The Exception(50)

“Fine.”

I walked over to where my parents were standing. “We’ll follow you to the Plaza.”

“No. You’ll be coming with us. Your friend can see you another time,” my mother spoke.

I glared at my mother as the rage inside started to consume me.

“I said we’ll follow you to the hotel. He’s coming with me or else you don’t get to talk to me. Do you understand?”

“It’s fine, Jillian.” My father sighed. “Let’s go. Shall we?”





Chapter Thirty-One


Jillian



I took in a deep breath as Drew placed his hand on the small of my back and we climbed into the Bentley.

“The Plaza Hotel, Roland,” he spoke.

“I don’t think I can do this sober. I need a drink. Don’t you keep any liquor in here?” I asked as I looked around.

“Jillian, you’ll be fine.” He took hold of my hand. “Trust me. You can do this and I’ll be there right by your side.”

“I still need alcohol.” I laid my head on his shoulder.

“I can guarantee there’s a fully stocked fridge in their suite. Just grab something when you get in there.”

Roland pulled up behind my parents’ limo and the four of us got out at the same time. My mother glared at me the whole way up to their suite. Once the door shut, the shit was about to hit the fan. My nerves were spastic and I needed to calm down. Walking over to the refrigerator, I opened it and pulled out a bottle of beer.

“What on earth are you doing?” my mother asked in disgust as I took the cap off the bottle and took a large sip.

“I’m drinking a beer. Do you have a problem with that?”

“You better watch your attitude, young lady.” My father pointed at me. “Now sit down!”

“No thank you. I’d rather stand. So, who’s going to go first? Mother? Father?”

“Why did you do it?” my father asked. “After everything your mother and I have done for you, this is how you repay us?”

“And how dare you say those things about Grant,” my mother chimed in. “He’s heartbroken.”

“I’m sure he is,” I spoke in a sarcastic tone. “And to answer your question, Daddy, I did it because I wanted out.”

“What do you mean by that?” he growled.

“I wanted out from the grips of both of you. You ran my entire life. You never once asked me what I wanted.”

“It didn’t matter what you wanted. We’re your parents and we knew what was best for you,” my mother said.

“No! You didn’t know what was best for me,” I shouted. “You never let me explore life and do the things I wanted to do. You were so busy trying to make sure I was the perfect daughter that made you look good that you didn’t give a damn about how I felt.”

“Oh, stop being so dramatic.” My mother waved her hand in front of her face. “We gave you everything you wanted.”

“You gave me everything you thought I wanted!” I pointed at her. “You chose my friends, what I ate, what I could and couldn’t wear, what school I had to attend, college, my career, and my future husband! You didn’t give me a choice, and like a fool, I put up with it for far too long. Grant didn’t want to marry me any more than I wanted to marry him. He cheated on me! Did you know that on the night of his bachelor party, he slept with not one, but two strippers at the same time?!”

My mother looked away with a nasty look on her face. “Grant loves you. He would never do that and what you did to him and to us is unforgivable.” She folded her arms.

“Well, at least we agree on something because what you did to me is unforgivable.”

The room became silent for a few moments, and when I looked over at Drew, there was a deep sadness in his eyes. This wasn’t fair to him. He shouldn’t have had to hear this.

“You’ve embarrassed this family, Jillian,” my father spoke. “And you threw away a million-dollar wedding.”

“Is that all that matters to you? The money? I didn’t ask for a f*cking million-dollar wedding. That was all her,” I pointed to my mother, “doing.”

“Why did you come to New York?” he asked. “And how did you slip away so quietly without a trace? You haven’t used your credit cards and your bank account hasn’t been touched. What have you been doing for money?”

“Oh, I’m sure this one over here has been supporting her.” My mother pointed at Drew. “Is that why you left Grant? For him?”

Narrowing my eyes at her, I couldn’t believe she dragged Drew into this.

“How dare you! You want the truth?” I strutted over to her and my father. “Because you aren’t going to like it. When I turned twenty-one, my grandmother left me a trust fund with four million dollars in it.”

The shock on their faces was priceless and it gave me great satisfaction to finally tell them.

“What?” my father asked in anger.

“That’s right, Daddy. Your mother made sure that I would be taken care of when I finally decided to break free from this so-called family and prison I was living in. She knew everything.”

“That wretched woman!” he yelled. “How dare she hide that from me!”