The Darker Exterior

Chapter 18

Explaining what Ford had said to me took longer than I expected, and I did end up breaking down to him more, most likely getting a large number of tears, drool, and snot on his stupidly expensive suit.

He didn't seem to mind and rubbed my back as I spilled everything Ford had said. He said nothing throughout the rant, and his facial expression hardly changed. I couldn't tell if he was apathetic to the entire situation, or if he was fuming with silent anger. 

"He smirked at me on the way out too. He knows he's won before the battle has even begun. And he's given me almost no time to make the decision," I say, sitting up slightly.

Atticus shifted and pulled me closer to him, "can I tell you a story?"

I nod and wipe my eyes again, letting him hold me close.

"When I was younger, I thought I fell in love. I met a woman who joined my economics class in college who seemed so different compared to the other girls I had spoken to at the. She seemed to know exactly what she wanted, which is a rarity in college. I took that as a sign we were supposed to be together, so I pursued her. At this point, I had already funded my first restaurant, and it wasn't taking off completely, but it was bringing me a small profit. And she saw this as well," his hand traced my knee as he paused.

I fought the pang of jealousy that thundered through my chest and let my face burn a crimson red. The thought of another girl touching Atticus made me want to rip my own skin off. 

"Everything was okay for a little while. Her family had money from many different generations. She was used to a cushy life. I, on the other hand, had a very average upbringing. My parents were very supportive, but we didn't have a ton of money lying around. I guess I married that mentality around with me in life because it bothered my newfound wife immensely," he let a smirk crawl onto his lips again as he spoke, "I'll give it to her, she really did know what she wanted, but what sucked for her, was so did I. And I knew after just a little while that I didn't want to stay with her."

He turned to face me and let his large hand caress my cheeks, which still felt like they were aflame, "But, it was just a bit too late, as she had already fallen pregnant. To this day, I don't know if her birth control implant really faded, or if she did it on purpose because she knew what I was planning, but it was no matter, I was going to become a father," he let his thumb rub up and down gently, "and to be completely transparent with you, I didn't mind. I had always wanted to be a father at some point. So, I tried to stick it out for a bit longer. I supported her through her pregnancy, which was admittedly more difficult than she would have liked. And when we found out we were having a little boy we were both very excited. It mended our marriage for a little while, the picture of us becoming a happy family."

A frown took over his face and he turned away, "But once our son, Ford, was born, things took a terrible turn. Our changes in lifestyle only led to a bigger issue," he gently stood up from the couch and strolled into my kitchen, "our difference in parenting styles."

"I always wanted to raise my children the same way I was raised. I would love them unconditionally, but things would not always be handed to them, they would have to work for the things they wanted. I would always be there to support them and help them in any way I could, but when it came down to the nitty-gritty," he opened up my wine cabinet and pulled out a cheap bottle of barefoot white wine, "they had to be in control of their own life. And my wife did not like that at all. She wanted the opposite," he began to pout the wine into two mugs, noticing I had not cleaned my only wine glasses since the last time I drank, which was all too recently.

"My wife wanted to give our son everything he asked for just because we could. And to be honest with you, I divorced her when he was very young. I was very lenient with the divorce and let her take as much as she wanted from me, which was more than I really could afford for a while. I even let her erase any media about us being together in the first place. If you really dig, you can find some articles and pictures, but I've found to do so, you need both our names and Ford's, and people don't often make that connection," he gracefully walked back over to where I was sitting and handed me my mismatched mug, "you must have tried to find something. I figured you may have even had your suspicions."