Chapter 6 - THE GHOST OF ETHAN'S FATHER
As the drama with the Parkers and Monroes intensified,
a shadow from the past decided to emerge.
I hadn't heard from Julian in nine years,
not since the night he told me he wasn't ready to be a father and handed me a check for ten thousand dollars.
I had torn the check up in front of him and never looked back.
But Julian was a Monroe,
a distant cousin of Tiffany’s,
and the family had reached out to him to "handle" me.
He showed up at my apartment on Tuesday evening,
looking exactly the same—tall,
handsome,
and entirely hollow.
“Grace,” he said,
standing in the hallway.
“You’ve done well for yourself.”
“Julian,” I said,
leaning against the doorframe.
“Are you here to offer me another check?
Because the price has gone up significantly.”
He looked past me into the living room,
where Ethan was doing his homework.
“Is that him?”
“That’s the son you didn't want,” I said.
“And if you take one step toward him,
I’ll have you arrested for trespassing.”
Julian sighed,
running a hand through his hair.
“The family is in a panic,
Grace.
Tiffany’s father is losing his mind.
They want me to negotiate a settlement.”
“There is no settlement,” I said.
“I want a public apology.
From Tiffany,
from Caleb,
and from my mother.”
“On video.
In the same ballroom where they did it.”
Julian shook his head.
“They’ll never agree to that.
It would ruin their reputation.”
“Their reputation is already a clearance item,
Julian,” I said,
smiling.
“I’m just the one pointing out the tears in the tags.”
Ethan walked into the hallway then,
looking at the stranger with curious eyes.
“Mom?
Who is this?”
I looked at Julian,
challenging him to speak.
He looked at the boy—his own eyes,
his own jawline—and he blinked.
“I’m...
an old acquaintance of your mother’s,” Julian said,
his voice thick.
“I was just leaving.”
He turned and walked away,
May you like
and for the first time,
I saw a Monroe look ashamed.
