Chapter 47

DORIS

Saturday, we went to the Lego Superstore/Museum. How many cities have an entire world devoted to Lego?

If Mia wasn't the biggest Lego fan before, Saturday certainly converted her when she found out you could build a Lego castle fit for a princess. Of course, Arthur bought it for her, which made me wonder if she wasn’t beginning to get a little spoiled.

But when he promised the three of us would build it together, I had to admit it wasn’t a terrible idea.

At dinner, Mia asked me again when I was moving in with them; this time, Arthur looked at me over Mia's head. I didn’t know what to say.

I’d never felt so torn. I was vulnerable. I guess I wasn’t as over Bob‘s cheating as I thought.

I reminded myself that not all men were like Bob.

I also remembered a proverb. I couldn’t remember which country originated from. 'The road that goes east can also go west.' I was never really sure what it meant, but I guess it meant that you should take a chance, and if it didn’t work out, you could always return to where you started.

I walked down the hospital corridor and saw Dr. John. This time I was sure that he was waiting for me. Why else would he be in the hospital's private wing at exactly the time I had been coming to visit Noah?

"Doris," he said. There was a tone to his voice that I didn’t like. It was sickly sweet. "Ready to go out on a date with me yet?"

It was time to be more forceful. "Listen, I have tried to be polite. The answer is no." I tried to step around him, but he blocked my path.

"I’m not going to stop, so you might as well say yes now," Dr. John said.

"I’m not ever going to say yes." I threw my hands up in the air, frustrated. "I'm flattered, but I'm in a relationship. I’m probably going to move in with him, so it’s time to give up."

I didn’t wait for him to step aside. I pushed my way past him and kept moving. My high heels clicked loudly on the floor.

I didn’t want to admit it, but the confrontation shook me. I wasn’t the type of person who liked an argument.

So I wasn’t exactly in a good state of mind when I pushed the door to Noah’s room open.

The large nurse was sitting by his bedside, reading a book, and he closed it when I came in.

“I’ll send the doctor in to talk to you,” he said, leaving the room.

When the doctor came in, she said, "There's been a significant increase on Noah’s his scans for brain activity. I know I’ve said before, 'Don’t get your hopes up', but I really think this is amazing progress."

I clasped my hands to my heart.

"Doris, at this point, Noah may be able to recognize your voice, so the more you talk to him, the more he may be able to come out of it."

I sat by Noah’s bed, reading a John Green book to him. After about 45 minutes and Noah opened his eyes.

“Noah?”

His head turned toward my voice, and he smacked his lips like his throat was sore. I got him a cup of water, but he didn’t seem to know what to do with it.

I lifted his head to the glass, and he drank a sip. His eyes focused on me, but his gaze was questioning.

“Noah. Noah! It’s me, Doris.”

He went limp in my arms. He had slipped into a coma again.

ARTHUR

Nathan came into my office. “This came for you via private courier.” Nathan put a large tan envelope with 'Confidential' written in red on my desk. “I just signed for it.”

“Thanks, Nathan.”

He turned around and left. I knew immediately what would be inside. There was one last clerk I had bribed to find out everything I could about the Brooklyn deal. So far, every answer had come back pointing at Andrea.

In this envelope would be the undeniable truth. My neck muscles tensed. I didn’t want to open it, but I had to.

I ripped open the envelope and scanned the contents. Then I reread the report more thoroughly. There was no denying it. The entire sabotage was because of one mastermind.

The harshness hit me like a freight train to the chest—my own mother, Andrea, was the originator of the problem. She was the puppeteer pulling the strings behind the scenes to make Doris’ life trouble by ruining this Brooklyn deal.

I felt a sour taste in my mouth. Any respect I had for the woman who should love me went up in flames. The fragile bond we had felt like a thread about to snap.

The question was, now that I had the proof, what was I going to do? I shoved the report back into the envelope. I rushed over to Marcus Properties and stormed into Andrea’s office.

“How could you do this to me?” I yelled, throwing the envelope down on her desk.

“Do what?” she said, so over innocently she wasn’t even pretending to deny it.

My heart pounded a hard, irregular beat, swollen with anger and disbelief. "Tell me, Mother," I seethed, "why have you been sabotaging the Brooklyn deal? Why would you betray your own son?"

Andrea's eyes narrowed, her voice dripping with venom. "Because that woman, Doris, is a snake in the grass. She's poisoning your mind, Arthur.”

“What?”

“You’re better than her. Way better. You need to cut her out of your life before she destroys everything."

“What are you talking about? She’s not destroying anything. All Doris has ever done is—”

Andrea cut me off. “Dump her. You can do better.”

I clenched my fists, my resolve hardening. "You don't get to decide who I date or trust, Andrea. Doris is my girlfriend—”

I waited while my mother let out a little gasp, then I continued.

“And I’ve asked her to move in with me and Mia. Doris means a lot to me. I will stand by her side, no matter what. Your twisted demands are crazy, and I’m not going to listen to them."

I forced myself to make my voice kinder. It took all of my control. “I think Doris could be the one for me, really the one. I want to give her…us…a chance.”

Andrea's face contorted with rage, and she leaned in closer. "You're making a grave mistake, Arthur. Mark my words. If you don't sever ties with that woman, I will make sure she regrets ever stepping foot into our lives."

I held my ground, my voice filled with defiance. "I won't let you destroy our happiness. Your petty sabotage of Doris’s projects ends here and now. I will protect her from your venomous machinations."

Andrea's eyes blazed with fury, her voice echoing through the room. "You'll regret defying me, Arthur. I'll show you just how powerful a mother's wrath can be."

We stared at each other, a complete standoff. Andrea would never budge. Well, neither would I.

“You cut her off,” Andrea said, standing up from behind her desk and leaning over it, her body language menacing. “You cut her out of your life completely, or I’m declaring an all-out war.”

Andrea bumped me hard as she stormed past me, out of the room. I heard the bathroom door slam.

Andrea’s words lingered in the air like a dark omen or a harbinger of doom.

There was obviously nothing more I could do here today. I picked up the envelope with its damning proof and strode out of the office.

I hadn’t won anything in the confrontation, but I was more committed than ever to do whatever it took to deal with this crazy parent who had once held such sway over my life.

I walked onto the street in front of Marcus Properties and saw it was a beautiful, sunny New York City day. My adrenaline was still high. I clenched and unclenched my fists to try and release the tension.

Andrea was a nasty storm cloud, but in truth, it was beautiful outside.

It was time to forge a new path free from the chains of Andrea’s toxic thoughts and influence. I promised myself I would do whatever it took to protect Doris.