Insouciant (The Billionaire With A Choice)

"No."

"No."

Nathaniel POV

I wake up to knocking on my door.

It's probably one of those kids.

I love them, but I'm so tired of them!

When I open the door, I immediately wake up.

I blink rapidly, "uh, hi? Hey. Um..."

She smiles, "Hi Nathaniel."

I raise my arms but stop myself, "Would it be weird if I-"

She cuts me off by holding me in her embrace.

I've only imagined a hug from my Mom. It's better than I've expected.

I grin when we pull away. "What's going on?"

Her voice is soft and meek. "I would like to talk with you."

I nod pulling up a chair for her to sit on.

I sit on the corner of my bed giving her my full attention. I've waited for so long to hear her talk. I started to believe it wasn't going to happen.

Sitting before me, she gets emotional. "I'm so sorry for what they did to you. I'm sorry I watched and stayed silent. You are my son. You are the only one from your brothers who refused to give up on me-"

I feel the need to explain myself. "I didn't give up because I was stronger than the others. I know who I am. They couldn't break me. We bonded when I was young. Me, you, and Cedric. But he was always up for something new. His adventurous mind disappointed him when we landed in that place. And all I wanted to do was be here with you. I saw the way dad treated you. When we came back for the test, I snuck through Dad's office and found your contract."

She gives me a sad look. "You shouldn't have done that."

"I had to know. You always second-guessed yourself. You'd freeze when he was around. And with each year you distanced yourself because on paper it says you shouldn't be emotionally attached to us by the time we turn five. I know you love us. A mother will always have a love for her children."

She pulls something out of her pocket. "Remember this?"

When it's flat on her hands, I see it.

"I thought it broke, dad threw it off the hill-"

She shakes her head, "I caught it. I fixed it." She stands and sits behind me, placing the necklace on me. Hanging off of it is a gold ring. And a gold band.

Mom is African American and Korean. She has very light skin. But you can tell she is bi-racial. When she was a baby she went through the tradition of choosing her career. She chose two objects. Money and a graduation cap. Meaning her path was business or a scholar. All my brothers. Chose money. Cedric chose a car. I didn't pick up a thing. You can tell how annoyed our father was. First, your last two kids are born not looking like you and now they chose careers you don't approve of. I didn't choose one of the objects displayed. I happened to take my first steps that day. I walked up to my mom and grabbed the jewelry from her. This lead people to believe I would be in the sciences. Or the mining industry. Mom told me she thinks I just liked gold. Which I do.

Babies were usually gifted with a gold ring or band. I got both. When they stopped fitting I asked mom to put them on a chain. I wore it every day. Till the day I was five and talked back to dad. He yanked it off my neck chucked it out his window. The next day I was at the institution.

"Why come to me now?" I ask.

"I want to live the rest of my life with no regrets. And if you are willing. I'd like to get to know my sons who are willing to speak with me."