Papers for Roses

Chapter Thirty Two

Chapter Thirty Two

Megan

"Wait!" Emily called out as Megan reached the threshold. "Listen to me, please, sweetie. Hear me out."

The words were a bit of a jumble as they echoed through their foyer, each syllable bearing a hint of plea and desperation; something she never heard from her Mom.

Megan kept walking. Everything seemed so difficult to process now—who killed who, who planned what, who were the real enemies and who was actually saying the truth. It was a mess. She didn't know where to start finding the truth.

But what was real clear to her at that moment was, her mom led her to believe that her dad was the one responsible for their slightly dysfunctional family.

"I'm so sorry..." She heard a quiet sob. Megan halted in her steps as Emily began to speak her tale. "I don't know what Wade Simon told you. He must have painted me an ugly picture if my own daughter couldn't even look at me."

"Just say what you have to say, Mom."

"I was humiliated."

Megan let out a humorless chuckle. "Of course, you are. You were the mistress."

"I deserved that."

There was so much sadness in Emily's tone that she didn't deserve to feel at that moment. Megan didn't reply. "Ben and I met a year after I birthed you. He told me he wasn't married and he didn't care that I am." Obviously you didn't, either. "I shut him down, so many times. Believe me, I did. I... Your father and I hadn't talked for months, because he was so busy with the campaign. I felt so neglected, then. I felt like he didn't give me enough attention before then, either.

"I love you. I loved your father. But it just didn't work out between us—"

Megan spun around. "You could've told me that!"

The desperation in her mom's eyes made her stop for a moment. Her mom who was a proud lawyer, the woman Megan idolized for years was nothing but a liar and a cheater. She remembered how Emily gently deflected when she asked about where her dad was, when she was brave enough to ask about her Daddy's other girlfriend, when she was asking teary-eyed why Dad didn't love them. She was too believable.

"All these years, mom, I ignored Dad because I was on your side. Hearing you every night, crying to your sleep, and my five-year-old self wondering why Dad's not been home!"

David intercepted. "Megan."

"And then you, turning tables every time he was home, accusing him of things I'm finding out now weren't true." She inhaled as fat angry tears welled up in her eyes. "You could've saved us all the heartache, mom. You owed us that much. I don't know how you sleep at night while you were turning Dad into a villain in my eyes." Megan held up a hand when Emily started to defend herself. "Don't answer that. I don't even know why I believed you. I should've given him the benefit of the doubt. He was a good dad when he's around." She turned to David. His eyes were soft and full of love. The way he always looked at her. "My mistake, Dad."

"I'm sorry."

She turned back to her Mom. "I'm done here."

Wade

"The fuck did you do?!" Wade stared down at his father, who was now lying on a hospital bed; thousands of shit he wouldn't dare to memorize was connected to his frail body.

The monitor's beep, beep, beep aggravated and comforted Wade at the same time. He resumed ignoring how loose his father's hospital gown and how his collarbone was already sticking out. Wade remembered how Ben used to take care of his body and how Ben always reminded him that his body was a temple that he always needed to take good care of. Guess our time is our time.

Wade sighed and took a seat on the plastic chair beside his bed, ignoring the dull ache in his chest. "It was all planned out, Father. She was already in my hands. Do you—did you even stop to think about what—"

"I don't care."

Wade was taken aback. "Pardon?"

"I don't care what your plan is," Ben said with all the amount of conviction he could pour into those words. The therapies he had undergone these past few weeks seemed to finally take a physical toll on him. Even speaking took a lot of his energy. "I wanted to see something.—" coughed "—She said she didn't know which was fucking impossible. We were all over the news."

Wade shook his head. "I know, which I could've explained to you—" he pointed a finger at his father "—if you didn't go behind my back and take control."

"I gave you a week to tell me but you didn't. I had to wonder what kind of woman she is to make you this stupid."

"I'm killing two birds with one stone, Father."

"Spare the girl, son."

Wade stared blankly at Ben. "As much as I loathed her parents, it's not her fault. She was only a child when it all happened. Don't hold this above her head." Then Ben smirked. "She told me."

"Told you what?"

"She was homeschooled until high school. No phones. No friends. Her nanny didn't even allow her to watch TV. Girl had zero clue. When she took her first breath in the real world, it was long over. The public moved on and David was out of the office." Ben chuckled. "Then the news blew up that David had a daughter. That was how she realized how bad her father's life was. It became clear she was their most treasured gem."

And I'm taking her away from them...

"Stay married to her if you wish, but you're not getting the company."

Wade's back stiffened. He held his father's stare. "Let me get this straight. It's okay for me to stay married to Megan but you don't want me to hurt her?" Ben smiled. "But you're also not giving me the company because Megan was the wife?"

"Yes."

"The fuck."

"Son."

Wade let out a frustrated groan. "Do you even realize how hypocritical that is? You don't want me married to Megan and at the same time you think that we're finally getting the revenge we wanted now that I'm married to her and you told her their dirtiest secrets? Yet, you still wouldn't give me the company because it's her? Shouldn't I be getting any reward here?"

Ben stayed silent.

"Why won't you just give me the company."

Wade said it as a statement for he knew his father would only give an answer void of logic. Ben didn't disappoint.

"You're still not happy, son. Your mom would want that for you."

Both men looked at each other in silent contemplation. Wade understood his father. His mom would want him to be happy. But he also knew that this is only a tactic to ease his father's guilt. Because if he knew he'd granted Mariana's wish, he'd consider himself forgiven for his cheating mistakes. No way Wade would be the instrument of his apology.

"I'll leave Megan out of this but I'm still going to ruin her parents."

Wade shook his head and stood up. He walked toward the door without another word. Just as he turned the doorknob, Ben spoke, "Keep the girl. Might change my mind and shred my will."

Wade smirked. I'm not even planning to let her go.

His father may not get his head straight now but he knew he'd get what he wanted in the end.