“You will waste our entire family’s fortune and ruin our good name before that man will love you. What would your mother say?”

There is venom in his words, but I don’t feel the sting he intends. Something inside me snaps at the mention of my mother, the one I tried in vain to make love me.

“Who cares! She was a selfish woman who made me think I wasn’t worthy of love,” I shout at my father for the first time in my life. My hands shake as rage fills my heart. I am done being treated like a child. Done being patted on the head and patronized. I point an accusatory finger at him and add, “And you let her. Because you were either too busy to notice or too heartless to care.”

He gasps and stumbles back a few steps. He recovers quickly, straightening his jacket and standing tall. But I don’t let him mount a defense. I press forward, unshackling myself from the illusion that he’ll ever be the father I deserve.

“For once in my life, you are going to listen to me. Austin broke my heart. But I helped him get justice anyway because he’s a decent human being. And because I love him, whether he loves me back or not. That’s how love works. It doesn’t matter if someone deserves it. It’s not conditional. Love is not a currency. Mother belittled me my entire childhood and I loved her anyway. You’re a foolish old man who ignored me my entire life—” I stare up at him and my voice cracks with emotion. “And I love you anyway.”

“Elizabeth—” He says my name gently, the word itself an apology.

I’m not ready to forgive him. “But if you think I’m going to waste one more second of my life trying to be what mother wanted or what you think I should be, you are sorely mistaken. I’m not perfect, but I’m your daughter. The only one you’ll ever have. I’m not going to change. You can love me as I am, or you can fuck off. At this point, I really don’t care.”

“I only want what is best for you. You were not raised to know how treacherous the world can be.”

I shake my head, exasperated. He isn’t listening to me. “I know exactly how disappointing people can be. I think it’s time for you to leave.”