I feel the floor move from beneath me and, as if working on autopilot, I storm toward my office, pulling the door open in a rush.
He stands with his back to me, staring out the window, wearing a dark grey suit and cream shirt. He slowly turns toward me.
“Hello, son.”
I glare at him as shock starts to trickle into my bloodstream.
I feel like it’s the first time I have ever seen his face. We look alike. We fucking look alike. He stands at my height, six feet four inches tall. His hair is greying at the temples and his skin is olive. But it’s the eyes that are the mirrors. I drop my head and swallow the lump in my throat. How can I look like him?
“Get out before I fucking kill you,” I whisper.
He stays still, his eyes hold mine.
‘That’s no way to talk to your father.”
“You are not my father.”
“Ah.” He smiles sarcastically. “We both know that’s not true now, don’t we?”
I step toward him as I feel the adrenaline start to pump through me.
He raises his chin in defiance.
“So help me God,” I whisper. “I will tear you apart, limb by limb.”
He glares at me.
“Get out!”
“No. You will listen to what I have to say.”
“The hell I will.”
“I’m not here for myself. You are too Stanton to ever be my son.”
‘Thank fuck for that.” I growl.
“I’m here for your mother.”
“How dare you? I said get out.”
“You haven’t spoken to her in six months.”
My hostile eyes hold his.
“And you have yourself to thank for that.” I sneer.
“What did you want her to do? Pine her whole life for a husband who took his pleasure in other beds.” I start to hear my heart beat in my ears. “Is that really all she deserved?”
“You were his best friend.”
“And I saw how he treated her.”
“Get out.”
“He never loved her.”
I can’t even look at him and my eyes focus on one spot on the carpet.
“I love her, Joshua. I have always loved her.”
“That’s why you beat her?”
He pauses. “We…” He tries to articulate his thoughts. “It’s true we have a volatile relationship. You don’t know how many times I begged her to leave him – to come out to the world about our love.”
“Liar.”
“She loves me.”
“If she loved you she would have gone with you.”
“Would she?” He raises his eyebrows in question. “You and I both know there is only one reason she stayed.”