Chapter 71 The Forbidden Confession

Chapter 71 The Forbidden Confession
It’s the heavy decorative glass vase from the side table.
It flies across the room in a blur, and I barely have time to react.
The vase strikes me hard on the shoulder before continuing past me and shatters against the wall behind with a loud crash, sending shards of glass raining down onto the floor.

Ashleigh screams, flying forward as if she can block another attack.
Mum and Ryan both jump up from the couch.
“Michael!” Mum screams, rushing toward Dad. “What has gotten into you?!”
He totally ignores her, not taking his eyes off me for even a second.
“You…” he speaks through gritted teeth, his chest heaving with fury. “You stand in my house… my house… and say that to my face?”

He takes another step forward, his eyes blazing with rage and hurt.
“How dare you?”
“Dad, please,” Ashleigh says in a broken voice, stepping between us. “Calm down.”
“Shut up,” he snaps, turning his attention to her. “I am so disappointed in you, Ashleigh. How can you…” He pauses abruptly, like the words are too vile to speak, and shakes his head in disbelief. “How can you do this?”
Ashleigh dips her head in guilt.

“This is all my fault,” Mum speaks, wrapping her arms around herself as fresh tears spill down her cheeks. “I failed you both as a mother. I…”
She starts crying again, and Dad moves to embrace her, but she steps away, shaking her head.
My heart hurts seeing her like this.
“Mum, don’t blame yourself…” I start to say.
“I’ve been too focused on work,” she continues, sniffing hard as she tries to pull herself together. “I suspected something… but I thought myself mad for even considering it. And now it’s true.”

She looks past me, straight at Ashleigh.
“Honey… how could you let this happen?” she asks softly.
Ashleigh draws closer, crying just as hard. “It couldn’t be helped, Mum. I tried.”
“You should’ve tried harder,” Dad interrupts.
Ryan starts to move away quietly. He’s realized this is a family issue and wants to give us privacy. He turns toward the door to slip out.
How can he start serious shit like that and want to leave that easily?

“Where do you think you’re going?” I demand as he takes one more step towards the door.
Mum and Dad are still focused on Ashleigh.
Ryan exhales. “Look, dude. No hard feelings, but I did this for the best, okay? I’m not a hater or anything,” he lowers his voice. “I didn’t mention the threesome. I only told them the necessary part.”
“You’re a fucking snitch, that’s what you are.”

Ryan pauses for a moment. “Goodbye, Zayn. I hope you sort out whatever this is.”
He turns again, but I grab his shoulder hard. “Now you want to leave after all the mess you caused?”
“Take your hands off me," he warns.
“Hey!” Dad’s voice cuts through the room. He comes toward us, Ashleigh and Mum following behind. “Let go of Ryan right now. He did the right thing. God knows how long this thing would’ve continued if he hadn’t spoken up.”

I still don’t let go, glaring at Ryan.
Ashleigh comes to stand beside me. “Let go, please,” she whispers.
Reluctantly, I release my grip, and Ryan steps back, nodding towards my parents.
"Mr. Richardson, Mrs. Richardson."
They nod back, and we all watch him leave.”
Mum's voice breaks the brief silence.

“We raised you the best way we could. We gave you everything.” She begins again, her voice stronger after the tears.
She turns to Zayn. “You have a scholarship at stake. A future. You're aware all that could be revoked if word gets out of…this,” she gestures between us before turning to Ashleigh once again. “What on earth came over you? What is wrong with you, Ashleigh?”
“Why does something have to be wrong with me, Mum?” Ashleigh lashes out in a teary voice. “We don't get to choose who we love.”

"Yes, you do!” she yells. “In this case you fucking do!”
We all stand amazed for the first time because Mother just cussed.
“Whatever this is, it must end.” She says again. “And it must end today. Right this instant.”
“I'm not a child; you can't tell me what to do!.” Ashleigh yells angrily.
"Yes, I can!” Mum yells back. “Yes, I can. By the time I have all your accounts and take your car…”
“Do your worst. Zayn is all I need.”

“You people have no idea how much I struggled after you adopted me.” She's crying as she's talking. “You have no idea! Only Zayn does. Because he was there with me. Every day.” She sniffs. “Do you even know I can't sleep on certain nights when there are thunderstorms? Because of my PTSD, do you know?”
Mum's face softens.
"No, you don't. But Zayn does. And he knows a bunch of other stuff too, you know why?” She doesn't wait for a response. “Because he was always there!”

She looks at Dad. “And now you blame me; you scold me for falling in love with him?! You people saved my life by adopting me, but Zayn gave me back that life. Zayn healed me!”
I look at Ashleigh as she speaks. Never have I seen her so vulnerable and open.
Never have I heard her defend our love so seriously or express her feelings for me so rawly and genuinely.
Her hand finds mine, gripping tight.
“I could never stop loving Zayn even if I tried. So you either live with it or disown us both.”

Our parents' eyes fall to our joined hands.
Dad’s face twists with pure disgust. For a second the whole room goes dead silent. Then he explodes.
“Disown you?” he roars. “You think that’s a threat? I’ll do a hell of a lot worse than disown you!”
He storms forward; for a second I think he's going to hit me.
“You… you sick, twisted piece of shit. You're supposed to be the mature one.
To stop shit like this from happening. But instead you choose to fuck your sister under my roof?”

Ashleigh flinches beside me, but Dad isn’t done. His voice rises even louder, shaking with rage.
“I trusted you to protect her! That was your one job, Zayn. One job!”
“Michael…” Mum says softly. “Lower your voice.”
He ignores her. “To look out for Ashleigh the way a big brother is supposed to. Instead, you corrupted her! You took advantage of her trauma!”
“I did no such thing.”
“Her nightmares!” He continues. “Every vulnerable thing she told you in confidence, and you used it to get between her legs!”

“I DID NO SUCH THING!” I yell back.
Dad and I stare at each other for a long moment, our chests rising in anger.
He turns to Ashleigh. “I will not stand by and watch you throw your life away for this filth. Not while I’m still breathing.”
He turns back to me, chest heaving.
“You’re out. Both of you. Get the hell out of my house.”
“Gladly,” I snap.
His face twists further with pure contempt. “Oh, you think this is funny?” he guffaws.

“I’m cutting off every single credit card by morning. And don’t give me that ‘we’re adults’ bullshit. I put every dime in those accounts, and I’m taking it all back. Every last cent.”
He takes a threatening step closer. “You think you can survive on your own? Fine. Let’s see how long this so-called ‘love’ of yours lasts when you’re both broke, homeless, and completely fucked because of your own disgusting choices.”
Mum reaches for his arm. “Michael, please…”

He yanks it away from her gently, without even glancing in her direction, his glare never leaving us.
“And if any of you even thinks about crawling back here begging for help,” he continues, his voice lowering dangerously, “or if I hear one single whisper of this sickness getting out in public… I swear on everything I own, I will make sure you regret the day you ever stepped foot in this family. I will burn every bridge you have left. You will have nothing. You will have no money! No future and no one!”
His tone is final. “You’ll be completely dead to me. Now, get out of my house!!!"