Chapter 80
As I walked down the stairs, I accepted the request from Mandy and Rich. I hated that I needed to invite them into my apartment, even more so now that i apartment had become Hana’s and my hideaway from the rest of the world. It felt like I was inviting trouble into the one place where we could feel at peace. As got to the kitchen, there was a knock on the door. A knock was not the right word, it was more of a banging. I fought back the urge to go back upstairs and leas twn uninvited guests where they were. But I needed to be a grownup I opened the dont and Mandy swooped inside, followed by Rich
“What took you so long?” she demanded to kning.
- dy. Nice to see you. I’m fine, thanks. How are you?” I answered her as I closed the door
“Hello to you too, Mandy.
“Ch grew up, Hunter. We all know we don’t like each other,” she told me,
“Fair enough. What do you want?” I asked. If she didn’t need basic manners, then I didn’t either. I was just ignoring Rich, I had never seen him do or act without Mandy’s approval.
“We need to talk about Simon”
*So you
you said. What about him?”
“He’s in jail!” she shouted.
“Don’t be dramatic, he’s been released. I heard you posted bail the second you could do so. Now he is back in his latest girlfriend’s house. Nice and cosy,” I told her. Mandy huffed. It seemed she wasn’t a fan of less. Not that I was surprised. Jess looked like the stripper she was, which I knew would ark my ex. If Mandy had thought Hana wasn’t good enough for Simon, I didn’t want to know what she really thought about less. I was sorry for the girl
“How can you be so calm? I talked to a lawyer. He said this won’t go away. The FBI is involved, for God’s sake. The FBI! You are the one with all the connections. Do something!” she demanded. I shook my head.
“It’s too late. I offered Simon help before it got to this. I talked to him and tried to make him understand what a truly bad idea it was for him to continue as he was doing. But he told me to mind my business. I could have helped him then. Now? It’s out of my hands. And to be frank, I don’t want to.” 1 said.
“You don want to? Don’t WANT to?!” she shrieked like a banshee and I wondered what I ever saw in her.
choice. Now
“That’s right. He’s not a boy, he’s a man. He needs to own up to what he has done. He didn’t want my help, he didn’t want to listen. That’s fine. It’s his che he needs to learn that choices have consequences. When has he ever got a consequence?” I asked.
“I–I don’t know what you mean.”
“I’m talking about how we raised him, Mandy,” I told her and sighed. “I’ll admit that I was more indulgent than I should have been. I had a bad conscience for not being there as much, so I didn’t want to be the bad guy when I was there. He didn’t get rules from you either. We spoiled him. Only a spoiled boy would feel entitled to start up money that when he couldn’t trick it from his father, he jumped into bed with the fucking Russian mob. You have to see how crazy that is. right?” I asked her.
“What was he supposed to do? You turned him down. If you would just have given him the money when he asked, we wouldn’t have been here,” she accused me
“Give me a break, Mandy. If he would have asked me for money to start a business, I would have listened to him and helped him. He tried to trick me into giving him money for a wedding I wasn’t even invited to. I had had enough of him, and you, only contacting me when you needed money. I have always provided for you. I have given you more than what was asked of me. I never said no. I gave up my dream to provide for the two of you. And I don’t regret doing it. But I do expect some respect,” I told her. “And just because he didn’t get easy money from me doesn’t mean he should hop in bed with the mafia. What about your husband? He should have money to invest,” I pointed out.
“I’m not his father,” R
Rich said, Mandy made a face and I realised they had this conversation before. Even Rich had his limits.
“Well, good on you for standing up for yourself,” I told him. “Mandy, we can discuss blame all day long and it won’t change a thing. Simon made his choice, it was a had one and now he will have to face the consequences of it.
“And this has nothing to do with that little whore you have in your bed?” Mandy asked. 1 felt my anger skyrocket, and I had to remind myself I didn’t hit women. Not even Mandy,
“I think it’s time fo
for
you to leave. You wanted to talk, we have talked. Now leave,” I
I told her in an ice cold vice.
“Simon told me how you stole his wife from him. Honestly, Hunter. Don’t you have any shame?”
“I didn’t steal anything from my son. I didn’t even moet Hana until after they were did. And if Simon wanted to keep Hana as his wife, he should have treated her right. You are close enough to him. You must have seen what was happening. I even bet you joined in. Maybe not in the physical parts, but you must have been
Chapter BD
a nightmare as a mother–in–law. I think it’s best for you to keep your nose
nose out of mine and Hana’s relationship,” I warned her.
“Is this your mid–life crisis? Are you so afraid of getting old that you need to pick up the first desperate young woman from the streets? Don’t you have any standards Mandy asked me
“I’m not the one that is sleeping with a new woman every week. That would be our son. I’m not the one that takes advantage of vulnerable women that work for me. That would also be our son. And lastly, I’m not the one living with my new girlfriend while trying to kidnap my ex–wife and while I have an ex girlfriend that is pregnant with my child. That would also be our son. So don’t come here and preach morality to me. What I have with Hana is a relationship between two consenting adults. It’s not a spur–of–the–moment kind of thing, it’s not an afterthought or a result of a mid–life–crisis. It’s something real and I’m not giving it up because you don’t like me,” I told her.
“You are just a fucking bad father. You have been a bad father from the start and now everyone can see it. Lying about your son, stealing his wife. What a joke of a father you turned out to be.” The words hurt more than they should. I knew that what she said wasn’t true, but even I had felt like I had failed as a father, so her words hit home.
“You have no right saying that to him!” I turned and looked to the stairs where Hann was walking down. I don’t know what surprised me most, that she was coming downstairs when she had clearly been uncomfortable with meeting Mandy and Rich, or that she looked more angry than I had ever seen her. She looked sexy as hell in tight leggings and a t–shirt that stopped just above her perfect ass. I was so mesmerised by her I almost missed the way Rich was looking at her. There was lust in his eyes that made me want to pummel him to the ground.
“What did you say and where did you come from?” Mandy asked Hana.
“I told you, you have no right calling Hunter a bad father. He has done the best he could. Just in the short time I have known him, he had tried over and over again to help Simon. It’s not Hunter’s fault Simon doesn’t know what is in his best interest. You should take a closer look in the mirror before you distribute blame,” Hana told her. She had stopped in front of Mandy and squared up to her. It was only the tension in her shoulders that told me how uncomfortable she was. She must have overheard our conversation and rushed down to defend me, knowing Mandy’s woods were targeting one of my weak points. My whole being filled with warmth and it chased away the guilt I had felt only moments before.
“That’s rich coming from someone like you,” Mandy said. Hana had come to my rescue. Now it was my turn to do the same for her.
