Chapter 34 The Talk With Dad
Lana's POV
After I got ready for the outcome today, I went to the kitchen and I sat at the table. My dad pushed a bowl of fruit salad towards me. He usually makes breakfast that is not fruit salad. I guess he made it because I wasn't feeling well. I have felt nauseas. I took the spoon and I just played with my fruit as my dad sat across from me.
"Lana," he said, and I looked up at him. I was afraid, I was fearing for the worst. I felt like there was an empty pit in my stomach. "Everything will work out, but not with him."
"Do you even know him on a personal level?" I asked.
"Not too much, but it's for the best," he said with concern.
"I can make those decisions on my own. I am a young adult, and I don't need any permission from you to be under your control. It has always been that way with you. Do you know why..." I took a deep breath. "Do you know why we had s^x?" I asked.
His jaw clenched and his eyes penetrated me as if they could be lazer beams. "Explain," I could tell that it was hard for him to hear this.
"It was all because of you. You wanted me in this position to just be a business woman, no matter what I say or do, you just have it your way. I was failing miserably in business studies because I hate it with a passion. I did it to please you." I hissed this time. "I made a deal with Arden to have s^x for extra credit, but let me tell you how we met...I was at the coffee shop the morning that classes first started. He was there, we bumped into each other, we were instantly attracted to each other. But little did we know that we would meet again on campus and in his classroom. He ended up teaching me a method that I'm sure you know helped other students to succeed and I did it on my own, no s^x was required because we wanted more than just the s^x from the beginning. I love him and you can't change that," I said.
My dad scoffed, "This is unbelievable, you can't put that blame on me."
"I hate it when you do this," I got up from the chair.
"Did you even use protection?" he asked, which surprised me because he wasn't yelling at me the way that he would when he gets angry.
"Yes, I'm on the pill," I replied.
"Good," he said, but it seemed as if he didn't believe me. "You need to eat, I don't want you to faint today."
"I will be fine," I stated. "I'm not leaving New York either. I will continue to live here and go to a different university. I don't want to go to London and I sure as hell don't want to be back home," I said.
" There is a lot that you need to discover, Lana. I don't trust Arden when it comes to you. Look where you both are right now. Who knows what he does with other female students, and that is why this policy is in place," he stated.
"Screw the policy, it doesn't change the fact of how we feel about each other," I argued.
He sighed. "If I want to believe things, there are some red flags coming up that I have seen so far since I got here. Number one, you are throwing up and you get nauseous from food, either something is wrong with you or you are pregnant," I scowled at him.
"I am not pregnant-" I said through clenched teeth, but deep down, I tried to think about the last time that I took the pill. My heart was racing but I kept my expression neutral.
He held his hand up, "If you are pregnant, everything else goes down to sh^t because you are nineteen. I know pregnancy symptoms when I see them. Your mother was pregnant five times."
" I'm not," I said.
"Fine, you know your body," he replied.
"How are you so calm about all of this and about me sleeping with Arden?" I asked as I took a seat again.
He took in a deep breath, "I didn't want to worry you, but I was in the hospital two weeks ago but for two days, my blood pressure was high and I had chest pain. It was hard to breathe. I was at the office that day, it was a tough deal to get, it took a toll on my body. I thought that I was dying the way that it felt. I have hypertension, so I have to try to stay calm. I had to make some changes to help with it too, such as taking walks in the evening. Your mother joins me because she doesn't want anything to happen to me along the road."
"How come you never called me?" I asked, because I was concerned now.
"We didn't want to worry any of you. It does increase the risk of strokes and other things. When you were going to graduate from university in two years' time, I was going to hand Sternpoint over to you because, due to my health, it was the perfect plan, until this sh^t happened. Trust me, I want to rip Arden to shreds and I am disappointed that you got into this the way that you did. It is no use for me to lash out and not even physically, just be back in the hospital or worse...dead," he said with a serious expression.
"So does this mean that you're dying?" I'm confused and I'm freaking out.
"If I continue to do things the way that I have before, then maybe, yes." he said. I can't believe what I'm hearing. "I'm fine, I will make sure not to go anywhere, but let me continue what I was talking about you," Right now, I didn't care about what he had to say, i was more concerned about him.
"My main concern is you right now, dad," I said, tears welled up in my eyes, because he is dad, I just don't want to lose him, no matter how our relationship can be, he was still my dad. I am sitting in the middle of potentially losing two men that I love.
"I know that you are, but I will be fine. As I was saying, will Arden be around if you are pregnant?" he asked.
"I am not pregnant, but if I was, then I don't know," I shrugged. "I guess this whole outcome will test us, but I'm not pregnant. I just want to be with him," I stated.
He scoffed again, "We will see about that. In the meantime, please eat."
I tried to eat, hoping that I wouldn't throw up after eating this. I was worried, very worried about everything. "Arden wouldn't leave," I said more to myself,
"Does his wife know that you two are seeing each other?" he asked.
I paused the spoon in mid air. "What?" I asked, not sure if I heard correctly.
"His wife...does she know that you two are sleeping together?"
"He doesn't have a wife, he would've told me and he doesn't live with anyone. He lives alone," I said harshly. All of a sudden, I didn't want to be in my dad's company. He was only saying these things to get me to leave Arden. "Do not mention another word about Arden to me, because this is what you want. I don't believe your lies," I hissed at him and I walked out of the kitchen.
I went from being worried to angry. My blood was boiling, because how on earth could my dad tell me such a thing when he had told me that he didn't know Arden that much. I closed my eyes in the lounge as I inhaled and exhaled.
I can't believe my dad right now. He honestly doesn't know Arden, I know him better. "I have to go to the hotel after the outcome, I will be there for two days," he said as he took whatever he needed and he walked to the front door.
I didn't respond to what he said. I took my bag instead and I followed him out of the door. I decided to wear a black dress today, that flared out from my waist and black ankle-heeled boots. The top part of my dress was covered and it had three-quartered sleeves.
For me, I had a feeling that I was saying goodbye to something. I have had this feeling since last night. My dad didn't make it easy on me either. My heart was heavy and I was trying to keep it together, to be strong. I don't want anyone to see me break. I wanted one man by my side and that would always be Arden. No one will decide for us. I have already made up my mind to be with him.