I stepped in and turned around in a circle. The room looked more like a small library than an office. I suddenly felt weird for not knowing what his parents did. James never talked about them. So I really knew nothing about them at all. Except that they were hurting James. That was all that I needed to know.
His father cleared his throat and I turned toward him. "Miss Taylor, let me apologize for inviting Isabella to this event."
James' mother crossed her arms in front of her chest and didn't say a word.
"Thank you for saying that." I sighed with relief. I had every intention of yelling at them as soon as we were alone, but I bit my tongue. This whole thing was just a huge misunderstanding. I could still fix this.
"We realize that option should have been presented to James at a different time."
"A different time?" You mean not at all?
"Yes. Once we settle this," he said.
"Settle what?" I asked.
James' mother shook her head. "There's no reason to be formal, Jonathan. We all know why we're here." She stared at me for a second like I was completely dense and walked over to the desk. She opened up a drawer and pulled out a checkbook.
You've got to be kidding me. "I don't want your money. That's not what I wanted to talk about. I wanted to talk about the way you've been treating your son."
She tore a check out of the booklet and stuck her hand out to me.
I bit my lip, trying to prevent myself from crying. How could they think that's why I was dating their son? "I'm in love with James."
"Of course." She sounded disgusted as she pulled out another check. She set them both down on the desk and slid them toward me.
I looked down. Both checks were already made out to me. And they were each for one million dollars. They had already written them. They never had any intention of getting to know me. This had been their plan the whole time. "Don't you want him to be happy?" My voice sounded small and sad.
"That's really no concern of yours," his mother snapped.
"Yes it is. I'm his fiancée. All I care about is his happiness."
"This charade has gone on long enough. I thought it would sizzle out on its own, but now I see that we need to step in before it's too late. So that's what we're doing. Because we do care about his happiness. And we won't let him ruin his life over some girl. It's just a matter of time before he comes to his senses. We're just helping it along. Now take the money and disappear from his life. That's the offer."
"I don't want your money." I had clenched my hands into fists. "You think this is showing him that you care? Instead of accepting him how he is? Your son is sweet and caring and..."
"And he doesn't know what's best for him. You think marrying a middle class girl is helping him? Pulling him down to your level?" She made the same noise with her throat that Isabella had made earlier. "He's a Hunter." She picked up the checks and threw them at me.
Her words made me shiver. "He may be a Hunter, but he's in love with me."
"He doesn't love you." She looked me up and down. "He's attracted to you for some reason. And I don't even see why. You're quite common. Isabella and him have a real bond. Our families are connected. And they're going to work it out."
"There's nothing to work out. They're divorced."
"Which was a mistake. They both realize that. And they're working on fixing it."
She made it seem like it was already happening. I wasn't going to let her crawl under my skin. That was nonsense. "He doesn't love her."
"Again, that is none of your business. You'll never be one of us. Even if you have conned our son into living in sin with you for the past two years. Enough is enough."
"I don't want to be one of you." I tried to keep my head up high even though all her words seemed to cut through me like a knife. "I'm glad I never will be." I leaned down and picked up the checks off the floor.
James' mother smiled. "What a relief."
"Because James and I want nothing to do with you." I tore up the checks and let the pieces flutter to the ground. "I was hoping that we could come to an understanding, but it's clear that you're not interested in listening to me. Or your son. So you're officially uninvited to the wedding. Not that you ever accepted the invitation in the first place. And you're uninvited to be a part of the rest of our lives as well. You won't even get to hold your grandchildren. So congratulations to both of you. You've lost your eldest son. I hope you're happy."
James' father cleared his throat. "Miss Taylor, you seem like a smart girl. We hope that you'll make the right decision. Please let yourself out when you've calmed down." He took a step toward the door.
"I'm not done. I came here trying to give you both the benefit of the doubt. But do you have any idea how much you've hurt him? Forcing him to marry Isabella even though he didn't love her? He would have done anything to make you happy. Don't you see that? He's tried so hard to please both of you. But you're impossible. Do you even know what he's been through? He was depressed. And it's your fault. You made him an addict."
"Enough!" yelled his dad. "Our son's shortcomings are no one's fault but his own. He's never known what's best for him. He chose to find solace in vices because he's weak. He's always been weak." His father's words made tears come to my eyes.
"James is the strongest person I know. Strong enough to walk away from his own parents. And thank goodness, because the thought of ever being in the same room as either of you again makes me feel sick to my stomach. You're both pretentious snobs. And you don't deserve his love."
"Is that quite all?" his father asked. "Are you done insulting us in our own house?"
"If you give me more time, I'm sure I can think of something else to say." I glared back at him. I knew I was being childish. But it was better than punching him in the face, which is what I really wanted to do.
"There is one more check in the check book. We're willing to pay you five million dollars total to walk away from our family. I suggest you take it."
"Or what?"
"You may think that we don't love our son, but we're willing to do anything to protect him."
"He doesn't need your protection. What he needs is your love. What is wrong with you?"
His father frowned. "We need to get back to our guests." He walked out of the room without another word. James' mother stared at me for a second before following her husband out of the office.
I sunk into one of the chairs in front of the desk and put my face in my hands, finally letting my tears free. Why hadn't I just left with James when he told me to? I hadn't believed him. I didn't think there was any way that his parents were as bad as he said. But he was right. They were absolutely horrid. And now James was out somewhere alone. I thought about earlier in the week when his mother called. He had seemed so happy that they were finally willing to meet me. He let himself get his hopes up, just to be crushed by them again. And I had put him in that situation. He was probably furious with me. The thought just made me cry even harder.