5- A Breach of Contract

I sit gently in the car and glue myself to the door with a racing heart. He hasn't said a word for the past five minutes now yet it feels like we've been in here for hours.

We're still in the parking lot, not going anywhere-- at least that's a good thing, right?

Is this one of those scenes in movies where the girlfriend is threatened? I've been expecting it for three years now but Grandfather-- as I've come to start calling him-- has been awfully quiet.

Oliver has invited me for dinner with him three times and each of those times, he hasn't said a word directly to me.

I wonder... What he wants now.

The bodyguard at the front suddenly turns to me, handing over a thin envelope. I stare at him and then stare at what he's giving me.

Is this a gift?

I turn to grandfather who has his eyes closed and his head straight. I'm not even worth the attention, am I?

"Take it."

I jolt at the two words and quickly accept it with trembling hands. His voice is cold as ice and they hold a fierceness that commands my obedience, I'd rather not disobey.

"I'm sure you've seen the news," he continues to speak and with each word, my ears are ringing and I can't take my eyes off the envelope.

It's a cheque, isn't it?

Which news exactly? I gulp, unable to ask my question or say a word in his presence.

"Your relationship with my son has gone on long enough," his voice is levelled and calm but there's a scoff somewhere in there that's to my shame.

"Oliver has only been with you to spite me and now that he's back to his senses, your time together is over. Unless you have plans to become a mistress, Miss. Rebecca Hoffman?"

Oliver was with me... To spite him? He never mentioned something like that. What am I saying? He also never mentioned an engagement.

"Never," I blink past the tears, willing myself not to cry, at least not in front of him.

"Good. You're a young woman, you'll have many options. I'm surprised you could keep on going blindly with everything the news has to say about you."

It's practically impossible to ignore when I'm always at the cover of every newspaper but the fact that he's seen them, I feel so exposed and ashamed.

"Did you fall in love with him, Miss Hoffman?"

The smirk in his tone cuts through me like a knife, mocking my foolishness. That tone of disdain and sarcasm makes my face feel hot in embarrassment and when he chuckles, I release a shuddering breath with my tears dropping onto the envelope. I can almost see his arched brow in my imagination.

"That's unprofessional and unethical and..." A long pause. "A breach of the contract on your path."

Beads of sweat break out on my forehead and I'm slowly turning to meet his judging eyes. He has a smirk on his lips, as if amused by the situation.

How did he know that?

"I see the funds that go into your mother's treatment and I raised Oliver from day one. He wouldn't move without a motive. How do you think the media would react if they knew you really were as they've labelled you? 'A gold digger'."

My chest heaved with each harsh and heavy breath as my lips quivered from the shock. I read his threats loud and clear. Tears roll down my cheek and I'm unable to stop them.

"I try not to concern myself with his business but he has always been engaged to Annie Quinn. Don't blame yourself. You two just belong to two very different worlds, Miss. Hoffman. I don't want to have to be the one to lecture you."

And here I thought the engagement was sudden. My heart is crumbling like a wrinkled paper and each breath feels like a dagger poking my chest. This new discovery only leaves me in a devastated pit of endless turmoil.

"That's a cheque to help you get your life together. You didn't finish college, did you? How do you expect to keep your job?"

He's throwing shades at me, lining up my sins one after the other. I see where Oliver gets his cruelty from. His grandfather is no less of a cruel man.

"Say, you return all the money my son has lavished on you, you owe him nothing but then there's your mother still lying in the hospital. I hear from the doctor that she's not getting any better."

How did he get that information? Isn't a patient's report supposed to be confidential? Once again, he's showing me the power he holds. He can pull any string and my life will be a living hell.

"Why waste good money on her when you can live your life abroad and resume school-"

"I'm not wasting money!" I don't know when I scream, pouring out my frustration. "D-Don't refer to her as... A lost cause. She's the only family I have left." I squeeze the end of the envelope as more tears drop on it.

The car is covered in thick silence. Oh shit! I finally snap out of it.

The cheque is suddenly taken from me and I lift my head to the bodyguard and watch as he rips it apart.

A little ray of hope shines in my heart. Is he giving me his permission to be with his son-

"You got tears on it. You have to be careful. That was good money," he said, throwing my chances out the window.

"Add another billion," he instructs as the guard rewrites the cheque and takes out another envelope from the armrest of the car.

He's handing it over again and this time I hesitate, since I now know what it's for.

"The date hasn't been decided yet but I trust you'll find yourself out of his life as soon as possible?"

I've always imagined this scene and laughed over it. What would I do if his grandfather handed me a sum to leave him? Of course I'd say no but with my heart in shambles and Oliver's cruel words playing in the back of my mind, his evil smirk dangling from his face, I find myself reaching for the cheque.

I've made up my mind to start my life away from him.

"Yes," I need help getting away from Oliver. It's no use fighting for a love that was never mine to begin with.