Page 92 of The One You Want

“I want to know who told you,” I pressed. “Who, specifically, in town told you? Because if I didn’t tell anyone, that means Grant did. And I deserve to know who he gossipedto.”

“You’re being overdramatic,” shedrawled.

I turned to my grandfather, who was watching me with wary eyes. “How did you both know,Grandpa?”

His eyes flicked to hers over my head and if I’d had any doubt, it was gone. They were involved in this. I just didn’t knowhow.

“Did you say something to Grant?” I whispered, the idea almost too awful to voice. But from the way his eyes widened, I knew I was right. “What did you say?”’ I demanded, stepping closer to force him to look at me, and not her. “What did you say to him,grandpa?”

“Your anger is misplaced,” came my grandmother’s icy voice behindme.

I spun to face her. “Then who should I be angrywith?”

“It took nothing to get that boy to agree to cut things off with you,” she said and I felt something deep inside me shatter. “All we had to do was offer him a vendor contract and he was more than happy to let yougo.”

“You…you offered him…” I felt a little faint, my vision doing that weird tunnel thing again. “A vendorcontract?”

“To provide our cut flowers next year,” she said easily, as if my world wasn’t falling down around me. “It is a lucrative contract, I admit. Especially for someone of his caliber.” She rolled her eyes. “But I would have expected more of a fight from a person you felt this…passionately about.” The emphasis she put on the wordpassionatemade clear exactly how disgusted she felt by myemotion.

Then she dug in the sharpest knife. “Apparently he didn’t feel quite the same level of intensity about you, if he was willing to end things over a few thousanddollars.”

I was pretty sure I was going to throw up, right there on my grandmother’s fifty thousand dollar Persian rug. I couldn’t think about Grant right now. There was only so much betrayal a person could focus on at one point and right now, to my surprise, theirs stung so much more.Because they’re your family,I thought to myself, biting down a sob.They’re supposed to take care of you, not hurt you likethis.

I turned to my grandfather, wishing there could be something he would say that would make this better. His eyes were filled with sympathy and for one second I thought maybe hecould.

“He wasn’t right for you, peanut,” he murmured. “It was obvious. I understand these feelings can be overwhelmingsometimes—”

“You were there?” I whispered. “When she didthis?”

“Of course he was,” she snapped, and I looked over my shoulder at her. “We went to that little shop of his several days ago and explained things. Apparently he took our view ofit.”

“And you always felt like this?” I hated how pathetic my voice sounded. “About me andGrant.”

She rolled her eyes. “ He’s afarmer, Jennifer. Give me abreak.”

I had a sudden flash of Grant’s soil stained hands and how clean they had been the day he came here with me. How much I hadn’t liked the idea of him trying to impress them. And it hadn’t mattered in the endanyhow.

“So that day we ate lunch with you and you were so nice tohim—”

“It’s called being polite,” my grandmother snapped. “We were in the Ottawa’s dining room. There are appearances touphold.”

For the first time in my life, I could actually see myself slapping my grandmother. But it was my grandfather that I spunon.

“You know, I might have expected this from her,” I said, my voice ice cold. “But you? I never would have thought you could be so two-faced andmanipulative.”

My grandmother gasped behind me but I didn’t pay her attention. I was too busy watching my grandfather’s face turn purple. Funny after all those years of trying to please them, right now I didn’t feel the slightest bitscared.

“I’m done with this,” I told him in a low voice. “Done. I refuse to let the two of you control my life anymore. I refuse to bemanipulated.”

“How dare—” she began, but I continued to ignore her, focusing all my attention on the man I never thought could hurt me sobadly.

“You can keep your money. You can take back the condo. I’ll get a job slinging fast food on the mainland if I have to. I amdone.”

“Jennifer.” My grandfather had gone very still, his eyes wide. “I only wanted what was best foryou.”

“That’s not up to you to decide!” I shouted, louder than I had ever been in this apartment. Maybe anywhere. I wasn’t much of a shouter in general. But I felt like shoutingnow.

“I know you love me, Grandpa,” I said, breathing hard. “It’s one of the only things about this family that I never doubted. But I also know you don’t treat me with respect. You think I’m this stupid little girl who can’t make any decisions formyself.”