Chapter 174 Stay in your lane

Chapter 174 Stay in your lane
Valeria's POV 
As soon as I finished freshening up, I made my way downstairs to the dining room. 

A warm meal was already waiting for me.

I sat at the table while Hector remained nearby, keeping me company as I ate. He was telling me some ridiculous story about one of the new maids accidentally mistaking Dad's expensive wine collection for bottles of grape juice.

I couldn't help laughing.

"She actually opened the bottle?" I asked, trying not to laugh with my mouth full.

Hector nodded, his expression completely serious. "Opened it, poured herself a glass, and drank it."

I burst out laughing.

"Poor woman," I said.

"Poor woman?" He raised a brow. "She drank from a bottle that cost more than her monthly salary."

My laughter grew louder. 

Just then, footsteps sounded from the hallway. I instantly knew who that was.

My smile immediately disappeared. Hector's expression changed too.

Finally, my dad walked into the dining room with his suitcase in hand and his usual pompous strut.

The atmosphere shifted instantly.

Hector straightened and moved away from the table. The maids who had been moving around the room immediately became quieter, each of them retreating to their usual positions.

Everyone knew what happened when my father walked into a room.

I kept my gaze on him, not an iota of a smile visible on my face. He was about to walk past us without saying anything when his eyes landed on me. 

He stopped, and a slow, cruel smile spread across his face. "Well, well, well."

I rolled my eyes and picked up the fork immediately.

"So you finally decided to come home," he said.

I didn't look at him.

He took a few steps closer. "I was beginning to wonder when you'd finally get tired of running around after that boy."

My jaw tightened, but I didn't look at him.

"At some point, I thought you had permanently moved into that little restaurant of yours." 

I stabbed my fork into the food on my plate and slowly looked up. So he knew I was working in a restaurant?

"I knew you were working in a restaurant, Valeria." He scoffed. "What a disgrace to the family name."

"Disgrace?" I shook my head. "Well, you brought it upon yourself when you froze my cards."

"I did it to discipline you!" he yelled.

"And what did you expect? For me to rather die of hunger than work to feed myself?"

He chuckled. "I thought your poor... boyfriend was enough for you." 

My heart began beating frantically in my chest, my grip tightening on the fork.  

Why does he have to do this every damn time? Why must my own father be the one who makes me unhappy?

Maybe Tessa was right. Staying here was just not good for me.

But no. I can't keep letting him do that to me. I can't keep cowering because of him. 

I slowly lifted my eyes to him again. 

"I'm eating," I said calmly. "If you don't have anything important to say, I'd like to finish my dinner."

Hector glanced between us but remained silent.

My dad scoffed. "Still with the attitude. The punishment wasn't enough to change you, huh?"

I returned my attention to my plate. 

He stood there for another moment before his gaze hardened. "I blame your mother for raising you both."

"Oh please. Please. As opposed to?" I raised a brow. "Who was supposed to raise us? The other woman? The other mother of your kids?"

His eyes widened slightly before he maintained composure again.

I slowly placed my fork down. "Leave my mother out of your mouth."

He gave a humorless laugh. "She's not someone I can proudly talk about, so..."

I pushed my chair back, the legs scraping against the floor. Then I stood.

"I've had enough," I said, pinning my hard gaze on him. "Whatever we're gonna talk about, don't involve my mother."

He just stared at me.

"Do you want me to stay here or not?" I asked. 

He just kept shaking his head like I was a disappoinment he didn't know how to deal with.

"Mm. Are you gonna kick me out?" I asked again.

"And then, what will people say?"

I smiled. "Fine. So as long as I'm gonna stay here, just let me be. Stay in your lane while I stay in mine. I don't want to be constantly watched and controlled by you."

His brows pulled together. "The guts you have," he hissed. "Like you said, we're staying on different lanes. And that means nothing really belongs to you in this house." 

I shrugged. "I don't care. I've been living fine without your money. I have a job to support myself.

"You're not working in that restaurant!" he thundered. "As long as you live in this house, you won't work in that restaurant."

I just stared at him, a smile curling at my lips. "I actually do not care about your rules right now. Because I'll obviously do whatever it is I want to do."

His expression shifted. "Valeria—"

"I'll only stop working there on my own terms, probably because of my final exams. And if you still think withholding money is going to make me crawl back to you, it won't."

He stared at me, clearly not expecting that.

I took a breath. "You want the mayor's support for your campaign, don't you?"

His eyes narrowed. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"There's no need of a marriage arrangement between me and his son. This time, I have a direct connection with Mr Ashford." 

Silence.

I watched the realization slowly register on his face.

"I can talk to him about it," I continued. "It all depends on how you behave yourself."

His jaw tightened, and he took a step forward. "Don't you dare use him against me." 

"I'm not using anyone against you." I picked up my napkin and wiped my fingers. "I'm simply reminding you that I'm not as powerless as you think I am."

He stared at me. 

I held his gaze. "But I don't want anything from you. I don't want your money. I don't want your accounts. I don't want your approval for anything that's going on in my life." I swallowed. "I just want you to let me be."

For several seconds, he said nothing. His face was a mixture of disbelief and anger, like he couldn't understand when I'd stopped being afraid of him. He looked concerned too, especially because of what I'd said about knowing Mr. Ashford.

Finally, he scoffed.

"Fine," he hissed through gritted teeth. Then he turned and walked away.

I watched him disappear through the doorway. Only when he was gone did I release the breath I had been holding.

That man just knew how to stress someone. How did Mom even manage to put up with him for so many years?

Hector looked at me with something that almost resembled pride. I smiled and slowly sat back down.

I picked up my fork. Then I took another bite of my dinner, feeling very satisfied with myself.

For years, I had always thought standing up to my father would feel terrifying. Instead, it felt liberating.