“I was curious about your progress after reviewing the funding request you put in. Ten billion dollars isn’t a joking matter.”
Every muscle turns rigid in my body. “I don’t need your advice.”
“Good. I wasn’t offering it.”
“God forbid you acted like a father for once in your pathetic life.”
“Interesting word choice from my weakest son.”
My fist tightens around my cellphone. It was stupid for me to answer my father’s call because of some budding curiosity. I should have expected that nothing would change, even after my grandfather’s death. The only thing my father is interested in is reminding me how inept he thinks I am.
He’s trying to screw with your head. That’s all.
“I’ve got to go. I have a meeting that I can’t be late for.” I hang up the phone.
I take deep breaths to lower my blood pressure. I’m not that hopeless boy anymore that craved a real relationship with my father. Because of him, I turned my mind into a weapon rather than a weakness. No matter how hard he tries to poke at me, I’ll always come out on top because the child he once knew no longer exists. I made sure of that.
5
Zahra
Claire drops onto our couch and shoves her laptop onto my lap. “This is your chance!”
“What is?”
She pauses the TV, interrupting my binge marathon of The Duke Who Seduced Me.
I read the email before putting her laptop on the coffee table. “No way. Not happening.”
“Hear me out—”
“No.”
“Yes! You’re going to listen to my argument without interrupting me. You owe me that much as your best friend and personal chef.” She wags her finger in the same way my mom does.
“My stomach might love you but my thighs sure don’t.”
She only glares at me.
I cross my arms. “Fine. I’ll give you a chance.”
She readjusts her tiny bun. “Okay, so I get why you’re hesitant. I’d be too if someone betrayed me like Lance did.”
“Do we really need to bring up Lance?” A cold feeling seeps through my chest, chilling my veins. Betrayal like that is hard to come back from.
Claire’s smile falters. “The only reason I’m mentioning him is because this is the final step in the process of letting him go.” She waves at her laptop like it will solve the world’s problems.
“I’ve moved on already.”
“I know you have, but there’s still a tiny part of you that is afraid of chasing after the dreams he stole right out of your hands.” He stole a lot more than my dreams.
My eyes sting. “I don’t dream about inventing anymore.”
“The bullshit he said about your skills was only a diversion to keep you from submitting the same idea as him. You know that, right?”
“But—”
“But nothing. Lance lied because he wanted to hold you back long enough for him to steal your idea.”
It makes sense in theory, but I’m still not sure.
Claire grabs my hand and holds on to it. “This is your chance to prove to yourself that nothing anyone says defines who you are. Only your actions do.”
My chest tightens. “I’m not sure…”
She squeezes my hand. “Come on. Just submit one teensy little project. That’s all. What’s the worst that can happen?”