Chapter 51: Rebellious Adrian

"My Dad wasn't always around. I told you that already," Adrian said. "The company came first before me and my mom. Even with my grandfather's scolding, my father was addicted to work and the success that came out of it: the money, the lifestyle, and the connections he made."

"As I grew up, my father's absence became a norm," Adrian reflected. "I became accustomed to it, almost like it was a part of our family dynamic. Of course, I was occasionally spiteful about it, but mostly, it left a void in my heart that I couldn't quite fill."

"I'd purposely offend him, saying things like, of course, you are not going. Why did I even ask? Right, you're married to your job," Adrian simulated the words he used to say to Anthony.

"Everything changed when Mom got sick," Adrian described, his voice trembling with the weight of the memory. "I was in high school, leading a sports camp in Dowel. I was the basketball captain, and Mom attended the final competition. She got sick after that. She thought she