Page 136 of Eternal

“I thought you and Declan were no longer talking after the hunting trip.” Dad’s snide comment drags me back to reality.

“We worked it out.”

His eyes narrow. “Tealene Donovan, I’ve played into this long enough. If you think you can benefit from what our family has to offer while disrespecting us by dating a Pierce, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“I don’t need your permission.” I set my fork down. “I don’t need anything from you.”

“Not even your studio? Your school? Your internship? Who do you think funds all of that? And how do you think I do it?” Dad’s tone is deathly cold. “You ungrateful bitch.”

“Paul.” Mom’s eyes widen.

“She is.” He doesn’t break my stare, even if Mom is reeling like she doesn’t understand how this side of him exists.

She married him, so she should know.

“I’m leaving.” I stand up, pushing my chair out.

“Sit your ass down.” My father stands so fast his chair falls backward. “This conversation isn’t over.”

“I’m done with you controlling me.” I face off with him, gathering the same confidence Declan gave me when he handed me that knife. “And I’m done with you lying to me. I know what you did. How you’ve used me. I remember everything.”

His jaw clenches. “If you think I’ll let you go to Paris with him, you’re as delusional as your medical records say you are.”

The backhanded insult has me taking a step back. Dad has always used my mental health struggles against me to prove he’s stronger.

He’s saner.

So long as he’s labeling me as crazy, he has all the power.

But this time, I resist. I no longer immediately accept it as truth the moment he says it.

I’ve never been properly treated, so who is he to decide what I am? I’ve never been to a doctor who was truly invested in my health, someone who wasn’t accepting money from my father just to give him whatever he needed to hear. I refuse to let him label me crazy when he’s been feeding me delusions for years.

I embrace the strength I know exists somewhere, and I harness it.

“You don’t know anything about me,” I snap back at him, hating that a tear rolls down my cheek. “You made me like this.”

Hate walks a thin line with love. In relationships and within families. And just like I’ve teetered on that line with Declan, I feel myself tipping in a different direction now with the man who was supposed to love and protect me. My own flesh and blood.

The doorbell rings, and I blink another tear free, so I wipe it away.

“Right on time.” My father smirks.

“Who?” The question dies on my lips when Margarite turns the corner with Dr. Parish at her side.

“What is he doing here?” My chest tightens. “He’s no longer my doctor.”

This morning, I called Montgomery and asked to be assigned to a different doctor. Declan offered to help make sure the request went through since my father’s position on the board makes that difficult.

“We’re worried about you, Teal.” Dad straightens up. “This outburst is further proof of why.”

His rage has cooled to a low boil while his cocky arrogance flares up.

“What are you talking about?”

“You’ve been acting irrationally lately.” Dad starts to circle the table, making his way over to Dr. Parish. “You’re being reckless at fraternity parties, associating with people who are trouble. Then there’s the fact that you got drunk and ran into the road at the cabin. You’ve been told not to mix your prescriptions with alcohol.”

“I wasn’t—” I shake my head, trying to process how he’s turning all this around on me. “I don’t drink.”