Chapter 9 - Daniel's Awakening
Daniel didn't comfort her. He didn't offer a tissue. He stood by the small window, staring out at the gravel delivery driveway, his hands clutched into tight fists.
“Get your things,” Daniel said quietly.
Vanessa sniffled, looking up through mascara streaks. “What?”
“Delete the video. Post the apology. And get your things.”
“Daniel, baby, please,” she pleaded, crawling toward him on her knees across the cheap linoleum floor. “I made a mistake! I was just angry! I wanted them to respect us! I wanted your mother to treat you like the prince you are!”
“My mother built an empire while your mother was teaching you how to marry rich,” Daniel snapped, his voice dropping into a register of icy clarity he had never possessed before. “She worked sixteen hours a day with my dad. When I was sick as a child, she slept on a plastic chair in the hospital while running conference calls from the hallway. And you... you called her pathetic. You called her an old woman who didn't matter.”
“I was wrong! I’ll apologize to her! I’ll go up to the suite right now and get on my knees!”
“She doesn't want your apology,” Daniel said, grabbing his duffel bag and shoving his clothes inside. “And honestly, neither do I. You ran up eleven thousand dollars on my card knowing I had to pay off my business loans next week. You almost cost me my family's legacy. You almost cost me my mother.”
“Daniel, you can’t leave me here! I don’t have a ride! I don’t have any money on my cards!”
Daniel zipped up his bag, slung it over his shoulder, and looked down at her.
“There’s a public bus stop two miles down the highway,” he said coldly. “Take the luggage you brought to show off. Maybe it will keep you warm on the walk.”
He walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him, leaving Vanessa wailing alone in the annex.
Ten minutes later, Daniel arrived at the doors of the Grand Sterling Suite once more. This time, he didn't demand entry. He didn't puff out his chest. He stood outside the double doors, his head bowed, waiting until Richard opened them.
I was sitting in the dining room, enjoying fresh fruit and black coffee.
May you like
Daniel walked in slowly, dropped his bag near the entrance, and walked toward the table. When he reached me, he didn't sit. He dropped to both knees on the polished parquet floor beside my chair.
“Mom,” he whispered, his voice breaking entirely. “I’m sorry. I am so, so sorry.”
