"No. I don't imagine it would. She'd still be a bastard anyway as far as you’re concerned. I don't have time for that. Again, if you want something to change, something real, then fucking do it yourself. I'm tired of this. I have a meeting."
I shifted around him to head out, and he followed and quickly closed the gap. "You're the one who can't forgive and forget."
I whirled on him then, knowing that I really needed to stop having these conversations with him in my fucking hotel. "You piece of shit. Okay, if we’re doing this, then I don't know how you can let it go. You know Garreth Jameson very likely raped your daughter, right?"
The old man paled. "I—I— I know no such thing. How can you be so hateful?"
"You sent him to her. ‘Don't take no for an answer’ you said. The same bullshit you used to feed me."
"He's a refined young man. He would never."
"You're shitting me, right, Dad? He would never? Have you forgotten that many of our members were involved in a human trafficking scandal? Do you really want to tell me the members of the Elite would never?"
He grew even paler. "That cannot be—" He shook his head. "We know his family."
"Oh my God. Do you hear yourself? That piece of shit hurt your daughter, and you're making excuses for him. This is why you and I don't speak. AJ tried to talk to you. She tried to tell you. She was so torn up, and you were just so caught up in her not being exactly what you wanted. You kept trying to throw them together still after that point. That's why she left. Well, that and because you disowned her because she couldn't be your perfect idea of a daughter."
"You think I don't approve of her?"
"I don't care. You owe her. Not me. Not your grandkid. But if AJ and Margaux are smart, they’ll keep you away from that poor baby. But again, I'm not the one you owe the apology to. I don't think there's enough apologies in the world, frankly. But again, that’s not my call. It’s AJ’s. In the meantime, don't approach me again until you've done what I asked. Until then, we barely know each other. Got it?"
"Oh, you are really full of demands, aren't you?"
"If by that you mean I don't fucking need you anymore, you're right. I don't. Our whole lives, you controlled everything. Except Mum. Somehow you couldn't control her because you knew that even though you came with a title, she had the Du Mont name. Without that name, you were just a joke. I really should look and see if I can change my surname. I would rather not be associated with you."
"Don't you dare."
"Old man, you can't stop me. Do what I told you to do. And on the way to that, try being a decent human being. If you can manage that, we can talk. But until you do, we don't have anything to say to each other. Please spare me the time, because these talks of ours, they're becoming trite."
I left him in the lobby and then texted my sister as I made my way to the awaiting town car.
East: Heads up, the old man is hell bent on some kind of reconciliation of some sort. Clearly, I told him where he can go with that. But he has something for the baby. Will you tell him to go fuck himself?"
AJ: …
AJ: What the fuck?
I sighed.
East: Yeah. I'm very confused by the development too. Maybe he's dying. We should be so lucky.
AJ: East, stop it. Why? Do you think he's dying?
East: Here's hoping.
AJ: SMH
East: