I was back home, but I wasn’t in the mood for work. So I stuck around at home, lazing around.

It was something new to me. I’d worked hard because I knew it was the way out for me. I’d rarely taken days off, and when I did, it was to go out hiking. Never to stay at home and do nothing, it wasn’t in my fucking genes. Work, work, work that was all us men ever did in our family. Maybe that was the fucking problem, the reason that we were so dysfunctional as a family.

On my third day back, I woke up and checked my phone. It was mid-morning, and the nit-picky side of my personality was scandalized. Usually, I was up at the break of dawn. I normally went for a run around the neighborhood before heading back in for a shower, then got dressed and ready for work.

Instead, I got out of bed in an old pair of sweats and a t-shirt, scratching my head as I yawned. I’d stayed up late contemplating some useless shit I couldn’t even remember, but at least it kept my mind off my problems for the time being.

I wasn’t going anywhere, but I headed for the shower anyway. One thing I was refusing to fudge on was showering when I woke up. I brushed my teeth as the shower warmed up, and as I blinked the sleep from my eyes, I caught a glance at my reflection.

Well, damn, I thought. I looked like shit.

I hadn't shaved for the past few days, and I had a nice little beard growing in, a pale blond one that wouldn’t be too noticeable to others but it was enough to get me to frown. I had bed hair too, and I ran my hands through it, feeling a few knots in the growing locks.

“I need a haircut,” I decided. I’d have to get it before I went back in to work or people would stare and start more rumors.

I finished brushing my teeth and jumped into the shower. I took my time, letting the hot water pour over my skin, trying not to think of the two times I’d woken up after Jessi left me alone to wash away the evidence of what had happened between us. I couldn’t help it though, and I thought back to those two nights as well.

“Fuck,” I growled to myself, looking down at my rising cock.

I ended up getting myself off before I got out of the shower. I stood in front of my bathroom mirror to blow dry my hair and shave off the growing beard. Once I was satisfied with my look, I left the bathroom.

Back in the bedroom, I moved to the closet to try and decide what to wear. Most of my wardrobe consisted of formal wear or hiking gear and my work out clothes.

Maybe I could go out today. My fridge was getting a bit empty. Besides, I was going to have to get back into the outside world at some point, might as well start small.

I picked a shirt, a pair of slacks, and a belt, then put them on. I thought about putting on socks, but decided against them, picking out a pair of loafers. Dressed, I went to my living room and turned the TV on for background noise, picking up the tablet I’d left on my coffee table to check out the news.

An hour later, my doorbell rang.

I frowned to myself because I almost never got visitors. The few people who did visit me at home were family. Usually, it was just Mason. Kevin didn’t visit me, and Dad only dropped by at the office. I wasn’t sure who it was, but I got up to check my security monitor.

“Really?” I muttered, scowling at the man on the monitor.

I was suddenly glad I’d decided not to dress and walk around my home like a slob for the day. Dad had come for a visit.

With reluctance, I went to open the door. Dad had his back to me as he looked up and down the street, turning when he realized I was right behind him.

He looked just as I’d last seen him. We both had the same physique and were at the same height. He had the same blond hair and grey eyes as me. Plenty of people commented on how much we looked like each other, way too many in fact, like Dad was exactly what I would look like in twenty or so years. He was dressed in a polo-shirt and slacks with loafers, not so different from how I was dressed. My eyebrows shot up because it was rare to see Dad out of a suit, but I was more surprised to see him at my doorstep at all.

“Nice place you have here,” he said, looking around again before meeting my gaze. “Are you going to let me in, or are we going to do this at the door?”

I was so tempted to just have it out with him right there, but I didn’t need my neighbors looking on at any spectacle. Dad would be leaving soon but I still had to live here. No need to make things harder for myself. Still, it was with reluctance that I stepped aside for him to walk in.

“What are you doing here, Dad?” I asked, instead of a real greeting, just like he’d done. “Don’t you have a hotel to look after?”

He turned to give me a wry smile. He walked to the other side of my living room, where the glass gave the perfect view outside. Not as good as from my balcony, because there I could at least breathe in the mountain air along with the view, but I would hardly be taking Dad to my room.

“I wondered how long I should wait to see you,” he said. “Before and after you found out the truth.”

“You can say it bluntly,” I said, voice thick with sarcasm. “You mean after I found out that you used Emily to lie about you having a heart attack, just to get me home.”

He had his back to me, hands in his pockets so I couldn’t figure out what he was thinking, and exactly what he’d come to me for. After a minute of silence, I let out an explosive sigh.

“Seriously, Dad. What did you come here for? If its business, it can wait until I get back to my office. I’m taking the whole week off.”

Dad let out a sigh. “I came here to talk. Like really talk, like I should have a long time ago.”

I was left stunned, and I couldn’t say anything to that. It was exactly what I’d wanted, but now that he was here, I wasn’t sure I wanted to have this talk at all.

“We can start with your mother,” he said, his voice going gruff. “I know I wasn’t there for you as I should have been when she passed away. I was too busy dealing with my grief at the time, and by the time I realized that it was too late. You were still a young boy, but you were slowly making yourself independent.”

I swallowed back the sudden lump in my throat. “You don’t have to say anything, Dad.”

He went on as if he hadn't heard me.

“When I realized what I’d done, I thought about how to fix it. I knew I couldn’t be there for you as much as I would like, and I didn’t want to leave you to be raised by nannies. So, I figured it was time to start looking for a second wife, maybe too soon, and I found her and brought her home. I wasn’t sure I could love again after losing your mother, but I grew to love her, and I started a new family with her. Again, it was too late by the time I realized you were isolating yourself from that family instead of trying to be a part of it. That was my second mistake.”

My hands fisted at my sides as he continued speaking. It wasn’t out of anger. My fingers were shaking, but even tightening them didn’t stop the fine trembling that was overtaking my body.

“I wasn’t sure what to do,” he continued, “as I watched you grow up looking at your half-siblings and stepmother like strangers. I tried to bridge that gap so many times, only to be met with failure, making numerous mistakes I stopped counting.”

“Why are you saying all this?” I cut in, speaking through gritted teeth, unable to stand much more. “Why are you saying all of this only now, huh?”

Finally, he turned around. His lips were flattened, and his eyes had a suspicious sheen to them.

“Because, Trent, I came here to apologize to the son I never did right by. I know this is coming late, but I would like to change that.”

I sneered at him. “You’re right about one thing—this is way too late. I’m not sure I even care anymore, so you just wasted a trip.”

“Why can't you give them a chance?” he asked with a narrowing of his eyes.

“I have given them chances,” I countered. “I talk to them, don’t I? Besides Emily, but what am I supposed to talk to her about?”

“What about Alice?” he asked, voice neutral.

I let out a harsh laugh. “There’s even less reason for me to talk to your wife. That woman is nothing but a menace, and you have no idea how many times I wish she never existed or come into our lives.”

“Trent!”

“Do you even have any idea what her brother did to me?” I shouted back, and that gave him pause. It was obvious that he had no idea. “And you seriously call yourself my father?”

We stood on opposite sides of the room just watching each other for a while. My body still trembled, while Dad just stood there looking calm. I knew he was a little flustered because I’d had time to read him under his professional mask.

“What do you mean about Alice’s brother?” he finally asked.

I let out a derisive snort. “Do you even care?”

“Trent,” he said my name in warning.

I watched him in defiance for a moment before speaking.

“You know he worked at the boarding school you sent me too, right? Right up until middle school, and then I made you send me to a high school with no affiliations to that school, and I ended up in the same place as Jessi.”

He nodded, prompting, “Go on.”

“He was my warden at the school. That gave him the right to administer disciplinary action, only, he didn’t always report it, just because he could.”

Dad’s eyes were narrowed, and I wondered if he was clued in already.

“He did something to you,” he voiced it as a statement, not a question.

I gave him a grin for his trouble. “You guessed it, Dad. The man was a bastard. And do you know what that bastard used to tell me, when he would pick me up for no reason, lock me in a room with him, then belt me until I was begging him to stop, and he still did it? He kept telling me how you were all starting a new family, how I was going to get tossed aside. And of course his sister’s little brats would be heir to everything, and she would hand him a nice little nest egg for his trouble in looking after an unwanted brat like me.”

Dad was looking at me with a shocked look that was at the same time the most satisfying thing, and yet not. I hated reliving the memories, but I wanted him to know. To realize just how deep my resentment for him went, and how it wasn’t all that unfounded.

“In all that time, Dad, you never helped me. And for years, I had to put up with that bastard’s shit. Then I decided if you were all going to throw me away anyway, I might as well be the one to leave first.”

“Son, I never would have—” he started, but I cut him off with a slash of my hand.

“Save it, Dad,” I growled harshly. “I’m not looking for pity, or an apology, or any assurance. I just figured you might as well know, because you always wondered why I never wanted to go back home. Why I never wanted anything to do with that woman.”

“Alice had nothing to do with this,” he said.

I watched him for a moment, before breaking into chuckles. Suddenly feeling exhausted, I walked over to the couch and slumped into it while Dad remained standing. I couldn’t even look at him anymore because I didn’t want to see the expression on his face. I meant it when I said I didn’t want an apology from him. It was way too fucking late for that.

“Trent,” he said, his voice firm. “I’m going to look into this now that I know. I can also promise you one thing: Alice had no hand in what her brother was doing. She wouldn’t have known, and she’s never given him anything, so everything he told you was a lie. Ever since she heard about you she sincerely wanted to meet you, wanted to be a mother to you. I know she would never replace Mom for you, she doesn’t for me either, but she wanted to try. The least you could have done was given her a chance.”

I pressed my lips together, not wanting to admit he was right. That I could have been wrong about everything, and because of the misunderstanding, I’d missed out on far more than I should have. I’d missed out on the family I could have had if only I had opened up and spoken up sooner.

Back then, I had made a choice. And it wasn’t the right one.

“I won’t force you on this matter,” Dad said after a moment of silence. “You’re a smart boy, and I know you can think for yourself. And also, Jessi makes the finest tiramisu I ever tasted. I don’t know what happened between the two of you, and I don’t care, but if you don’t bring her back to Charlotte, I will have your balls for it.”

I couldn’t help but let out a laugh because his words mirrored Emily’s, but then I let out a sigh and looked over at Dad. He stood there a little awkwardly, not quite meeting my gaze. Then he walked over to me, patted me on the shoulder, and headed for the front door to let himself out.

“Well,” I muttered. “I guess I wasn’t any easier, was I?”

It would be so easy to put all the blame on my dad, but I knew that would be wrong. I was smart enough to know that part of the communication problem between us started with me. I never gave Dad much of a choice when it came to how to approach me. If I’d come clean, talked instead of waiting for him to make the first move, it would never have reached the point of him faking a heart attack to get me home.

I needed to make a change. It was way past time, and my thoughts had already been leading me in that direction for a while now.

To start with, just because he’d mentioned her, I figured I might as well bring Jessi back to the fold.

I ran to my bedroom where I’d left my phone on the nightstand and made a call for the family helicopter to pick me up.