survive after what you’ve done to her? I’ve arranged for a news conference to be held tomorrow. You are going to explain to the reporters how it is all a big misunderstanding. It is a fact that Lyle and Crystal were in love back then.”
What did I just listen to, exactly? Did my own father just favor his niece over his own daughter? Did he just ask me to be the black sheep and admit that I was the third wheel who stood in their way? Infuriated, words blurted out of my mouth almost instantaneously.
“Why on earth would I do that?”
“Crystal is your cousin. Are you not going to help her just this once? It’s such a small favor too!” Nathan roared, seemingly like he was about to devour me.
“A small favor?” I narrowed my eyes and managed a sweet smile. “Does she think she can trample all over me just because she’s my cousin? Dad, I’m your daughter. Why are you favoring your niece over your own daughter? Are you really even my father?”
Noticing my unwavering attitude and stern tone, Nathan finally softened his attitude and sighed, “Crystal is a public figure, and she cannot afford to have negative news bogging her down. You are a nobody, and you have nothing to lose. Just do me a favor, will you?”
