Chapter 2: The Red Roses
They didn't take the white stretch limousine waiting at the curb. Julian hailed a standard yellow cab.
As the taxi pulled away from the luxury hotel, the adrenaline began to fade, leaving behind a heavy, profound exhaustion. Julian loosened his silk bowtie and looked at his mother.
Margaret was staring down at the red roses in her lap. They were bruised and slightly battered from the confrontation, but their vibrant color was still beautiful.
"Mom," Julian started softly, the guilt gnawing at his chest. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming? And why... why did she react to you like that?"
Margaret looked up, her eyes swimming with fresh tears.
"I tried to come to the rehearsal dinner, Julian," she confessed, her voice shaking. "But the wedding planners stopped me at the door. They told me Vanessa had given strict orders. No one who wasn't on the 'approved aesthetic list' was allowed inside."
Julian’s blood ran ice-cold.
"She knew who you were?" Julian asked, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "Vanessa knew you were my mother?"
Margaret nodded slowly. "She visited me at the bakery two months ago. She handed me a check for fifty thousand dollars. She told me my presence would 'clash' with the high-society image her family needed for the merger. She paid me to stay away."
Julian closed his eyes, a sickening wave of absolute betrayal washing over him.
He hadn't hidden his mother out of shame. He had simply respected Margaret's wish to live a quiet, private life away from the blinding cameras of the corporate world. Vanessa had weaponized that privacy. She had tried to erase the most important person in his life to protect an Instagram photo.
"Why the roses?" Julian asked quietly, pointing to the flowers in her lap.
May you like
"They grew in your father's garden," Margaret smiled through her tears. "I just wanted you to have a piece of him with you today."
Julian took his mother's hand, squeezing it tightly. The expensive tuxedo he was wearing suddenly felt incredibly cheap.
