Dad grinned. “It’s time to give all this up. I’m retiring. I purchased a unit in the same condo as the Nassers. I’m going to spend my winters in Florida.”

Kamila blinked. So…it wasn’t estate planning? Dad was retiring? In Florida?

Dad continued. “I’m selling my HNS shares to Rohan and Zayan. And I’m giving you and Shelina the money from the sale now! Why wait until I’m dead? I want to watch my girls enjoy their life. Now you’ll have more free time. You can focus on your volunteer work or do whatever you want to do in your heart! Maybe find a job as an event planner, since you’re so good at it. Or work with animals. You can follow your dreams instead of working for mine. You can be your own Kamila.”

Did Dad really think she wasn’t being her own Kamila? That she wasn’t doing exactly what she wanted with her life?

But wait…if he was selling his HNS shares, what would happen to Emerald? Her Emerald?

Kamila would have blinked again, but instead she dropped her fork.

“But…what about Emerald?” She looked at Rohan. He’d known Dad was doing this?

“You can continue to work with your Emerald clients at HNS if you’d like,” Rohan said. “We plan to absorb all the operations into HNS and close the Emerald office. But I’ve been telling you that for a while now—you’re always welcome at HNS.”

But she wasn’t welcome. Or at least she hadn’t been when she’d worked there before. And Rohan knew that. When she’d worked at HNS, the other accountants would speak over her. She was never given any real clients. There were comments about her clothes. About her makeup. And there was that guy who used to look at her breasts instead of her face when talking to her. She’d even managed to acquire the nickname “I-Don’t-Like-Math Barbie” among the junior associates.

Dad smiled and put his hand on Kamila’s. “You don’t need to work there if you don’t want to. I know you got your accounting degree to continue in my footsteps, but your mother never worked. And your sister doesn’t, either. The house is paid for…and I’ll only be here half the year anyway. Maybe less. You could get a roommate. Maybe that lovely girl Maricel. The money from the sale will be plenty to support you until you decide what you really want to do. You can be yourself now.”

Patriarchy. That’s what this was. Because a woman who loves parties and pretty clothes shouldn’t have to be bothered with a pesky office job. In finance, no less.

Kamila loved her father, but she’d never been so betrayed by him in her life.

“So Emerald is closing. I won’t have a job.”