BEG FOR IT

Chapter 30 - Ethan

Ethan : 

              "It's now or never," I murmured to myself as I walked toward Dad's office.

I couldn't keep letting this mental pressure eat away at me. These thoughts—this confusion—were making my mind spiral, and the only way out was through. I had to talk to him. I had to clear the air.

As I stepped into the building, Dad's secretary glanced up from her desk.

           "Ethan? What are you doing here?"

          "I want to see my dad. Is he in his cabin?"

He looked at the clock, then back at me.

          "Yeah... it's lunchtime anyway. You can go in."

I nodded, forced a smile.

Every step toward that door made my heartbeat louder, screaming for me to turn around. But I pushed the fear aside and entered the cabin.

       "Dad..." I said as I stepped in.

He looked up from his desk, eyes wide.

         "Ethan," he said, almost like a question, as if I weren't real.

       "Why are you here?"

        "I'm here for a father-son talk," I said, taking the seat across from him.

He leaned back in his chair, blinking in surprise.
  
        "Wow. Okay."

          "Dad," I began, my voice steady even though everything inside me was a mess. "You can't just change your tone like that. Last night, you suddenly said I don't have to join the business—like that makes everything okay? Like I'm supposed to just forget everything I've been through because you miss Mom?"

He said nothing. I took a breath and powered through.

            "No. I won't forget how you didn't listen to me. How you weren't there when I needed you most."

I exhaled sharply, all of it said in one breath. I looked up and saw him watching me closely.

        "What?" I asked.

         "It's just... you said all of that really fast," he said after a moment.

         "So, you didn't listen?"

       "No, no—I heard everything."

He paused, then leaned forward.

          "Ethan... I know saying this now doesn't erase the past. It doesn't fix what I did—or what I didn't do. But I wanted you to know how I felt. That's all. You don't have to forgive me."

There was a long silence between us.

        "Dad..." I said softly, "Do you still miss Mom?"

He met my eyes, and for once, there was no mask on his face.

        "Yeah," he said quietly. "How could I forget her? She's always with me."

          "I miss her too," I said. My voice barely held steady. "You shouldn't have ignored me. You hurt me... but," I hesitated, "but for Mom's sake, I'm willing to give you another chance."

He stood suddenly, walked over, and wrapped me in a tight hug.

         "Ethan," he murmured, his voice thick. "I swear—I will never make you feel abandoned again. Never."

For a second, tears threatened to rise, but I forced them back. I wasn't ready to cry.

He pulled away and placed his hands on my shoulders, looking me straight in the eye.