A Compelling Motive (h.s.)

twenty seven

"Are you okay?" I ask, my eyebrows furrowing. Tiana looks at me with concern.

"I'm fine. Just extremely pissed off. There is a ton of shit going down at my office," Harry tells me, and I feel my eyes widen. And by Tiana's reaction, she heard everything.

"What's wrong? What is happening?" I rush, standing up from my seat in the coffee shop to go outside. I don't want to talk so loudly and have everyone hear a personal conversation.

All I hear is sighing. "Harry, you have no idea how influential you are. You are going to handle everything perfectly. I know you."

Then I hear a small chuckle. I need to hear that laugh to know he's alright. "Baby, you have no idea what I'd do without you. I'm laughing when I should be pulling my hair out."

I smile. "Don't do that. I quite like your hair."

He snorts. "Okay baby, I won't. I'll see you soon. I just wanted to hear your voice."

The words make me blush. After I say my unwanted goodbye, I walk back into the coffee shop. Tiana is quick to look up from her book and direct her attention to me. "Is the mister okay?"

"Yeah, work is getting the best of him right now."

She nods and we get back to reading, occasionally talking in between what the chapters are. We've decided to reread our Shepherd books again, but this time analyzing them. There are things we're figuring out and we believe the author is a male. It's the expressions and the way the words are spoken by the characters. It seems as if the interactions are taken from a male's perspective.

Harry also made that distinction with me. It was fascinating to obtain his input about this book. It's a book that wouldn't be directed for a male audience, but perhaps it could. A man has to be in-tune with his masculinity to uncover the deep meanings.

"Do you want to go out later?" she asks, and I nod.

"We could go and get dinner," I suggest, and she happily agrees. My phone rings and I look at the ID, my lips releasing a sigh.

"Hello Amelia," I say, and she responds back nicely.

"I'm curious if you are able to stop at home. Our father needs to speak to you and he said he was unable to reach you," she tells me, and it's news to me that he was trying to reach me. It's most likely a lie to guilt me into feeling bad I'm not responding to him.

"I'll have to see. I made plans with Tiana," I tell her, but she won't have it. Bitch Amelia is back.

"Plans change, Rhiannon. Please be there by six\," she says, and hangs up immediately.

"Well," I start, and Tiana holds her hand up.

"Don't bother. Enjoy family time," she remarks, and I sigh.

"I'm sick of it. I'm so done with their attitude and then the guilt tripping. It sucks," I say, running my hands over my face then through my hair. My brain may explode the minute I walk through the huge doors to the Marx mansion.

"I'll see you soon though," I tell her, giving her a hug. We say our goodbyes and I get home, showering and changing into an outfit much more suitable for their house. I wear jeans, heels, and a nice blouse and blazer. Once my coat is on, I walk to the taxi waiting for me and I'm dropped off at the gate. I unlock it, walking to the doors.

"Welcome back, Miss James," the butler says, and I nod. I walk in, take my coat off, and meet my father in the kitchen.

"Rhiannon, how are you?" he smiles, giving me a hug.

"I'm wonderful, thank you," I tell him, and he beams at me. He's up to something. I'm curious as to what I'm in store for.

"Now, I have to talk to you about some things," he starts, and I purse my lips. The anticipation continues.

"What do you want?" I ask, and he tilts his head to the side as if I'm speaking a foreign language.

"Oh come on," I say, standing up. "There's always something you want when you bring me into a situation like this. What is it?"

He stands straight and looks at me, his broad figure not intimidating to me. "I need you to talk things out with Amelia."

"What do you mean 'talk'?" I respond quickly, and all he does is explain that I need to be more accommodating. My answer is quick.

"Fuck no," I state immediately, my sister the one who should be more accommodating.

"Rhiannon, don't speak to me like that," he states and I just ignore it and jump to my next thought.

"What do I get out of it? More than likely, nothing," I state matter-of-factly.

"She needs friends right now, Rhiannon. Who better than her sister," he explains, and I scoff.

"Yeah right. Her 'sister'," I emphasize using my fingers.

His proposal has me shocked. With the years of torture and bullying, if he thinks I'm willing to patch up whatever thing she's going through, he is sadly mistaken.

"Rhiannon, it's not going well for her with friends and this man she's suddenly seeing. She needs help. Your help," he stresses once more, and I feel as if I have no choice.

"What if I don't want to?" I sigh out, frustrated. I don't think I even want to know the answer to my own question, but if I'm being forced to do this, I want to know the opportunity cost.

"Rhiannon, I want you to continue to build your relationship with her. Help her, and you help your family. We are trying to build back the trust we lost with you. I know we've done a poor job and I know we've done things we're not proud of," he says, but I cut him off.

"We? Or you?" I ask, and his eyes falter their gaze from me. He's too proud to acknowledge his own faults and I know that. I just want him to own his actions for once. If he does, I will help her out. If he doesn't, I walk away.

I keep my ultimatum to myself. I don't want to encourage him to admit anything.

"Why do you make it difficult, Rhiannon?" he asks, but it's not as harsh. It's clear he's torn, but he has to live with the consequence of his own foolish actions. Cheating and karma go hand and hand. I'm karma's huge slap in the face to him.

"Because you made my life difficult," I respond, and he leans back against the counter.

"Rhi, I don't know what else to say other than I'm sorry. I've done terribly with all my responsibilities when it comes to you. I never even represented myself as a father until your teenage years, and even at that it was barely anything. I want to make things better. My first step is the hope that you finally make friends with Amelia. You help her and I will be able to be in contact with you more. And my hope with that is to lose the hostility. I'm drained, and I'm sure you're hurt by us. I want it to lessen. It won't go away, but I want to make it right," he tells me, and I watch him carefully.

He's telling the truth. I'm unable to speak because I have no words. I'm speechless and unable to breathe. My father never speaks this way and I don't want to have false hope. My mind is torn and I gather myself, glancing to the clock as if I have to be somewhere.

"I'll be at her place at nine tomorrow morning," I tell him, and he gives me a small smile.

"Rhiannon, I will do my best to keep us moving forward," he tells me, and reaches for my hand. "I mean it."

I simply nod, not trying to give in to any sort of affection he tries to give me. So I release my hand and walk towards the door. My lips release a deep sigh and I feel a tear start to fall from my eye. I'm not sad, but rather in awe with the interaction. Not once did I feel like I was being degraded and not once did I feel as if I were less than. I was equal, and I'm crying because it felt good.

I feel welcome in my own family for the first time in 23 years.