Emily's pov
When I was little and my family felt complete, my dad would often take me to the park. It was our special place where we unwind around nature, sitting idly by a bench feeding the ducks in the lake.
Now, several years later I am sitting on the same bench next to my father. But the familiar warmth was no longer there; it had grown cold over the years. Rather than my father, he felt like a stranger, an acquaintance that I used to be closer to.
And that hurt more than I could ever describe.
At first neither of us said anything to each other, then he was the first to speak up.
"How have you been?"
That question was so dismissive to everything that I've endured ever since he practically kicked me out on my nose for his true family. He said it like I went out for a stroll that lingered for too long and then just came back.
"It's been great, at least much better than when I was in the house with you guys," I couldn't pretend even though I had come here to at least ease up some of the wrinkles in our relationship, seeing the way he spoke just drove me to anger.
"How can you refer to your family like that?" He said sound in genuinely hurts and turning around to look directly at me and not the ducks, "if you know how worried all of us have been all this time, I tried to reach out to you but you refused to pick up my calls and then you just suddenly called yesterday. I didn't even hold it against you and arranged for us to meet immediately."
The more he spoke the more I just wanted to end this entire conversation and go back to Mr Williams; the man that had shown me far more understanding than my own so-called family.
"What did you expect me to do father? To apologize for an offense that I didn't even commit. I was obviously framed but because you don't want to see your family for what they are it's easier to believe that I'm the one lying," tears were burning the corner of my eyes threatening to come out and expose just how much hurt I was experiencing my heart but I held it back to maintain my cold exterior.
Father didn't say anything for a long time and when he finally spoke he had his hands on his legs.
"Then why did you reach out to me? I thought you wanted to sort things out," hw reminded me of my goal here, even if my relationship was as good as done with these people I had to pretend that we still had something close to a family so Mr Williams wouldn't be disappointed.
"I'm getting married soon, my fiance wants to see you," I dropped the bomb without any buffer.
My words seemed to crawl slowly into my father's mind and by the time they had fully settled he was shocked to say the least, his haw on the ground.
"You? Marriage? How? When? Why?!" He was gesturing with his hands because of the incredulity of my words.
Nobody had even heard me whisper about a boyfriend before and now I was talking boldly about marriage, but I didn't come here to explain myself to him I just came here to tell him the facts.
"Yes that's the truth, I'm getting married soon and the man in question wants to see you, my 'family',"
Father was still struggling to wrap his head around what I just said, "but you can't be serious, you didn't even have a boyfriend before!"
"We've been dating for a while," I said, "secretly, we wanted our relationship to be private without anybody getting involved, that's why I didn't tell you about it."
His eyes shifted from shocked to genuinely depressed.
"Emily, is our relationship so bad now that I am now 'anybody' to you?"
My heart softened for a moment, I closed my eyelids and took a picture of the man that had run through this park with me. The man who crouched to console me when my kite would get destroyed was the one who bought me ice cream the moment my eyes would just stray over to the truck.
But that picture was soon shattered when I remembered the man that I looked at so heartlessly as he told me that the only way I could stay under his roof was if I apologized for an offense I didn't even commit.
The man who was so stubbornly against listening to my own side of the story.
"He is a busy man, and he wants to meet you before Thursday," I said ignoring what he said earlier.
He took a deep breath, his lips parted ready to let out a protest but nothing came out, just silence then a defeated sigh.
"I'm free anytime before then."
"My dad is really excited to meet you," I said to Mr Williams as I brought his morning coffee and set it on his table.
"I'm looking forward to meeting him too," he said, reaching out for the coffee.
His eyes snapped over to me.
"Something wrong?" Why was he always so observant? Couldn't anything just get past him for once?
"No it's nothing,"I lied right out of my teeth, he continued to watch me for a while then took a sip of his coffee. He paused, his gaze growing serious.
"There is more sugar than usual," he said, and my face went red.
I had never gotten his coffee order wrong once.
This was such an embarrassment, maybe I should have just told my father that we couldn't meet up at all.
"I'm sorry, it must have skipped my mind, let me go and get you another one…"
"Don't worry, it's not too bad I'll take it like that anyways." He said even though he physically cringed with each sip.
I left his office, my mind spinning.