Chapter 3 – The Truth Behind Closed Doors
Rain began falling just as Patricia and Brianna dragged their luggage onto the driveway.
Neighbors peeked through curtains.
Patricia hated being embarrassed more than anything.
She lowered her voice.
"If you do this..."
"You'll regret it."
"I sacrificed everything to raise you."
Mason looked at her quietly.
"No."
"My father sacrificed."
"You managed."
Her face stiffened.
The words hit a wound she'd spent decades hiding.
"I know about the nursing home."
Patricia blinked.
"What?"
"I know Dad begged you not to sell his business."
"I know the money was never invested."
"It paid for luxury vacations."
"Designer handbags."
"And Brianna's shopping addictions."
Brianna's eyes widened.
"Who told you that?"
"Dad."
Neither woman spoke.
"He told me three weeks before he died."
"He made me promise never to become a man who protected comfort instead of family."
Mason looked toward Lena through the kitchen window.
She was slowly stroking Oliver's hair while fighting tears.
"I almost broke that promise."
"I kept making excuses for both of you."
"No more."
Patricia suddenly burst into tears.
Real ones this time.
"You would choose her over your own mother?"
Mason answered without hesitation.
"I choose the person who stood beside me when I had nothing."
"When my company nearly collapsed..."
"She sold her wedding jewelry without telling me."
"When I worked eighteen-hour days..."
"She never complained."
"When Oliver was born..."
"She nearly died bringing him into this world."
He stepped closer.
"My wife earned her place."
"You demanded yours."
The difference was impossible to ignore.
Patricia lowered her eyes.
May you like
For once...
She had no argument.
